Sheen on Water Surface!

[rulost2001]

Soooooo Im looking over my own part of the reefing sanctuary pleased at what im seeing.....everybody seems to be cooperating....except my bubble coral tried to suck the life out of one of my palys....i broke em up...told em to behave...hooked em up with an all you can eat gourmet breakfast....and everybodys happy. I wanted to get a closer look so i donned my wet suit and jumped into the tank....hmmm my occys are doing fine my zoos too....goby is watchin out....the crabs seemed fine until i got a little too close and he brushed me back....good thing i had my fins on. anyways as i began to surface i noticed that the sun wasnt quite as bright as it usually is...then when i hit the surface i noticed i was covered in this thin layer of whitish oil....it was everywhere on the surface....but very very thin....where did it come from.....BP.....Exxon Valdez....who knows all i know its on the surface of my own little ecosystem and i need to know how to get rid of it as well as where in Gods Blue Ocean is this coming from? Anybody?

[larryandlaura]

Do yuo have access to a surface I take it you have no overflow? If you do can you use a powerhead to push it towards the overflow?

[rulost2001]

Do yuo have access to a surface I take it you have no overflow? If you do can you use a powerhead to push it towards the overflow?
io have overflow back of nano cube........i rinse my shrimp now too......hmmmm like i said its very very thin....maybe illlget some filter floos hmmmm how agout a coffee filter?

[larryandlaura]

It might work.

[jimsflies]

Can you post a picture of how the over flow is in your tank? Is it truly getting the flow off the surface? Some of the nano cubes weren't well designed in this regards.

[rulost2001]

It might work.
but where did it come from.... i ran out of mysis....so ive been using the last of my brine....could that do it?

[bluwc]

It might work.
Sounds like you need more movement on the surface. I would point a ph up there to stir it up. should go away in a day or so with enough flow

[larryandlaura]

It's a possiblility! Do you just drop it in frozen?

[rulost2001]

Can you post a picture of how the over flow is in your tank? Is it truly getting the flow off the surface? Some of the nano cubes weren't well designed in this regards.
gonna try to post....a pic never done it

[larryandlaura]

gonna try to post....a pic never done it

It's easy any questions just ask!

[rulost2001]

Can you post a picture of how the over flow is in your tank? Is it truly getting the flow off the surface? Some of the nano cubes weren't well designed in this regards.
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j339/rulost2001/th_DSCN2177.jpg

---------- Post added at 10:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j339/rulost2001/DSCN2177.jpg

[jimsflies]

Can you get a pic from the top down looking at the overflow area? It looks ok but just to be sure.

[rulost2001]

Can you get a pic from the top down looking at the overflow area? It looks ok but just to be sure.
i blew that photo up and i see that the overflow is half loaded with debris...gunk...now my batteries are dead in the camera...its kind of a tricky thing....you want to have enough water in the tank so your not running low too often but if you fill it too much the intake bypasses the center charcoal and runs down the outer chambers where it is reintroduced into the tank....it looks like any possible fish oil from the frozen brine allthough rinsed can bypass the charcoal and filter medium.....which im trying not to use....but i may have to until i get the proper feeding down. and proper bacteria control

[rulost2001]

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j339/rulost2001/th_DSCN2177.jpg

---------- Post added at 10:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:45 PM ----------

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j339/rulost2001/DSCN2177.jpg
http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j339/rulost2001/DSCN1697.jpg
just wanted to see i could do it again
this is a baby conch my wife picked up at bahia honda beach down the street from our place in the keys

[Sir Patrick]

I am figuring you have no protein skimmer?

Do a range of water tests, just in case. Make sure nothings out of whack. Odds are they are not, but better safe than sorry.

[MizTanks]

More surface movement won't help-I have the same issue exactly. Only thing that helps is a surface skimmer! Of any sort. For now I'm using a pre-skimmer box. I've allowed my water level to drop just enough so the water drains into the box and my pump carries it out. It's only taking the surface water-no more surface scum :)

[thepanfish]

Those are just extra proteins at the surface, a combination of powerhead or surface skimmer agitating the surface and a good protein skimmer should do the trick.

[rulost2001]

It's a possiblility! Do you just drop it in frozen?
no i rinse it.......i will have to ask my son if he is rinsing

[rulost2001]

Sounds like you need more movement on the surface. I would point a ph up there to stir it up. should go away in a day or so with enough flow
i dont have a lot of movement more like lagoon. 2 heads at surface......i do have an extra powerhead.....just a little apprehensive to toss it into the mix most everything is doing well .....may try it anyways...especially pointed towards top.

[larryandlaura]

So did you get it all cleaned up? Did you test your water?

[schminksbro]

Bingo!!

Those are just extra proteins at the surface, a combination of powerhead or surface skimmer agitating the surface and a good protein skimmer should do the trick.

[jimsflies]

After discussing this earlier today with rulost2001, the thought is he has too much water in his tank which is preventing the water from cascading as it should through the overflow and weirs in the sump. Not sure if he had time today to take some water out to see if that improved the situation?

Water levels in the last compartment that houses the pump should be lower than the other compartments...that is the spot that you should be watching and refilling the top off water to a set point. I believe in my biocube, I have the water set so it is only about 2/3 of the level of the display tank in the pump compartment.

[rulost2001]

After discussing this earlier today with rulost2001, the thought is he has too much water in his tank which is preventing the water from cascading as it should through the overflow and weirs in the sump. Not sure if he had time today to take some water out to see if that improved the situation?

Water levels in the last compartment that houses the pump should be lower than the other compartments...that is the spot that you should be watching and refilling the top off water to a set point. I believe in my biocube, I have the water set so it is only about 2/3 of the level of the display tank in the pump compartment.
thanks guys for all the help

[rulost2001]

thanks to my reefer friends the solution is a water flow problem....ive learned it needs to cascade into my overflow...and that can be achieved by having LESS water in my cube....the areas of the sumps need to be lower than the rest....sooooo dont cheat on your top offs by filling too much....just play the game lol

[rmalone]

Lowering the water level will make it go away. Or you could put a thin piece of acrylic over the lower part of the overflow in effect making the slots on the overflow shorter this will force more water from the surface into the overflow. The way it is now your getting most of the flow from below the surface and the surface film just stays in the tank.

[larryandlaura]

Glad to hear you figured it out!

[jimsflies]

Lowering the water level will make it go away. Or you could put a thin piece of acrylic over the lower part of the overflow in effect making the slots on the overflow shorter this will force more water from the surface into the overflow. The way it is now your getting most of the flow from below the surface and the surface film just stays in the tank.

When I first asked for a photo that is what I was hoping to see. The earlier models of nano cubes completely botched the overflow design. I think they corrected this issue compared to the original. However, they still may not be optimally designed. Definitely blocking the lower part of the overflow will help draw more water from the surface. Just be sure the water flowing over the overflow can keep up with the pump rate (pump doesn't run dry and cause the display level to become too high). A little experimentation will likely lead to a better design than the stock configuration.