Oil slicks

[bob`_your_dog]

Allright, with the sad fall of my first coral i'm going over all possibilities. I have a thin film on the surface of my tank, and i suspect it's preventing certian gasses from escaping, which may in turn lower my PH or something. I have tried placing pwerhead at the surface but this doesn't seem to get rid of it. I dont have the luxory of a overflow box so crap just builds up on top.

Is there anyway to permanantly eliminate this or is it not a problem?

 

[Navarre]

Do you have a skimmer?
A skimmer should remove the surface film.


Or if you simply havce an airpump it should agitate the water enough to stop the film. A spray bar breaking the surface will also achieve this.

 

[bob`_your_dog]

I have a skimmer, but she's in the sump. Does that make any difference?
I've got a old air-pump around here somewhere, i'll get a airstone and rig it up. Hope it helps.

 

[Navarre]

hmm... if you have a sump then the water should be going down into the sump.. this should draw the surface layer along with it and not cause the buildup on the surfacein the main tank.

 

[bob`_your_dog]

AAhh so you may think, but i have overflow pipes, not a overflow box. So mine draws water from about half way down my tank.

 

[fraservet]

how is water from the main tank getting to the sump?

if it is just a pipe inlet, try a surface adaptor which will take the scum from the main tank.

 

[bob`_your_dog]

A surface adaptor, hhmm sounds cool but what is it?

 

[Aquascaper]

Just increase the length of your outlet pipes so that they come closer to the surface, that way they will draw in the surface layer of water & the scum. Also, the majority of protein waste is held in the top 2" - 3" of water and this is what needs to be fed through the skimmer for the most effecient skimming of dissolved waste.

HTH

 

[fraservet]

Eheim Surface Extractor

 

[Aquascaper]

Could you post pictures of your outflow system so we can have a look?

 

[Fishy411]

powerheads aimed at the surface work great.

 

[bob`_your_dog]

so you see my inlet for the sump is about 3/4 of the way down, i was thinking i could run a small airline from the inlet to near the surface, but then if my tank level ever dropped below that air line it would let air in and kill my overflow.

 

[Aquascaper]

I'm a little confused by the drawing but I think i've got it

IMO you should cut the length of the pipe and put a u-bend in so that the outlet is about 1" below the water surface. This will draw the surface layer of water off the tank (where most of the dissolved organic matter is) and also means that, in the event of a power failure, the water will only drop to the level of the outlet. At the moment, if there's a power failure, your tank will empty into your sump until the water reaches the bottom of the pipe. This will no doubt flood your sump and leave very little water in the main tank for anything to survive. The idea is that if the power fails the main tank stays filled, the sump doesn't flood and nothing dies.

HTH

 

[bob`_your_dog]

If i have a power failure, my water level only drops to the level of the t-piece, but i think i will cut my inlet a little shorter, i wanted to change to clear pvc anyway, but how would your ribbed flexi-hose fit onto this?