Help with Neglected Tank!!

[AndI3kAY]

So I went to my boyfriend's house today and his tank is a mess!! It's a 39 gallon with what looks like a bacterial bloom in the process of clearing up.
The ammonia is high, 6 ish so immediately i did a 50% water change. But the top of the water is almost like a clear oily-ish film? Does anyone have any ideas??
He said no fish have died and i'm very surprised, but is there any way to clear up the water? Its cloudy and the top of the water really concerns me..
Any help is appreciated, i've never seen anything like this.

 

[abrinn23]

I'd say just keep trying water changes. As for the film at the surface does he have much water flow along the surface?

 

[AndI3kAY]

Yes there is good water flow, its not thick at all but you can definitely tell that there is something off about it

 

[janice_016]

I had a film layer once as well and it was caused by the water conditioner I used. I returned it and got a new one and Everything was fine. Keep up the water changes though. Glad the fish are okay.

The ammonia alone is high enough the kill all the fish so definitely get that down.

Good luck

 

[janice_016]

How is the filter media? May need to be replaced/ cleaned. Only do one media at a time so you dont lose the beneficial bactetia. That helps with cloudy water. Don't do too much drastically though because that will shock the fish.

 

[jlk]

You can try turning everything off (filters/bubblers) & letting the water sit still so the oily stuff goes to the surface. Then lay paper towels briefly on surface to absorb it. Keep doing this til most of it is removed. You should try to figure out whats causing it (something in tank such as excess food, water conditioner, something sprayed in the room such as Febreeze or perfume, etc).

 

[AndI3kAY]

I really want to empty the tank and clean everything, but I know this will be really bad for the fish and everything. So I'm going to try another water change and try the paper towel thing.

 

[Ian086]

I really want to empty the tank and clean everything, but I know this will be really bad for the fish and everything. So I'm going to try another water change and try the paper towel thing.

Hi, has he got the tank set-up long??. With ammonia that high i'd say there's an issue with the tank not being cycled properly. When he cleans his filter, does he use old tank water??...Ian

 

[AndI3kAY]

The tank has been up for a few months at least, i can't remember exactly but i know it is cycled, and yes, the filter is cleaned with tank water

 

[Ian086]

I recently had a bacterial bloom but my water tests were fine..I just turned everything off except the filter and heater and stopped feeding for a few days. It cleared in a few days. I also had a oily like film(not at the same time) and i put it down to the frozen brine shrimp(bought at the lfs) i was using. It went soon after i stopped using the brine..What are the Nitrite and Nitrate levels like??. I would definitely keep up with the water changes and keep testing the water.

 

[phishfriend]

I also am curious to know the other lvl's. with ammonia that high your looking at a few more 50% water changes to bring it down. I would also think that something caused the tank to crash. So you may be looking at the need to recycle the tank but again need to know all the test lvl's to say for sure.