White film on tank surface

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

fort384

Dividing by 0
Site Team
Joined
Nov 23, 2008
Messages
13,931
Location
Illinois
What do you all make of this? I am guessing it is bacterial in nature... it is the consistency of snot floating on the top of the tank. The picture looks worse than it is. It is a very thin film. I can scoop it out with a brine shrimp net, but it grows back within a day or so.

The tank is still cycling - no bioload except for a few snails who hitch-hiked in with the plants. Plants appear healthy.

Here is some info that may help figure out the problem:
5gal tank
27W CF 6700K on for 10.5 hrs/day
ADA Aquasoil substrate
AZOO 60 mignon filter (maybe under-powered?)
Ammonia - 1.5 ppm
NitrIte - 0.25 ppm
NitrAte - 5-10 ppm (had been dosing until recently when I learned it wasn't necessary will ammonia was present)
PO4 - 1 ppm
Also dosing K
pH - 6.6
GH - ~16*
KH - ~7*
temp - 74F
CO2 - 30-40 ppm

If it is bacterial, I am thinking I could dose erythromyacin(sp?) without affecting livestock, although it could potentially set the cycle back.

Any ideas?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0230[1].jpg
    IMG_0230[1].jpg
    40.5 KB · Views: 95
yeah it is uncovered... my 29 never gets it and it has a glass top. Connection perhaps?
 
hmmm, I don't think that is what it is. I think it is something growing/alive.
I really don't want it covered. It is an ADA cube garden, no good way to even put a cover on it.
 
yeah, I really don't think it is algae either... it is colorless. It may be a form of cyanobacteria. But, not sure...
 
I get it on only one of my uncovered tanks.and I have 6 of them. The one I get it on doesn't seem to want to grow any floating plants very well, the stem and rooted plants are doing better than in the other tanks. I use the same light as I do on 3 of my other open tanks. I skim it off and the next day it is back, the fish is fine. I figure it is a bacteria bloom of some sort and don't worry about it. I tried using excel to get rid of it but it didn't help. Just a quirk of that one tank.
 
Joy, interesting. Thanks for the info. Has anyone else got this in their tank? I would really like to id it and eliminate it if at all possible.
 
I've had this happen on both FW and SW systems, usually on new set ups. I take a paper towel and drag it across the surface to trap as much as I can into one end of the tank. Then I roll the towel up trapping as much of the film as I can. It may take two or more times but it seems to take care of the problem.
 
Back
Top Bottom