film on the surface of water

[pathos]

there is a residue of some sort on the surface of my water. when i dried my hand off (after sticking it in the tank) i noticed a brown color on the paper towel. any idea what this stuff is? please tell me it is something natural...

 

[Henry1]

If you do not filter your water using an overflow, chances of having this problem is high.
It can arise from the food we feed, eg fresh shrimp tend to leave a 'oily-like' film.
You may want to get a surface skimmer to effectively remove them.

Cheers

 

[jmeader]

You will get a lot of that brown film if you feed frozen brine. It is the oil that floats to the top. You can skim the surface with a fine mesh net a few times to easily remove it.

[ September 25, 2001: Message edited by: jmeader ]

 

[Uel]

I simply clean my filter when I notice it and it goes away for about a month. jmeader, I'm in Albany. Do you guys have a good LFS in Moultrie?

 

[jmeader]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Uel:
<STRONG>I simply clean my filter when I notice it and it goes away for about a month. jmeader, I'm in Albany. Do you guys have a good LFS in Moultrie?</STRONG><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
I'm afraid not. The best I know of around here, right now, is in Valdosta, Exotic Fish. I have not checked out Albany. You got any good ones there?

 

[pathos]

my tank does have an overflow, but the very top layer of water is above the little holes on the overflow. I have noticed this slime before, but it always went away. Right now it is back more than ever and has been so for about two weeks. I feed very lightly, never more than my fish can consume in front of me in 2 or 3 minutes. The only difference I can think of is that in the last month I have recieved 6 new SPS frags, all of which are doing fine in my tank. I will try skimming the surface with a net. Glad to know that it's not one of my pumps or powerheads polluting the water, whew. Thanks guys. It would still be nice to try to get to the source of the problem. Any other ideas?

 

[NoriMuncher]

Not sure what it is, but I've got it too, and so do others (I've seen it discussed before). I think it's the kind of stuff that should end up in your protein skimmer, but often sticks to the surface. It's not a huge problem, but, since it forms a static layer, inhibits gas exchange at the surface. Best solution is to point a powerhead up to agitate the surface, keeping at least some of it from getting covered. I also "mop" it up with a paper towel when I do a water change.