Need advice on the foam on top of water

[Damien1985]

4 week old - new tank set up. I have only got live plants with no fish in the tank at the moment as am making sure everything is 100% before I introduce fish into the tank. The test stripes are all good but am unsure why I am getting bubbles/foam on the surface. I have fresh new plants so there not old. I’ve cleaned the filter and done several water changes to try resolve this. Any advice please

 

[xxEMOxLIZZARDxx]

What brand of ammonia did you use? It might have had some form of soap in it.

 

[Damien1985]

What brand of ammonia did you use? It might have had some form of soap in it.

I’ve not added any in. I have used Aquarian tap water safe and Interpret Ammonia remover. I’ve also used API PH up as that was low but that’s all

 

[Uberhoust]

Note others are more knowledgeable than I on some aspect here but here are some things I would note.
1) You don't want to start by trying to control the pH, leave some water in a bucket overnight then test your water for pH, GH, and KH. You will use these values in the future to pick fish that are appropriate for the water. Adjusting water pH is really quite complicated and not a good starting point. It is also more difficult for smaller aquariums.
2) If you are doing a fishless cycle you need the Ammonia in the water, otherwise you will not get the biofilm of bacteria in the filter that will control the Ammonia in the filter.
3) Ideally I would only add the tap water safe and leave the rest out of the water.

Below is a link to how to cycle your aquarium, plants make this step easier.

Cycle Your Tank! A Complete Guide For Beginners

Fishless cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ Silent or plant cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/planted-silent-cycling.470400/ Fish-in cycling...

www.fishforums.net

likely the foam is coming from one of your additives to the water but it could also come from manufacturing oils left on some of the equipment such as the filter, filter sponges etc. If it was me I would rinse or wipe down all surfaces exposed to the water then do a 90% water change only adding the tap safe.

 

[Damien1985]

Note others are more knowledgeable than I on some aspect here but here are some things I would note.
1) You don't want to start by trying to control the pH, leave some water in a bucket overnight then test your water for pH, GH, and KH. You will use these values in the future to pick fish that are appropriate for the water. Adjusting water pH is really quite complicated and not a good starting point. It is also more difficult for smaller aquariums.
2) If you are doing a fishless cycle you need the Ammonia in the water, otherwise you will not get the biofilm of bacteria in the filter that will control the Ammonia in the filter.
3) Ideally I would only add the tap water safe and leave the rest out of the water.

Below is a link to how to cycle your aquarium, plants make this step easier.

Cycle Your Tank! A Complete Guide For Beginners

Fishless cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/ Silent or plant cycling https://www.fishforums.net/threads/planted-silent-cycling.470400/ Fish-in cycling...

www.fishforums.net

likely the foam is coming from one of your additives to the water but it could also come from manufacturing oils left on some of the equipment such as the filter, filter sponges etc. If it was me I would rinse or wipe down all surfaces exposed to the water then do a 90% water change only adding the tap safe.

Thank you so much for the links and advice. I will make sure I understand the cycles and rectify this issue before adding fish