floating film

[shawmutt]

OK, next problem . Because I have Co2, I have to keep all water turblence at a minimum. A film is now on my water, it's so thick the food stays in the film and will not sink! Any ideas on what the film consists of? And how do I get rid of it?

 

[reefrunner69]

The film consists of Dissolved organis compounds. The best way to remove it is with a surface skimming overflow, but that really isn't an option here. You can sop it up periodically with newspaper or paper towels, I also know people that will skim the top layer of water with a cup, and dump out the water. You could increase the turbulence, but again, I guess that is not an option. Hopefully Corvuscorax (or another hobbyest that uses CO2) can give us some better options.

 

[targaboy78]

Hi shawmutt,

I had a similar problem.

I have a 35G swim-thru tank. (Imagine 2 x 27G tanks up on end, 7" apart, connected by 2 5" diameter tubes). I have a Fluval 304 canister filter with the output in one tank and the intake in the other. The output side had plent of flow, but the intake side always had a film.

I attached a surface skimmer to my intake side and it fixed the problem.

A surface skimmer connects to the intake of your power filter and is positioned on the surface of the water. As your filter draws in water it draws it from the surface. (You can adjust it so it draws from the bottom/top or a combination of both).
Basically, they remove organic film on the water's surface and help to improve oxygen exchange.
Here's what they look like...
http://www.geocities.com/myfishtank2001/skimmer.htm

I've had it for over 6 months and I love it. A+++

I hope this helps.

 

[Biggen]

Hey Sawmutt,

Check out this link http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/2637/comments.html . Scroll down the page until you see the surface skimming notes. He says Black Mollies are perfect for this. I don't know, but it is worth trying.

This is a great site btw. Don't let the "Geocities" kiss of death keep you from reading over it. There is a TON of usefull information here.