Frustrated With Surface Oil

[nicklfire]

Ever since i started dosing EI like 3 weeks ago i'm getting a pretty good buildup of protein or oil on the top of the water. Must be from ei.. it started shortly after i started dosing.. i'v tried the napkin sitting on the top or the airline tubing suction (which takes like 15 minutes) and you gotta do it like every 2 days... So my next endevor would be just to buy a surface skimmer such as this one.

Now i got a eheim filter so i dont know if it will attach properly but.. just wanted to see if anyone else is using this method.. i just dont want it to look stupid. This is my last resort i think lol.

 

[lowee]

Try adjusting you filter outlet so that it creates a small current at the surface of the water. But make sure it isnt aggitating the surface so much that it drives off the CO2.

 

[Dave Spencer]

My 60l used to get an oily surface that I was skimming off on a daily basis for a month. It doesn`t get it anymore, although it may well come back, so persistence was the key for me. Maybe having your filter outlet gently rippling the surface for a while will eventually clear it for you.

Dave.

 

[nicklfire]

even when the filter outlet is agrivating the water the oil is still there.. it's actually pretty oiley stuff.. it's almost like a .. film where it can be sticky too.. it's just werid, i'v tried everything lol, i'll try that surface skimmer and see if that helps

 

[SuperColey1]

I got an oily surface about a month ago but after normal weekly water changes it has disappeared.

It seemed to coincide with the new Tetratec filter going in so maybe it was due mainly to a residue on the plastic or pipes or even the media (which I did rinse thoroughly first)

Have you added any new ewuipment into the water or pipes etc or equipment in the intake/outake like UV or external heater or reactor etc?

Andy

 

[nicklfire]

Na nothing changed hardware wise at alll, just the EI dosing.... werid eh, i'd think more people would have problems like this but... guess not.

 

[SuperColey1]

Well you are using the same EI ingredients as me from the same source and also in the same bags so the only thing I can think of is maybe its from the bottles you have used to put the solutions into!! maybe they have a slight residue in them.

Even after thorough washing there can always be some residue.

andy

 

[themissingelf]

I'd assumed the slightly oily surface on my tank was coming from the smear of Vaseline applied to the ext filter connections when I clean the filter.

 

[Christine1014]

I have a bit of film on the surface too.... but plants don't like a lot of surface aggitation, and neither does Sammy the Betta, so I just do my best to ignore it!

 

[xing]

i get this quite often. LFS said not to worry and it happens quite often in planted tanks with good/regular fert dosing regime. I think the guy said its a protein build up and other than being a little unsightly from above its perfectly harmless. i thought about a skimmer but heard they can be noisey (don't know how true this is) so i just live with it now

 

[R1ch13]

 

[R1ch13]

God ...

I had this .... Mine was like frost!

It was thick and white and u could actually see the water circulating below it!

Wasnt good was like the skin on top of custard jus not too thick!

All I done was put the filter up a lil higher to make current a tad closer to the surface!

No agitation ... but jus makes the water move faster!

If ya get me !

Good luck

Richie !

 

[R1ch13]

Wooopps !

Silly COMPUTER!

TRIPLE POST!

 

[nicklfire]

I fixed it with that thing i bought, look to my journal to see it in action : )