I have a 130l Boyu tank, the all in one, with the chambers in the back, so there is no overflow, sump etc It does have a little skimmer. I have my spray bar angled up so it causes ripples on the surface. The spray bar is fed by a 1000l/hr pump which pulls the water through the chambers & then returns it through the spray bar. In addition have a Seio 620 (2400l/hr) in the tank. In the ripples the water appears fine, but where the water is calmer, I can see a film. How can I get rid of this & what is it ?
Film on top of water
- Thread starter kssquared
- Start date
Hi friend my nano i use to run had the same problem,you need to get a bigger skimmer
Kanga
Retired Moderator
It looks as though the film does not get pulled through to the chamber where the skimmer is. Also no space for a bigger skimmer, at least not without taking to the lid
See if you can direct you flow to move the film over.
i.e. fiddel with the SEIO and the Inlet
hi there, turn your m620 upside downso the water output is on top, the move it up until the water jet starts to "break" the surface ( but not high enough to make bubbles), it will allow the "oils" to be mixed in the the water so it can go thru the skimmer. hope that mad sence?
LOL. typo, Make sense?
Hi, yes thats a very common "problem". Basically the "oils" or organic waste in the tank is hydrophobic and tends to accumulate on the surface of the water: 2 reasons:-
1. Not enough flow in your tank to prevent that settling/surface stagnation effect.
2. the film that froms is not going into the overflow due to incorect flow dynamics in your tank.
So, always best to increase the flow. Put your skimmer in the first chamber of whatever hood "sump" you have. with the use of powerheads/wavers, direct the film into the above mentioned overflow.
increasing the skimmer size will work as it decreased the amount of waste in the water itself, hence eliminating the accumulation of excess waste on the water surface, however, ull need a @$#@$ big skimmer.
1. Not enough flow in your tank to prevent that settling/surface stagnation effect.
2. the film that froms is not going into the overflow due to incorect flow dynamics in your tank.
So, always best to increase the flow. Put your skimmer in the first chamber of whatever hood "sump" you have. with the use of powerheads/wavers, direct the film into the above mentioned overflow.
increasing the skimmer size will work as it decreased the amount of waste in the water itself, hence eliminating the accumulation of excess waste on the water surface, however, ull need a @$#@$ big skimmer.
viper357
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Easiest way is to get a pump like this....it sucks water in through the bottom and blows it out through the top through a wide flattened outlet close to the water surface, perfect for pushing surface films towards the overflow box. This one is on my 2m tank and works perfectly, it doesn't run all the time, generally every 3 or 4 days I will switch it on for about 30 minutes until all the muck on the surface has been pushed down the overflow box.
The film tends to accumulate in "dead spots" with very little surface flow.
I tend to find I get this on the water surface at the opposite end of my tank from the overflow esp inthe one corner. (usually happens when I move my powerheads to clean glass.).
Then all I do is just readjust them to try get the still water moving again towards my overflow.
Clinton
I tend to find I get this on the water surface at the opposite end of my tank from the overflow esp inthe one corner. (usually happens when I move my powerheads to clean glass.).
Then all I do is just readjust them to try get the still water moving again towards my overflow.
Clinton
viper357
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Got it from my LFS, it's called a VISI-JET.
The tank I have has no overflow box, instead it has slots on the one side of the tank at different levels. You have the option of closing them. I have the 3 closest to the top open. Should I close all except for the highest one ?
Kanga
Retired Moderator
Yip thats what I would do if I understand you correctly
the back chambers are basically your sump - with the inlets, close all but the top one. angle your spray bar so that there is more movement at the surface for now - later on, i would rather remove the spray bar and replace with a outlet like that of the jbj nano cube (wide flatted outlet similar to vipers eg above)- builders warehouse has something like it in their garden section.
aqua-medic makes a surfaces skimmer
Mike
Retired Moderator
Just aim a powerhead towards the surface, it will increas surface aggitation, break up the surface fim and help with the gas exchange in your tank.