What does this mean

[Cypilk]

I think my tank is contaminated. I see small speckles and smears on the glass walls of my tank, and also, when I stick my hand in the tank, I notice that I break an oily film of some sort. The marks can be easy rubbed off by my fingers and the film keeps coming back when I change my water.

I am thinking that when i'm doing my water changes, and adding prime to de-chlorinate, it is mixing with the stress zyme bacteria. Any other clues?

 

[Guest]

tell us more about your tank. ie; how old is it, filtration, whats in it, so on and so forth.

 

[Cypilk]

More about my tank.. It's about 2-3 weeks old, a 25 gallon tank with 7 zebra danio, 3 neon tetra, and 6 tiger barbs, it has a HOB power filter, and that's about it. As of now, there are no nitrites, or nitrates, just ammonia, which I have been monitoring everyday.

 

[SCFatz]

Sounds like algae on the glass.

For the skim at the top lower the water level so the water from the hob "splashes" in a bit...that will agitate the surface and keep it in the water so it can be filtered out.

How high is the ammonia?

 

[Mosaic]

And how big is the tank? Sounds like you have a lot of fish in there.

Edit- Nevermind, I see it. 25g

 

[jcarlilesiu]

sounds to be like a protein build up and the effects of protein on the glass. Up your water changes (which may have a slow down effect on your cycle) or skim the top of the water with a clean unscented paper towel. Protein build ups are a pretty common occurance.

 

[Cypilk]

I do a water change almost everyday, keeping my ammonia level under .25 ppm. I guess i'll try skimming the top with something and wiping the sides of my tank with my hand, or something. But I still want to know what caused it. Was it because I mixed my de-chlorine solution with my water conditioner? .. . Prime and Stress Zyme.?

Can it really be algae? I thought Algae buildup was mostly green. This stuff is white.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

could really be mulitiple things. Since it wipes off easily probably not a calcium build-up. do you have live plants in the tank? If so could be a protein build-up. Just skim it off with a paper towel.

 

[Cypilk]

Nope, no live plants. I'm going to do a water change right now and try to get as much as it off, but i'm guessing that it will keep on coming

 

[rich311k]

You are probably right. When the tank is stabilized and the cycle is over it should stop coming back and you will just have the normal nuisance algae to deal with.

 

[Reefmonkey]

sounds to be like a protein build up and the effects of protein on the glass. Up your water changes (which may have a slow down effect on your cycle) or skim the top of the water with a clean unscented paper towel. Protein build ups are a pretty common occurance.

Wow, I thought I was the only one who used paper towels for that.