light film of dust or powder on top of water in tank ?

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kwtowmaster

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Feb 5, 2003
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149
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connecticut usa
tried to soak it up w/ paper towels didn't work. could be dust from crushed coral on bottom of tank. skimmer doesn't touch it.any hints would help thanx
 
Is this a new set up? It could be boyuant dust from new crushed coral, or if it looks like an oily film it is most likely DOC (dissolved organic compound. If it's dust, you should be able to skim it off by putting a cup barely below the surface so it pulls the surface water, dump it and do it again. If it's DOC, the same can be done, but it is a stop gap measure, cause it's gonna come back. For doc, you can redirect it with good water flow, but it will still be there. The only permanant solution for the DOC film is a surface skimming overflow box to a sump. This will pull it from the surface and mix it with the water so it can be pulled out by the skimmer.
 
i have a skimmer box to the sump.its not pulling it in . I feed mostly flake food .i fed my anenome a silver side the other day .but it eat it ill try the cup trick thank you very much.
 
If you are using an external overflow box, raise the box that is inside the tank, so the water has to fall in the box.
 
do you mean lower the box inside the tank?the vents on the box .the water is up to the middle. the center of the vents make any sence? the guy at the pet store says i should buy power heads 2 of them. for the film
 
i had that in my tank when i first got started and it was because i didn't have enough circulation. your circulation should be about 10x your tank volume per hour. like reefrunner said this will mix up the DOC from the top of the water giving your skimmer a chance to remove it from the water.
 
Do you have a spray bar for the return? is it breaking the surface enough or is it underwater(the spray bar)?
 
A spray bar is a long tube that is capped at one end. Along the lenght of the tube are holes. This tube attaches to a Powerhead or a pump of some sort.

This film is usually caused by low surface movement. Having an surface overflow usually helps but maybe your total water flow in the tank is to low.

What kind of pump are you using on your sump and what is your head height. Also whats the total size of your tank?
 
i DONT KNOW WHAT SIZE PUMP IS IN SUMP.TANK IS 150 GAL. REEF.BOUGHT POWER HEAD PRO 4 SAYS PUMPS240-400 GALLONS PER HOUR.FOR $35.THE SIDE THE PH IS ON FACED JET OF WATER UP TOWARD SURFACE NO FILM ON THAT SIDE .THE OTHER SIDE IS A DIFFERENT STORY.NEAR EXTERNAL SKIMMER BOX .TO TRICKLE FILTER SEEMS TO BE SKIMMING BUT NOT ENOUGH TO SUCK FILM AWAY.SO HALF THE TANK HAS FILM THE OTHER DOESN'T .DIDNT ADJUST BOX INSIDE TANK.DONT KNOW HOW .DOESNT THAT JUST CHANGE WATER LEVEL?TANK HAS ALOT OF WATER CURRANT NOW.W/ NEW. PH
 
From what you describe I have to think your main pump in the sump is not outputting at much current. How are your returns on the sump positioned? How far below the surface are they?


The skimmer box should be removing the film as its pulling water from the surface of the tank.
 
raised box inside my tank like reefrunner69 said worked like a charm.Im glad there are some big guns here who know what their talkin about :D
 
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