Oil slick

[pm64971]

My girlfriend's tank is developing an oil slick on the top of the water. How can we clean that up? How can we prevent it?

 

[Hara]

you need more surface agitation of the water and a protein skimmer.

 

[fishfreek]

The oil slick as you put it is disolved organics that are collecting at the waters surface. This is bad for mulitple reasons but one of them being that the tank has a lower oxygen exchange with the film over the water. As Lisa pointed out if you increase the surface movment the oilslick will be broken up and benifit the surface airation. Adding a surface skimmer that acutally skims off the top surface of the tank water would be a great help as it is constantly removing the upper surface water now allowing the film to develop.

Ways to reduce the film buildup is to do more water changes, feed less, lower the bioload in the tank, and to manually remove it by skimming off the upper surface of the water with a fine mesh net or you can lower a large cup into the water so only the upper lip of the cup is above the water surface. THen lower it slightly till only the top layer of water flows in. This will ask as a surface skimmer allowing you to remove the fim build up.

 

[two11devan]

I have a cpr bak pack skimmer. Its a HOB style, the PH that is skimming the water sits about 2 inches or so below tha surface. Has any one else modified the black tube that you connect the PH to so that it is closer to the surface? Im sure i can unscrew it and chop off an inch or so to make it closer to the surface of the water. Its skimming great where it is, but I get that film also. Should I modify it?

 

[pm64971]

sounds like a good idea. keep us posted