Please help!!! Oily film on aquarium water.

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Hello IAH'ians,

I have a 10 gal (45 litres) planted tank having only shrimps. This tank uses a hanging filter. The issue is I see some kind of oily substance floating on the water. In my opinion I feel that when a shrimp goes near the bottom end of the filter where the water is sucked; it gets trapped.. and eventually dies..releasing the oily stuff, which then floats on the water. (I'm not sure about it though).

Initially there was a skimmer attached with the filter which I removed. Reason was shrimps used to enter the filter through the skimmer. Some survived while some could not:(

I have also covered the bottom opening with a sponge to avoid any kind of casualties. Any idea what might be contributing to the floating oily substance?

Also do I need to change the filter to a canister filter?

If yes, can some body suggest me a economy way to get a canister filter(DIY, 2nd hand stuff etc).

Thanks In Advance!
Sanjeev
G M Palya, Bangalore
8861154222

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 3:31 pm Post subject: Re: Please help!!!

Hang-On filter should just work fine for your setup. You could always the cover the inlet with a net to prevent shrimps from being sucked in.

I believe the problem is due to poor water quality/ insuficient surface agitation. Do more frequent water changes. About 25% at a time. Increase the surface movement. See if it helps.

Since you mentioned it being a planted setup, do you use Co2 ?

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 4:48 pm Post subject: Re: Please help!!!

Hi Rahul,

Thank You for the response. I've covered the inlet with a sponge.. but then it keeps getting blocked pretty soon.. so I end up cleaning the sponge once in 2 days... I used to use the DIY Co2, but after I shifted the tank to the floor, the CO2 stopped coming.. I believe it is getting generated but not enough pressure to enter the tank Sad

.. so NO CO2 at the moment... the plants also started getting sick mainly the Anubias.. so I've started adding 4ml of fertilizers(each) every 2 days.. I do not remember the name of the fertilizers bottle.. but one consists of the Macro Nutrients(NPK) and the other Micro(Cleated Iron etc).. I'll post the names and pics once I reach home :)

I've already changed water twice this week.. but then I'll follow your direction.. will change 25% today and see if that helps:)

Anything else that needs to be done:)

IAH Rocks!

Sanjeev
G M Palya, Bangalore
8861154222

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2012 5:01 pm Post subject: Re: Please help!!!

Does the water stored in buckets for daily use have a oily film on it? Observe that.
Secondly Anubias does not need that amount of dosing. Reduce that or eliminate that all together.

The water you are using is Bore-well?

Regards,

P.S: I have edited your thread name. Next time kindly make it more meaningful....... than " Please help".

Hi Nayak,

The water stored in buckets doesn't have any oil film. Moreover the oil film doesn't appear immediately (not at-least in the next 3-4 hours) after I change the water.. As I mentioned earlier I suspect the shrimps that are getting sucked release the oily substance, though I'm not sure about it.

I was not dosing anything till the recent past.. The leaves of the anubias have holes.. and have crumbled and look very sick.. I'll try to capture a good picture using my pin-point camera.. not sure if there is any tweaking that needs to be done in order to capture the issue. [I had tried before but the quality of the picture is pathetic Sad

]

I started dosing the fertilizers 3-4 days back after going through a thread about the plants nutrition here in IAH.

And yes, I'm sorry for the incomplete thread name.. thank you for editing it.. I'll definitely keep this in mind..

@ rasikanayak , sanjeev,

I too got the same problem oily stuff floating on the water... to be frank Shocked

it happened for me because i insert my entire hand into the water.

Ah ha... well I had inserted my hand into the water..... not sure if this caused the issue.. how do we get rid of it?

IAH Rocks Rock On

Such oil films are common and not a cause of great worry, simple surface agitation will get rid of them..
Anubias do not need much fertilization, just leave them alone.
Air driven sponge filters are a good option in shrimp tanks.

to get rid of oily film put some floating plants in your tank n wait for 2 to 3 days

Its velvet. It deadly Crying or Very sad

Just get rid of that filter and use something harmless. And try something that does not kill your shrimps. Dailly water change.. a little bit atleast for surface agitation.

One more method to get rid of this .. Just place a paper in the net and take out the floating oils. Thumb Up

Hello All,

Thank you for the help..

Well the oily film was due to less surface agitation. This happened as I had removed the surface skimmer from the hanging filter. Reason was shrimps used to enter via the skimmer Sad

As of now, I've covered the inlet with a sponge.. and also attached the surface skimmer back to the filter.. within minutes the issue was resolved..

Currently the tank is under observation.. hopefully no shrimps go near the skimmer Smile