Oil-like buildup on top of tank (with video)

M

markJN

New Fish
#1
Oct 30, 2010
7
0
0
#1
video of problem - http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=jerseydevil2oo3#p/u/0/vkXeGR_V2LM

pics of tank - http://www.flickr.com/photos/mjnouri/sets/72157625149112625/

Hi all. I'm having a problem with my 13g freshwater tank. Check it out in the video. I'm having this oil-like buildup on the top of my water. I'm not sure what it is and am hoping someone here has seen something like this before and knows what to do because I'm out of ideas! I had another tank (in the same room) and it too had the problem. I even tried RO/DI water yet all it did was prevent the buildup for another 2 days. I emptied out 95% of the water before filling it with RO/DI water too while the fish were in the other tank. I replaced the substrate, filter, water, heater and thermometer yet it still grows back with everything in the tank new (or old) in only 2 days. Mind you the tank doesn't need fish in it for the stuff to appear. I also saw it well before I put the rocks in there.

Water parameters for the tank are stable at ph=7, ammonia=0, temp=78f. (Also had the water at 72f for a few months witht he same problem) The tank currently houses 3 glofish, and 2 guppies. I can remove the oil by skimming the surface with a cup for water changes. It is also not harmful at all to the fish since they have lived with it for months.

I'm starting to think it has to be something in the room, which is in a basement. I'll setup my other tank upstairs and see how that goes as another test.

Any ideas what this stuff is or how to get rid of it?
 

Last edited:
Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#2
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#2
its just the regular protein film... some fish like mollies platies and golfish will consume it, but i dont recommend those in such a small tank. (unless you devoted the tank to platies, but then i cant guarantee that they will rid you of it)

basically the way to avoid it is to just do proper skimming of the water surface, like with a cup or something during water changes.

are you running any filter on here?
That tank looks so perfect for a SW setup! I'd buy a powerhead, some sand and porous rock and set it up as a small FOWLR tank :) I think that LED light might even be good enough for some soft corals too.

also it appears you like the Devils ...
 

M

markJN

New Fish
#3
Oct 30, 2010
7
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#3
Thank for the reply Newman! My buddy also thinks it's some sort of protein. And when he mentioned that I realized it looks similar to the protein that ends up on my contact lenses after a long day.

Also, from your reply, I would assume that most freshwater tanks that don't have the fish you mentioned will have this protein buildup. Would that be the case?

I'm skimming water from the top as I do water changes but it takes only 24 hours for it to grow back, and by 48 hours it appears even heavier. Is there any other way that you know of to safely prevent it from growing? Or is that just impossible?

I've come to accept it in the last week haha. That's why I kinda gave up trying things and wanted to ask some pros. I can live with it as long as it doesn't harm anything. It's just that it sticks to the sides of the tank which makes it look a little nasty, and the top bubbles a little easier but nothing major.

A FOWLR is a really good suggestion! I think I'll do that but not with this tank. For that I'll want a bigger tank later on. I'm still learning my way around for now.
 

R

riseabovethesun

Large Fish
#8
Jun 14, 2010
649
0
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California
aquatic-underworld.blogspot.com
#8
Oh yes, the film problem! I had the same question awhile back, it's such a hideous film on the water's surface :(

Besides skimming it, that's really all there is..one thing I do is keep my power head and/or spray bar aimed at/near the surface, so pretty much the entire surface is moving so it can't build up...or at least be seen if it is building up. But your tank is a bit smaller, so not really sure how well that'd work..
 

M

markJN

New Fish
#9
Oct 30, 2010
7
0
0
#9
Thanks for all the responses guys! I knew this forum was full of educated fish tank hobbyists and I was right.

Newman, to answer your question, yes I do have a filter there. It's the black hang-on power filter. The tetra whisper series, which i must say has been awesome. And I do plan on building something with live rock! One day, but not just yet. For now this satisfies me and i'm enjoying it. Lots of time to do that later but i do look forward to it.

freash_water_monster - i know. that thing is def. junk, esp at 8 bucks. its also too big for my 13g! im goig to make my own which shouldnt be too hard. ill make it al black, way smaller and very sleek. that thing is just hard to look at.

riseabovethesun knows what im talking about! in the video you cant really see how bad it really is. it gets way way worse than that and the stuff sticks to the sides and as the water evaporates it leaves a nasty blue streak all over it. in the video you can see some white stuff building on the filter hose, thats the protein too. its just a nasty disgusting problem!

ill head to home depot and see what i can make. once again, thanks everyone for your help! and i'll surely see you around...
 

R

riseabovethesun

Large Fish
#10
Jun 14, 2010
649
0
0
California
aquatic-underworld.blogspot.com
#10
Oh I can imagine how bad it gets, if I wasn't basically preventing/hiding mine with all the circulation up top it'd be like an oil spill surrounded by snow on the sides, ha. And one other thing, my Nerite snail likes to eat that stuff off the sides, maybe getting a nice snail?

Good luck with the building! I built my intake/outake/spraybar set up for 16 bucks (plus tax, woo!) when replacing the old junk.
 

M

markJN

New Fish
#11
Oct 30, 2010
7
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0
#11
How does that intake/outake/spraybar work?? Interested!

My setup wont be as pretty, even if i get it done in the cleanest way possible, but if it leaves no oil spill then it's well worth it for me. oooooooh man the frustration ive gone through to try to solve it. i bought a damn rodi for a 13g tank! but the surface skimmer is sure to solve it. i just would like for it to take water from the bottom too without looking ugly like the one in the link.
 

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riseabovethesun

Large Fish
#12
Jun 14, 2010
649
0
0
California
aquatic-underworld.blogspot.com
#12
Well I have a Rena Filstar XP1 and so all the pieces that connect from the canister that go into the tank, I wanted to redo because they were getting pretty old and gross. So the filter itself isn't a DIY. But here are some photos of the setup:

The canister filter, you can see the hose going up:


This is the out-take part, the red knob there makes it so I can change the pressure of the water coming from the spray bar.


This is the spraybar:


And this is the intake:


I totally forgot to take a photo of the intake in the tank, but it's just another piece of PVC pipe, with the little filter piece on the end of it, like any regular filter. Also, for a bit more money you could buy some black acrylic piping, so you don't have the gross white going on, but I don't have the time or money right now to change it on mine :( But all that was like $16 and it works really well.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#14
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#14
well I got rid of this film by including molies in my 40 gal. they got that film taken care of in under a day. I have this film in my SW tanks too, and the only way to get rid of it there is to do two things.
1. skim it off during water changes. this is what i do.
2. modify your HOB filter intake to act as a surface skimmer.

This is one done with the AC model:
http://www.medpants.com/reef/jan23/skimmerintake.jpg
 

M

markJN

New Fish
#15
Oct 30, 2010
7
0
0
#15
Nice setup Sun! I see what you mean now. Eventually you can get those black pipes and clean everything up. I didn't know what you meant by canister filter, but now I know. I've seen then, really cool concept.

I could skim it off during water changes but this is just a flat out pain. It also builds up so quickly that I would still live with the problem. I wonder if I get 1 molly for a 13gal tank. Just thinking outloud. I saw them at the fish store today and remembered what you said about them. I couldn't find what I needed at home depot but will make something this week. I'd rather just take water off the top with the filter in some way. I'm just upset it's going to ruin the tank a bit. It's small so it'll easily show, unlike if I had a bigger tank to draw attention away from it.

All good stuff! This is what I mean when I didnt want to get into too much too early Newman. I'm learning things by being here! Although I do look forward to a bigger and more complex setup one day, for now I enjoy others.
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#17
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#17
A book I was reading also suggests laying a paper towel on the surface to blot the oil up and repeat until it is gone. It mentions it could come from cooking, or fish food. Other possibilities listed were a faulty air pump or something on your skin. I was also wondering how you heated your house.
 

M

markJN

New Fish
#18
Oct 30, 2010
7
0
0
#18
Thank Thyra. My tank is in a basement and isn't affected by any of those things. Heat, yes, but it wasn't on when the stuff builds. Everyone is saying its normal protein scum. It looks like I will be able to find my stuff at home depot and hope to build it tomorrow (hopefully). So tired of this nastiness. It's been 2 months of trying to find ways around it!
 

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