Oil surface cause may be damaging my tank?

[Andy Sager]

https://imgur.com/a/catiB98

does this work?

Yes, it works.
From what I can see, it looks like the filter with the white media is in front of the intake to the HOB filter and may be interfering with the intake so less is being filtered out of the water. I have 2 suggestions:
1) place the filter with the white media on the opposite end of the tank.
2) Place that filter return at the surface so that the flow is either going across the surface or flowing downward towards the center of the tank vs the water flowing upwards.
By doing these 2 things, your HOB filter will have more water going through it and the filter material in the HOB should help remove more particles out of the water as well as break up more of the surface to break up the film for better removal.

 

[jordzcov]

Yes, it works.
From what I can see, it looks like the filter with the white media is in front of the intake to the HOB filter and may be interfering with the intake so less is being filtered out of the water. I have 2 suggestions:
1) place the filter with the white media on the opposite end of the tank.
2) Place that filter return at the surface so that the flow is either going across the surface or flowing downward towards the center of the tank vs the water flowing upwards.
By doing these 2 things, your HOB filter will have more water going through it and the filter material in the HOB should help remove more particles out of the water as well as break up more of the surface to break up the film for better removal.

Hi,
There may be a bit of confusion here (or ive misunderstood). so the tank has one filter with sponge media and ceramic rings (the white media you can see) (Superfish Aqua-Flow 300 Aquarium Filter).
The other item is then a heater, so shouldnt really be messign with the intake as this is the psoition they have both been in roughly for 2 years or so.

Can deffinitely look at adjustign the water outflow though to skim straight across the surface at 90 degrees rather than the 45 i have it at currently

 

[Andy Sager]

Hi,
There may be a bit of confusion here (or ive misunderstood). so the tank has one filter with sponge media and ceramic rings (the white media you can see) (Superfish Aqua-Flow 300 Aquarium Filter).
The other item is then a heater, so shouldnt really be messign with the intake as this is the psoition they have both been in roughly for 2 years or so.

Can deffinitely look at adjustign the water outflow though to skim straight across the surface at 90 degrees rather than the 45 i have it at currently

Okay, I'm a little confused then. What is the black piece with all the slits in it that is alongside the filter? I thought is was an intake to a filter. ( You guys have all kinds of weird stuff over there. LOL ) And after further review, I see now that the upward flow you showed in the video was not coming from the side but from the filter's spraybar. That said, I would still adjust the spraybar to be closer to the surface and make sure you have good filter media inside the filter to catch fine particles.

 

[jordzcov]

the long thin black 'pipe' with the slits is the heater

 

[Andy Sager]

the long thin black 'pipe' with the slits is the heater

Okay. Like I said, you guys have some weird equipment over there. LOL I've not seen anything like that here in the states. What brand heater is that?

 

[Aiken Drum]

It looks like one of these, sold by Maidenhead Aquatics.



Its a heater the same as you have in the US but it slides down into a plastic sleeve. I use JBL heaters that are similar.

 

[Andy Sager]

It looks like one of these, sold by Maidenhead Aquatics.

View attachment 389875

Its a heater the same as you have in the US but it slides down into a plastic sleeve. I use JBL heaters that are similar.

View attachment 389876

I never saw anything like this here. Certainly nothing with sleeves like this.

 

[Suzie999]

Firstly, apologies as I know I have asked questions about an oily surface before.

Nothing I do gets rid of it. I have tried the kitchen towel/skimming techniques, as well as dipping a cup just below the surface to collect it, but within a few days/weeks it returns. So just now live with it.

However, I’m seeing a constant drop in my fish numbers (roughly 5 deaths since mid Feb).
Water parameters are all fine for a 60L tank housing now 2 Tetra and 5 harlequins Rasbora
Ammonia -0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0/5
PH - 8
Kh - 8

The fish seem to pick up some form of illness associated with weakened immune systems, and then die within a few days, regardless of what treatment is used. Both myself and the aquarium store staff have no idea what’s causing it. The only thing I can think of thats wrong with the tank is this oily surface issue. While it may not be directly harming the fish, I’m concerned whatever causes this issue, is that what is impacting the fish 'behind the scenes'


Any advice?

Unfortunately I have no answer for your oily surface, but your PH is very high. The rasbora's prefer a ph 0f 6.0-7.0 and the tetra's prefer slightly acidic water with ph 4 - 7.5. I have both in my community tank which sits at 7.0

 

[Andy Sager]

Unfortunately I have no answer for your oily surface, but your PH is very high. The rasbora's prefer a ph 0f 6.0-7.0 and the tetra's prefer slightly acidic water with ph 4 - 7.5. I have both in my community tank which sits at 7.0

Just an FYI: The Ph will matter more for wild caught specimens over tank or farm bred species. There are many Tetras now bred on farms in Florida where the water Ph is in the low to mid 8s whereas if they were wild stock, the fish would probably not be doing well. Harliquin Rasboras and Neon Tetras have been tank bred for decades so the odds are the OP's fish are not wild caught. Same applies for hardness.

 

[jordzcov]

Unfortunately I have no answer for your oily surface, but your PH is very high. The rasbora's prefer a ph 0f 6.0-7.0 and the tetra's prefer slightly acidic water with ph 4 - 7.5. I have both in my community tank which sits at 7.0

Yea, i have bought bog wood as its meant to reduce PH.
Have used forms of PH reducer's before which did nothing

 

[jordzcov]

It looks like one of these, sold by Maidenhead Aquatics.

View attachment 389875

Its a heater the same as you have in the US but it slides down into a plastic sleeve. I use JBL heaters that are similar.

View attachment 389876

Yea, i think mine is the model below:

Aqua Eco Heater

The Aqua-Eco range of heater are an ideal economical choice of heater for use in aquariums up to 200 liters. These submersible heaters have a sensitive and reliable thermostat ensuring a constant water temperature.

www.fishkeeper.co.uk

 

[jordzcov]

As an update , i moved the filter output so its now inline with the water level and spraying horizontal. It doesnt seem to be creating as much surface disruption as when i had it pointing upwards at the surface, but im assing this is fine?

 

[Andy Sager]

As an update , i moved the filter output so its now inline with the water level and spraying horizontal. It doesnt seem to be creating as much surface disruption as when i had it pointing upwards at the surface, but im assing this is fine?

I'd raise it just slightly so that the return is pointing at a downward angle causing more "disturbance". The splashing is where there is the exchange of gases which oxygenates the water. :thumb"

 

[jordzcov]

I'd raise it just slightly so that the return is pointing at a downward angle causing more "disturbance". The splashing is where there is the exchange of gases which oxygenates the water. :thumb"

Do you think the nozzle shoudl be out of the water, creating a 'waterfall' effect?

 

[Andy Sager]

Do you think the nozzle shoudl be out of the water, creating a 'waterfall' effect?

Yes. But it doesn't need to be far outside the water. Just enough to make a splash. Every bubble that bursts adds oxygen to the water.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Yea, i have bought bog wood as its meant to reduce PH.
Have used forms of PH reducer's before which did nothing

Generally high pH in aquariums goes with high carbonate hardness (KH). KH buffers water and absorbs acid, preventing pH dropping.

Driftwood, peat moss, indian almond leafs etc, leach tannins into the water, the tannins contain tannic acid, a mild acid (pH around 6). pH reducing products are very dilute acids, API pH down is sulphuric acid. When added to water, acid has to overcome the buffering capacity from the KH before you will see any significant drop in pH. If your KH is high you would have to add lots of this chemical product or lots of tannin releasing natural features to first overcome the KH and then start to lower the pH. Or use a much less dilute acid, and i dont think anyone would advocate adding concentrated acids into aquariums.

The upshot is that trying to lower pH by adding these products if your water is high pH/ high KH is going to be fruitless. If your water is more neutral, they will work better because they arent having to overcome as much KH. pH of 7.0 down to low 6s is going to be a lot easier than 8 down to 7.9. The only way really to reduce pH from high pH/ KH is to reduce the KH, and you do this by mixing your tapwater with RO water that will have zero (or at least very little) KH. A 50/50 mix of tap water and RO water should half the KH, which will bring down the pH down on its own, and make it much easier for things like driftwood to bring it down further.

Its much easier to increase pH, because that involves adding minerals to increase KH, than it is to reduce pH because that involves removing minerals.