JohnnyReeftank Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 I'm cycling my 35g with live rock,argonite and a protein skimmer and after 2 weeks I'm noticing a film on top of the water. The research I've done has led me to suspect that its a protein sheen that has evaded the water column of the protein skimmer. My LFS said to use a fine mesh net or some paper towel to soak it up....this works temporarily but I don't want to have to do this constantly. A few different sites aid to point my powerheads at the surface to agitate it...all that does is swish it around but its still quite evident. Another site said to get a surface skimmer but it seems pretty large and ugly in a small 35g tank. Has anyone out there discovered a foolproof way of getting rid of this??? I've looked up DIY surface skimmers but haven't found one that is small and effective. Please help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingin' It Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 (edited) are you putting your hand into the tank at all? Lots of that sheen/oil comes from your arms/hands...but pointing a powerhead straight up at the surface does work. Oh ya, you can also use a surface skimmer attachment to a canister/hob filter if you have that option. Edited September 29, 2010 by Wingin' It Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnnyReeftank Posted September 29, 2010 Author Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 Ya...still cycling so I have been messing around with my tank alot and its possible thats its the crap off of my hands. I'll try and upload a pic here...oops guess pics dont seem to work....error406....whatever that is....anyways I'll try a few different methods and see how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishyFishy! Posted September 29, 2010 Report Share Posted September 29, 2010 That is pretty normal in my expreience (5 salt tanks). I use a surface skimmer attachment on my filter that works great. I would try that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catmandu Posted November 11, 2010 Report Share Posted November 11, 2010 I'm cycling my 35g with live rock,argonite and a protein skimmer and after 2 weeks I'm noticing a film on top of the water. The research I've done has led me to suspect that its a protein sheen that has evaded the water column of the protein skimmer. My LFS said to use a fine mesh net or some paper towel to soak it up....this works temporarily but I don't want to have to do this constantly. A few different sites aid to point my powerheads at the surface to agitate it...all that does is swish it around but its still quite evident. Another site said to get a surface skimmer but it seems pretty large and ugly in a small 35g tank. Has anyone out there discovered a foolproof way of getting rid of this??? I've looked up DIY surface skimmers but haven't found one that is small and effective. Please help! A wet vacuum works great for getting rid of any oily surface sheen such as the one that you get from feeding mysis shrimp or any oily fish, once every couple of days for a week or so should do it and in fresh water tanks you can use it to rid yourself of duck weed in a few minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
riverpirate Posted July 7, 2012 Report Share Posted July 7, 2012 ahhh, was just having this issue in my freshwater tank... guess the mysis shrimp could be the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kindasleepy Posted January 9, 2013 Report Share Posted January 9, 2013 Whenever I've had this issue it's food related. Surface agitation makes a huge difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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