surface film?

[sfarkhan]

Your intake/exhaust being routed through the bottom of the tank is a great idea.

You can't see any of it with the driftwood in the middle of the tank.

I was considering getting additional Y - fittings and adding another set of lily pipes plumbed to the filter.

1. The current intake, while nice is probably reducing the flow considerably. Adding a second will allow an increase in flow.

2. I can lift one of the outputs so its at the waterline.

3. I have an extra set, I'd just need the 5/8" tubing and the fittings which are under $5 each.

The film comes and goes - so weird.

[sns26]

My film is a feature of my tank, and I'm beginning to think it is aquasoil related. After all, if Amano sells a gizmo to get rid of it then (1) he has to be dealing with it, (2) it has to be associated with one of his products, and (3) he hasn't dreamt up some snake oil that gets rid of it. And the only amano product I have in my tanks is aquasoil...

Anyway, I'd wait a few months and see if the film persists. If it does, then take hardware measures. Up til then, you can either manually skim it off every couple of days, spritz it with some H202 in a spray bottle, or paper-towel it up (though that never worked well for me.)

[sfarkhan]

Here's an update: This what the film has turned into for me. It's gotten less but that could be because of water changes on Sunday - Monday. The lily pipe at the surface has reduced it but this is what's left...

Oh and it's only at night?!?!? During the day, it doesn't come.

I used some paper towels and it's gone.

Is this what marine aquarium owners have to deal with?

hahah

[chris_todd]

What's your feeding regimen (how much and how often), and have you looked at the fat content of your fish food? I've often wondered whether this surface film (which has come and gone in my tanks as well) could be excess lipids from the breakdown of excess food (or degrading dead fish).

HTH,
Chris

[sfarkhan]

LOL Jenny Craig diet for the fish.

Thought of that so I reduced feedings to once a month... joking

I use:
Tetra Min Tropical Flakes, 10% fat
HBH super soft krill pellets, 12% fat
Hikari Algae wafers, 4% fat (Go figure, the angelfish love these and finish them off before anything else in the tank can get close)
Occasional Petco frozen blood worms (1-2 week), I have no idea how much fat

I usually feed once in the morning a couple of pinches so they finish in 1 minute. If there is any left over, I use a net. I also drop two to three krill pellets (1mm) or break an algae wafer and drop a 2-3 small pieces into the tank.
2nd feeding comes later in the day around ~16:00 but I skip 3 times a week. I just do the flakes not the rest of the stuff.

On days that I feed the worms, the angels turn into piraña and there's nothing left in 15 seconds.

I have tried to reduce this a bit and not feed at night - That may be why the film has reduced to bubbles.

[chris_todd]

Hmmm, is this the same tank you recently had fish death in? How often do you feed the 10-12% fat food?

Just curious, and purely speculating, but maybe the film is from the food and/or degrading fish carcasses?

[sfarkhan]

The Tetra Min flakes are a staple - I feed them daily.
The Krill pellets 2-3 times a week.

I've been reducing the feedings in size and frequency in the last 7 days.

The surface film existed before any fish died. I netted out the dead fish immediately - They were alive at 01:30 and dead at 10:00 where I netted them out.

As of today, I'm not missing any fish so there shouldn't be any rotting in the water. The nitrates are 10-15 consistently. I also net out melted crypt leaves and other dead flora when necessary on a daily basis - every morning.

[chris_todd]

Like I said, I was just speculating based on my limited and decade-old knowledge of organic chemistry.

[sfarkhan]

Like I said, I was just speculating based on my limited and decade-old knowledge of organic chemistry.

You may be right, the film has gotten less and less in the last few days - I've also been feeding less.

Does the food go bad? How long do you keep your food?

[sfarkhan]

Wait, Dead amano shrimp...

I haven't seen any from the original set of 8 I got. 3 went carpet surfing when the nitrite spiked.

I don't normally see them so maybe a few of those died in the tank and added to the biomass?

How do you guys deal with dead shrimp? I am speculating any died but it would make sense.