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sen5241b
03-03-2008, 11:38 PM
I did a water change out a week ago but today I noticed a thin white film on the surface of the water. The film is not uniform, it seems to be a little thicker in some places. A piece of floating food will create a little trail behind it clear of the film. There is good flow and a new charcoal filter is in place Anybody seen this before?

I did add some very salty water in slow increments to bring the salinity up starting a couple days ago.
cocoa_pleco
03-04-2008, 12:08 AM
yep, what size tank is it, your 29g? if so get a protein skimmer
Adrian
03-04-2008, 12:50 AM
I got a white film on the top of the water on my tank as well. It has actually moved downwards a bit, looks gaseous, and I have not been able to figure out where it comes from, or how to get rid of it. It doesn't appear to hurt anything, but is really annoying as I have never seen anything like it.
sen5241b
03-04-2008, 12:57 AM
yep, what size tank is it, your 29g? if so get a protein skimmer

thx, but what is it? (someone on another board said it was "dissolved proteins" and I need a protein skimmer.
cocoa_pleco
03-04-2008, 01:32 AM
yeah, its organic waste, and a skimmer will take care of it
Adrian
03-04-2008, 01:41 AM
From what I heard, protein skimmers don't work in a freshwater tank, so I have to vacumm the top of my tank, and replace with fresh water. Any ideas on what this is, or how to control it would greatly be appreciated.
cocoa_pleco
03-04-2008, 01:47 AM
this is actually a saltwater thread, but in freshwater it means that you have too little surface agitation, get a powerhead and point it up
sen5241b
03-04-2008, 12:19 PM
Because this had to do with water quality (is there a bigger issue?!) I posted this same problem on many boards. Here is a summary of all answers:

Its protein scum.
Protein skimmer will help a lot.
Point powerheads up more towards surface.
Use a cup to remove surface water.
cocoa_pleco
03-04-2008, 10:22 PM
its protein scum- true
protein skimmer will help- true
powerheads will help- Not the best idea, it wont remove the organics causing bad water quality
use a cup- Not a good idea, its kinda ghetto and again it wont remove the organics