salon_1928 Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Hi everybody: Lately I've noticed a film on the surface of my water. I'm assuming its protein build-up. What's the best way to remove it? I've heard of protein skimmers but I have no idea how they work. Does anybody have a low-tech solution? Should I even be worried about it? My tank is 30 gallons and I'm really pushing it population-wise. Right now I have 17 Mbuna (Labs, Aceii and Elongatus). From what I understand, a protein film restricts the amount of oxygen absorbed by the water in the tank. My water is otherwise fine with no amonia or nitrites (thanks Neil for your AC300 setup) and I do a minimum 20% wc per week. A lot of questions, I know...Thanks in advance for any advice. Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlkWolfe Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 i cant remember if its something to do with the higher density or just how the bubbles behave in saltwater...but protein skimmers will not work in a freshwater setup. Would be great if they did though If you raise the level of the water in the tank just above the outlet on the aquaclears youll get a "wave" effect from the flow. Are the fish breathing heavy? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finaddict Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 stu: i would add a power head to create surface aggitation... hagen 402... i think gold aquarium has them... wow thats alot of fish in a 30. ck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Are the fish breathing heavy? They look fine - everybody's bright and alert - no odd behaviour or anything. i.e. no fish are lethargic, not eating, labouring, etc. Normally, I wouldn't really worry about it. Today though, while feeding, I could see the film clearly and I noticed a lot of bubbles building up at sides of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Majestic_Aquariums Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 Would have to agree. More surface movement may be all that is needed. Surprised the Aqua 300 hasn't yet taken care of this. A power head may help as well-you can even put a couple small PVC elbows on to get the flow up to the surface. Good luck! Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 12, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 stu: i would add a power head to create surface aggitation... hagen 402... i think gold aquarium has them... wow thats alot of fish in a 30.  ck Yup, sounds familiar - I picked up my 4 elongatus this week from Gold's and Dennis recommended a power head for my set up. I just did a quick search on that power head on the internet - how does it work exactly? Do I set it up just below the surface? On my fish - I know I've got a lot! I originally planned on no more than 10 or so but a few people told me that if I did the work (frequent wc's etc.) I could go with more. Well, everything has worked perfectly so far thanks to a lot of good advice. My fish look great - My dom. male Lab and Aceii lood incredible. My wife calls my dom. male Lab the "Ladies Man." I had one Aceii that got picked on for a couple of days about 2 months ago but fully recovered. Other than that, everybody looking good and in great health. Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
finaddict Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 hi... i have my power head a few inches below the surface.. mine came with suctions so you can mount it on side or back.. you can also angle it up so the water coming out hits the top thus creating movement and breaking up the film....this works awesome in my tanks...ck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Froggie Posted March 12, 2005 Report Share Posted March 12, 2005 i cant remember if its something to do with the higher density or just how the bubbles behave in saltwater...but protein skimmers will not work in a freshwater setup. Short answer, the surface tensions of freshwater is too high. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smokey Posted March 16, 2005 Report Share Posted March 16, 2005 Stu; the best way to remove the surface oils [aka protiens] is to actually remove the surface water during a w/c. Not knowing what method you use to remove the water from the tank; a bucket, a hose and gravity, or actually pumping ther water out. Suggestions, When you are doing the w/c's: 1- Bucket method: allow the top inch of tank water to fill the bucket. This will allow the "protiens" to flow into the bucket. In essents you will be skimming the top layer of water along with the oil's. 2- Hose and gravity method: once you have the "flow" started you can remove the oils from the top of the water by allowing the hose to suck the top inch of water; removing the oils with the water. You with have to hold the hose to create a proper suction level. Practice. 3- Pumping method: since you have invested in a power head...GREAT. The power head will allow you to pump the water out. Just invert the power head so the pickup intake is just below the waters surface and "SUCK" the water/protiens out of the tank. Practice and holding the powerhead at just the right distance from the surface of the water will make short work of the nasty oils. HTH Smokey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainmaker69 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Get a piece of PVC pipe, 1", put a cap on one end and cut notches into the other. Place the pipe in the tank and put the intake of a small filter into it. Adjust the height so that the top 1/2 - 1" of water flows into the notches and turn on the filter. This will effectively "skim" the surface. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 17, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Sweet - thanks everybody. I think I have a idea that's a hybrid of smokey's and rainmaker69's suggestions. Off to Home Depot... Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rainmaker69 Posted March 17, 2005 Report Share Posted March 17, 2005 Great, let us know what you come up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salon_1928 Posted March 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2005 Great, let us know what you come up with. Well - I never did make it to home depot but this is what I tried to see if it would work in principle: I took a piece of clear flexible hose that I had laying around the house and notched one end in two places about 1/2 inches deep into the end and about 1/8 of an inch wide. Then I just held the tube in the tank under water (i.e. upside down like a "U") so that the water's surface was half-way up the notches and siphoned. It worked allright - the film is almost completely gone. I had the flow stop a couple of times because of my attention jumping around - i.e. keeping the end of the tube positioned at the level I wanted, moving it around to areas of buildup and making sure I was siphoning into a bucket and not my family room floor. All in all, it will work using the notched tube and gravity. I'm going to put something together that will work a bit better. Alternatively, I was thinging of going to a local pet store, buying a small vacuum and just modifying (i.e. notching the tube) to get it to do what I want. Cheers, Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Have you considered a canister filter with a surface skimmer attachment? It would be constantly removing the surface layer of water as opposed to only during water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arixonbarnes Posted March 20, 2005 Report Share Posted March 20, 2005 Would a wet dry vac strip it off the top of your tank? They go on sale for about $50 every so often and are great for cleaning up spills. I know one of our A.C.E. club members uses his to clean off the duck weed from his tanks occasionally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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