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i got this film on the surface of my 75g. its been there sicne day one. its seen light stock and heavy stockings and does not change. ive made posts and search for reasons and have gotten nothing. well i got pics...yup i took the time to sit below my tank and take pics of film circulating around the top of my tank. it reminds me of a thread about paint drying and grass growing. anywhere here are the pics if anyone can shed some light on it feel free to post.

Sin in Style attached this image:

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Sin in Style attached this image:

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Sin in Style attached this image:

do you have any surface agitation? that usually clears it up on my tanks

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

It's a protein film. The cause may be your food or your fish. Surface agitation either from a filter discharge or an aerator will disperse the film.

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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

well heres the problem. everyone says agitation will clear it up. its film on the surface if you make rapids of course you wont see it. i have 2 pengiun 330s running on either side and this junk is everyone but right infront of the over flows. it sits just on the outside of the rapids and gets dunked as it spins around the tank.i cant see how a couple bubblers would solve it.

You are breaking the surface tension of the water that is holding the film in place when you aerate or if you continuously cascade the water into your tank. Breaking the surface tension disperses the film. Empty one to two inches of water from your aquarium, the discharge from your Penguins wull disturb the surface and disperse the film.

I have heard that some people try to gently drag a paper towel across the surface. Sounds too messy for me!

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

check this site out:

http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/biofilm/surscum.shtml

not sure if it's the same thing, but interesting anyway. there's a whole section on Bio-film.

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Back in the saddle!

Sin...

What type of substrate are you using?

Are you sure that your filters are catching all the particles as they flow through it?

When I see this I would tend to think that the filtration is either not sufficient for the load or malfunctioning.

Does this also reappear after replacing your cartridges?

Stirring the water up is fine but it would still bother me until I found the cause.

ya tammy thats what i wa strying to say above. i can agitate the surface but it doesnt get rid of the film it only hides it.

filtration: 2xpengiun 330s and a eheim 2222 (130gph canister), total gph = 790 gph

substrate: tahitian moon sand, 40 lbs

ive been tempted to buy the $30 surface skimmer for the eheim but again this doesnt cure it , it just removes it. it could be my pengiun cartridges they are kinda old but they still look relativly in good shape.

I'm wondering if it also has something to do with the sand. That is why I asked about your substrate to see if you said sand. You mentioned it has been like this since day 1.

You may just have to live with it. You could try fresh cartridges and see what effect that has.

the tank was originally gravel and river rocks. it remained this way for about 6 months give or take. then i switched it to moon sand. The film was there for and after the switch.

the only things that original in the tank from day one are 2 plastic plants, the pengiun 330s, the 2 rena cal heaters, the cave grotto, and the drift wood. the food and fish have changed.

Hi Sin in Style and Others,
You say all things the same, except food and fish. Some fishfood is of varied quality, some is high grade with no fillers, others have many differing amounts of fats, proteins, etc. added in their formula's, some can cloud your water, some can add the film as you are experiencing. Buying bulk, cheaper grades of food can cause these problems. Maybe try a change in food and see if this helps.Buy a small pack of high grade food for the fish you have/keep if you have a few different species and use different foods try to work out which one may be causing you greif. If you have cories, some sinking pellets have different ingredients to make them sink or float. Some algea wafers can cause this as well.Keep trying until you can elimate what is causing your problem. Good luck. Muss.

ive gone through all types of foods by all kinds of brands. ive tried the cheap packets liek you have said in the past. now im useing more expensive nutrafin max and new life spectrum.