dirty film at top of tank

[miked78231]

ok about a month ago i posted a thread about a film that just sits at the top of my tank so you guys suggested that i should point my power heads up to keep it from building up. i did this and it worked great, there was hardly ever any thickness at the top. well this monring i woke up and one of my power heads was knocked off and pointing straight into the sand causing sand and everything else to fly up into the tank. this was probably going on all night because there was a huge hole in the sand that showed the bottom of the tank. anyway, the film problem is worse then ever. i can see all kinds of hair and dirt just floating around, there was even a few dead ants, (please dont ask me how this happend because i have know idea). anyway what should i do? i was thinking about doing a water change to suck up most of the crap but this only made me think that all this stuff was in the tank already even if i couldnt see it. does this mean that i need a better filter and a better skimmer? any suggestions would be great. thanks

[jason]

Do you have overflows on the tank? I get a film on top of my water when my overflows needs cleaned. As soon as I clean them it goes away.

[miked78231]

no all i have is an HOB filter and an HOB skimmer. both pretty cheap

[dpantle]

I have a Remora HOB skimmer, and I added a pre-filter box which does a prettty good job of removing the film. Dont know what kind of skimmer you have, but maybe you could modify one or find something like it to fit yours.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=AC3323

[miked78231]

i have a eheim HOB and a red sea skimmer (not the delux)

[brewercm]

That is a great Idea. If I'm not mistaking you are using the prism skimmer. You could get this kit and it will take care of the problem with the film on your surface.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RS1231

[miked78231]

instead of upgrading what if i were to just buy this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7928&ref=3532&subref=AV&N= 2004+113771

[miked78231]

until i can get a new one or upgrade what should i do in the mean time?

[brewercm]

BTW, for short term you can take a paper towel and skim it across the top of your tank to remove it, but it will quickly return.
Depending on your eheim, they make a surface skimmer for that also. Here's the link for that.

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=EH3535

[dpantle]

If it were me, I wouldn't purchase a whole new Prism Deluxe. The upgrade kit turns your Prism into a Prism Deluxe, and only costs $25.

[hobogato]

i use the paper towel thing on my tank at school because it doesnt even have a skimmer. just take paper towels and lie (in a single layer) them flat on the top surface of the water very carefully, then slowly pick them up and throw them away. do this about 5 to 10 times. i have to do this about once a month or every two weeks on the tank at school. just be sure you have a trash bag right by the tank so you can chunk the sopping paper towels in as soon as you pick them up out of the tank.

[miked78231]

sounds good, now i just need to get some paper towels, LOL

[hobogato]

newspaper will also work, just not as well. so will napkins.

[miked78231]

the ink wont drip off into the tank?

[pilot_bell777]

No.....they usually use newspaper to wrap LR in when you are brining it home.

[GaryP]

Actually its better to have the scum floating at the top. That's the theory of a Calfo skimmer. The trick is just finding a way to remove it. That's what I don't like about the HOB skimmers. They pull the water from the bottom instead of the top where the waste accumulates. With a surface skimmer you don't want any agitation of the water on the surface. You're letting the lower density of the waste work to your advantage to accumulate it on the surface.

Since you are pulling from below the surface it may be better to stir it up with a power head so your filtration can get to it.