Oily film on the water

[sparkyr99]

i've been cycling my new tank getting it ready for some emperor newts i've got on order. it's been set up and running for three and a half weeks now, and the water tests were coming back good. today when getting ready for a partial water change i noticed that the water has an oily look, like an oil slick. this is a new development. all the organic materials in the tank were rinsed repeatedly, the rocks and stones were boiled and rinsed. i'm at a loss as to where this "scum" is coming from. could it be coming from the cork bark, from the moss, (pillow moss), decaying plant matter? has anyone had this problem while setting up a tank? my new newts are ordered, and will be here by next week, depending on when they ship. if i can't solve this problem with water changes and filtration does anyone have any suggestions on a temporary home for them untill this is solved, or should i call and cancel my order for now and start over with the tank just to be on the safe side?

 

[Jennewt]

It's common for aquariums to get a film on the surface. In most cases, it's a sort of white scum, as shown in the photo on this page:
Caudata Culture - Frequently Asked Questions
This kind of film consists of protein and dust, and it's normal from the decay of anything, including plants and moss. As long as the water quality tests as OK, I wouldn't worry about it. What kind of filtration or aeration do you have in the tank?

 

[slowfoot]

I've gotten this occasionally and, as Jen said, it doesn't harm the newts. It is ugly though. To get rid of it I'll usually run a gentle filter for a little while to break the water surface. More (healthy) aquatic plants have helped in the past, too. Now that my tank is mature and fully planted, I don't have to deal with the scum layer anymore.

 

[Greatwtehunter]

Sometimes just adding a simple airstone will also cut down, or even completely, eliminate the issue. Another thing you can do is lay a piece of paper towel across the waters surface, this will attract alot of the film.

 

[legardored]

this is pretty common in aquariums with low aeration or filtration. u got any air stone there or any filter?

as mentioned below a kitchen towel will sort this problem but only temporarily and doesnt solve the casue of the problem.

aeration, filtration or frequent water changes.

btw. for more research try aquarium forum as this is common issue with fish keeping

 

[sparkyr99]

well, i think ive got the problem beat. first i tried the paper towel bit, limited success. then tried to suck it up, limited success. then got the idea to make somthing similar to a protien skimmer. i'm gonna call it the charcoal bomb in a bowl. i took a small fountain pump with hose, placed it in a filter bag and packed activated charcoal around it, placed that in a bowl that was barely below the surface of the water. skimmed it right out. i'm gonna run this setup for a couple of days and change the charcoal daily, but i think i've got it whipped. thanks for the replies.

 

[sparkyr99]

Well it seems after two days of heavy filtration that the oily film on the water is really oil. Its coming from some slate that i used to form the land area in the tank. I noticed an oily seep along the entire edge of the island, so i took out a piece and placed it in a bowl of warm water, oil started seeping out of it. Word of advice. DON"T BUY SLATE FROM HOME DEPOT!!! To make matters worse, i got a call today, my newts are in! So here i am at 9:30 at night setting up a temporary home for them. I tore down the tank, tomorrow i'll clean it and start over. NO MORE SLATE! I set up a 10 gallon with a large water dish, terrarium coco fiber soil, some rocks, and a couple of potted plants, and a carpet of moss. I can't wait to pick them up, but i hope they won't stress too much after the trip.

 

[Jennewt]

Oh my. I wouldn't have expected that at all. I hope all works out well with the temporary setup.

 

[Molch]

by "slate" do you mean a kind of black, flaky, shist-like rock? Some of those do indeed have organic material in them that can be quite oily...after all, they are ages-old compressed plant materials - but whether that's harmful to newts, I don't know....