Oily Water?

[HeatherMarie487]

Hello,
I have a 26 gallon tank. It has no animals in it yet, but I plan on putting African Dwarf Frogs in it. But just today I noticed that the surface of the water looked oily. I don't plan on putting anything live in it until about two more weeks. The only things in the tank are the filter, heater, and some gravel. I put some tap water conditioner in it, and that's it. But when I noticed that the water looked oily, I added a little more. It doesn't look to have helped. What should I do? I have some Tetra SafeStart, but I figured I should wait until a couple days before I get the frogs to add it. I also have some API Stress Zyme, and was also waiting to add it. Would adding those two things help? I don't know. I've never had a problem like this before. Maybe should I try lowering the water level? The filter is almost making no waterfall because the water level is pretty high. Would that help at all?

 

[Mebbid]

Hello,
I have a 26 gallon tank. It has no animals in it yet, but I plan on putting African Dwarf Frogs in it. But just today I noticed that the surface of the water looked oily. I don't plan on putting anything live in it until about two more weeks. The only things in the tank are the filter, heater, and some gravel. I put some tap water conditioner in it, and that's it. But when I noticed that the water looked oily, I added a little more. It doesn't look to have helped. What should I do? I have some Tetra SafeStart, but I figured I should wait until a couple days before I get the frogs to add it. I also have some API Stress Zyme, and was also waiting to add it. Would adding those two things help? I don't know. I've never had a problem like this before. Maybe should I try lowering the water level? The filter is almost making no waterfall because the water level is pretty high. Would that help at all?

It would be best to look into cycling your aquarium before adding any frogs. The bacterial additives really aren't gonna cut it for you, but they can't hurt tbh.

Check this guide: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...guide-and-faq-to-fishless-cycling-148283.html

In 2 weeks your tank could be well on its way towards being cycled.

As for the oily sheen, drop the water level or add an air stone. You want to increase surface agitation to get rid of it.

 

[sinibotia]

Agreed with everything mebbid said. Another neat trick for getting rid of surface oil is to just drop dry paper towel onto the surface of the water. Do that a few times and it'll remove a good chunk of it.