Surface film and filtration issues.

[Tyberzann]

Good Evening all,

I am new to the hobby but over a month ago i brought the below linked TMC reef tank.

3325 - Next Wave 60 Aquarium Set -

www.tropicalmarinecentre.com

I am having surface film problems even with my pump creating quite a bit of surface agitation.

Due to the construction you can see in the above link, the rear sump has an input at the top and the bottom, because of this the film is not getting dragged into the sump and the filtration stack is not catching it correctly.

The filtration stack also has a good 1-2cm gap underneath so dirty water can go straight into the pump.

I have thought of putting filter floss under the stack to block the water flow.

Does any have any experience with this tank or any ideas on how i could improve it.

Cheers!

 

[TheBear78]

It may well be some kind of chemical and/or debris left over from the tank manufacture.
Have you ever managed to remove it, possibly by dragging some filter floss around the surface? Did it come back?
You could try stirring it up but I'd be reluctant to risk reintroducing to the water if it's decided to separate.

 

[I never finish anythi]

How much flow do you have in the tank ??

 

[vetteguy53081]

Good Evening all,

I am new to the hobby but over a month ago i brought the below linked TMC reef tank.

3325 - Next Wave 60 Aquarium Set -

www.tropicalmarinecentre.com

I am having surface film problems even with my pump creating quite a bit of surface agitation.

Due to the construction you can see in the above link, the rear sump has an input at the top and the bottom, because of this the film is not getting dragged into the sump and the filtration stack is not catching it correctly.

The filtration stack also has a good 1-2cm gap underneath so dirty water can go straight into the pump.

I have thought of putting filter floss under the stack to block the water flow.

Does any have any experience with this tank or any ideas on how i could improve it.

Cheers!

Generally a sign that there is insufficient flow to the tank overflow. You will need to provide surface agitation via power head and even add airstone or add stronger return pump inside the inside sump to move water at a faster turnover rate

 

[Tyberzann]

The tank is 60 litres and the pump is rated at 500 litres per hour so i think the flow from the pump is ok.

I don't have a powerhead currently but could look into getting one.

The tank has been running for around 5-6 weeks and once my parameters were correct I added a couple clowns last week, both of which seem to be doing well.

Is there a upper limit that i should think about before getting a massive return pump.

 

[KK's Reef]

I think it boils down to flow and surface agitation. I have a similar tank and I blocked off the bottom intake. Didn't help. The pump just doesn't move enough water, which also limits the surface agitation. The grates on the weir also isn't wide enough to break up the slick on the surface. The slick just sort of gets stuck at the weir entrance. You can try dragging floss or a paper towel on the surface to absorb the surface film as previously suggested, but I usually manually skim it with a cup when I do water changes.

I have a small pico. I'm wondering if folks with larger tanks have the same issue.

 

[Tyberzann]

I will give that a go, aslong as a more powerful pump fits into the rear sump i shouldn't have an issue swapping it out down the line.

Good to know that blocking that bottom slot did not help as i was thinking of doing something similiar.