Oily surface film will not go away !

[Nanolifeuk]

trying to solve this problem and it will not go away.

Nero 3 wave maker added
RFG Added.
(Both pointing to surface)
Sump modification. Overflow modification.

NOTHING WILL SKIM THIS SURFACE!
overflow is working as it should.

 

[seaofbytes]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but this is not an emergency. Get a surface skimmer, or try soaking it up with paper towels...works for me.

 

[homer1475]

Certainly not an emergency!

Point a powerhead toward the surface, and towards the overflow. You need more surface agitation pointed toward the overflow so the surface "scum" is pushed down the overflow.

 

[Nanolifeuk]

Sorry to be a party pooper, but this is not an emergency. Get a surface skimmer, or try soaking it up with paper towels...works for me.

At what point does it become an emergency? I have been battling this for weeks. (Already made about three forums) there is a visual degrade in water quality so my corals not thriving could be directly related to this ?

my fish sleep on top of the return nozzles sideways at the surface and if this oil is running across their gills all night this could directly relate to the poorly fish I’ve had a couple weeks ago and any future infections with them ?

There is a point where a slight problem can escalate into an emergency and I (as the tank owner) have made that call.

 

[Nanolifeuk]

Certainly not an emergency!

Point a powerhead toward the surface, and towards the overflow. You need more surface agitation pointed toward the overflow so the surface "scum" is pushed down the overflow.

I have a Nero 3 wave maker directly pointing at the surface towards the overflow 900gph at max. This is too strong for most my corals and even my clowns are being bullied around by it.

I would of thought this was enough surface agitation ( i see people with considerably less and no surface issues). I also have a surface skimmer.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

https://a.co/eJDkDM0

So I have this laying around and I will either use a filter pad or Aqueon has a tiny filter with some carbon in it. works great! I do not use the aerator bit though.

 

[Koh23]

Your owerflow may be working in transfering water down to sump, but, in this matter - it does poor job in surface skimming.

Maybe it is to small, the wider the of box, the better, maybe flow is to low for of box to "battle" flow from wavemakers....

 

[Lasse]

maybe flow is to low for of box to "battle" flow from wavemakers....

Test this. Your film should disappear in a hour or two if you shout down the wavemakers for this time- if your overflow is working correct at the surface

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Biglew11]

What's the water level in the overflow box? It should be about an inch lower so the water in the tank has to fall down into the overflow. This breaks any surface tension of the oil and pulls it into the overflow box.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I have a Nero 3 wave maker directly pointing at the surface towards the overflow 900gph at max. This is too strong for most my corals and even my clowns are being bullied around by it.

I would of thought this was enough surface agitation ( i see people with considerably less and no surface issues). I also have a surface skimmer.

maybe you can post a short video. All it takes is a powerhead pointed at the surface and the problem is solved. If it doesnt solve the problem then we dont know why, so a video will help us understand.

 

[LeftyReefer]

What is the source of the film? is it from what you are feeding?
how old is the tank?

This was only an issue on my tank when it was new, but went away as it got older.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

At what point does it become an emergency? I have been battling this for weeks. (Already made about three forums) there is a visual degrade in water quality so my corals not thriving could be directly related to this ?

my fish sleep on top of the return nozzles sideways at the surface and if this oil is running across their gills all night this could directly relate to the poorly fish I’ve had a couple weeks ago and any future infections with them ?

There is a point where a slight problem can escalate into an emergency and I (as the tank owner) have made that call.

None of these issues are related to the protein film itself, it's a completely natural part of aquariums as a whole. It sounds like you're causing more problems just trying to fix what is essentially an aesthetic problem. That being said, excessively heavy protein films can be indicative of some sort of contamination, but I strongly doubt that's what is happening here.

I find what happens in many cases is the surface agitation coming from wavemakers and other outputs cans "divide" the surface of the water, in essence creating a wall that nothing floating can get past to the overflow depending on the direction of the flow. When the flow hits the wall of an aquarium, it splits like a "Y" and curls back around towards the source on either side, meaning floating elements may just be floating in a circle on one side of the surface agitation "wall" being made instead of moving towards the overflow.

However, looking at your pictures, if the tank is an all-in-one (which I'm guessing it might be based on your name haha), overfilling the tank can easily lead to poor surface skimming as the water going into the weir might not be falling far enough to do so properly. Have you tried simply taking out a decent portion of water and watching what happens?

 

[Nanolifeuk]

dang lots replies. Thanks for the help everyone this site is awesome. I’m gonna attach some photos after this.

What's the water level in the overflow box? It should be about an inch lower

Deffo not an inch lower, it’s about a few cm 1 I can see it separating the water but the films also in sump chambers so probably isn’t working (or these would be clear, right?)

maybe you can post a short video. All it takes is a powerhead pointed at the surface and the problem is solved.

Roger- I’ll attach one below.

What is the source of the film? is it from what you are feeding?
how old is the tank?

I feed about 1/4cube mysis a day. Pellets on occasion. People scaremonger about them little cubes containing alsorts so I’ve started rinsing them to see if it makes a difference. So far not tho. The tanks about 14 month man so strange to start the past few weeks.

However, looking at your pictures, if the tank is an all-in-one (which I'm guessing it might be based on your name haha), overfilling the tank can easily lead to poor surface skimming as the water going into the weir might not be falling far enough to do so properly. Have you tried simply taking out a decent portion of water and watching what happens?

I lowered my water level to the minimum line on the fluval. It’s actually about a cm or two higher, which is Roughly the same difference of the overflow water level drop. Intank sell a universal surface skimmer. If I install this and raise the water level a bit again, do you think this will increase the drop though the weir? (Or just raise sump level equally)

 

[Nanolifeuk]

I can’t add the video ???? I’m on iPhone might be why

 

[sfin52]

I can’t add the video ???? I’m on iPhone might be why

Ya the sump chamber is about the same level as the tank water level. You need to lower the sump level.
The other issue is aio has a gap so it's pulling water from from the dt at a lower level.
A simple bubble test would show that.

 

[gbru316]

If you wick it away with a paper towel, does it return?

 

[burban94]

If this is an AIO it almost looks like you are actually overfilled judging by the overflow teeth. I have noticed in past tanks that either overfill or too much flow give the exact scenario you have. Something to try,
1. If you have an ato setup turn it off. Then use a container to remove tank water until the level drops enough to start surface skimming. If skimming begins this is your new water level. Adjust your ato to this level and your all set.

2. If it is a flow issue then your pump may be too much for the overflow to keep up with. Try a smaller pump or if it is controllable turn it down.

That being said, it does look like scenario number one to me. Hope I could help.

 

[Nanolifeuk]

That being said, it does look like scenario number one to me. Hope I could help.

I have altered my intank to rise the surface skimmer in the overflow. There is about an inch between DT and overflow water levels.
However it’s only trickling through now. Is this normal / enough you think ?

 

[Duncan62]

I have a Nero 3 wave maker directly pointing at the surface towards the overflow 900gph at max. This is too strong for most my corals and even my clowns are being bullied around by it.

I would of thought this was enough surface agitation ( i see people with considerably less and no surface issues). I also have a surface skimmer.

I'd like to see your surface skimmer.

 

[jfoahs04]

I think you need a little more water. It's tricky to get the initial balance. You need enough to get the mini waterfall effect through the InTank (so that there's real movement and flow from the display into chamber 1), but not so much that there's a negligible difference in water levels between the display and chamber 1. I dialed mine in during a water change - I filled it so that I could plug in the pump and circulate water and then I used a cup to slowly add 6-8 ounces of water at a time until I had it just right.

What you've done should get rid of the film in an hour or so since it's dropping off from display to chamber 1. However, you're not really forcing the water into the chamber the way you want to be doing it and with a little evaporation, you could find yourself draining the sump which would be bad.

Here's my return setup in the EVO (I think we have the same tank). You can see that the water is moving swiftly from the display, through the overflow, and down into the chamber 1 basked creating a little waterfall. It's not a massive drop, only 3/4 inch or so, but it's enough to keep the surface clear.



A skimmer would also take care of the issue. But in these tiny nanos, I don't think they're necessary (assuming you're doing water changes) and they present their own challenges.