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Surface Scum Again…….

Superpuma1

Superpuma1

Member
Joined
31 Dec 2023
Messages
45
Location
Ripponden
Hi

I’m currently the owner of a tank that’s only 2wks since being planted and is suffering with surface scum. An AllPondsSolutions surface skimmer gets rid of it within minutes, but it’s not what l want permanently installed in the tank.
Will it decrease as the tank matures?

I currently operate a standard Lilly Pipe return, but will the greater surface agitation of a Poppy Pipe or a Jet Pipe disperse the stuff? Has anyone tried?

Or is it better to go the whole nine yards and splash out on an Aquario Neo Flow V2 with surface skimmer on the return?

Thanks for any input👍.
 
If you've got heaps of new wood and substrate in there that that will hopefully calm down. Personally I find even settled tanks that are open top have more than I would like and I have lily pipes with a skimmer. Only disadvantage I found with mine is that you need quite a lot of the flow through the skimmer to actually clear the surface, and that means that when feeding I have to hold the skimmer clear or I end up just feeding the filter, not the fish. Actually recently having added floating plants helps because the food has somewhere to get stuck.
Interested in other opinions on this
 
I have eyeballed a surface skimmer (I love gadgets!), but ultimately, I felt it was another thing in the tank and another thing to maintain. So, I parked the idea. I have heard that newer tanks suffer more from surface biofilm, but I can't put any science to that or how long it lasts. (I have gravel, plants, rocks and 27 fish in my 100L).

My outlets agitate the surface quite a lot, and there seem to be minimal amounts of surface biofilm. However, I'll have a good look when I do the next water change, when the filters are off and the surface is flat.
 
I can leave the surface skimmer off for a couple of days and the scum comes back…. It’s not full surface coverage, just where the Lilly pipe doesn’t agitate the surface so much…
 
Superpuma1 said:
I can leave the surface skimmer off for a couple of days and the scum comes back…. It’s not full surface coverage, just where the Lilly pipe doesn’t agitate the surface so much…
Click to expand...
It is interesting. I suspect if I did not have surface agitation, the same would happen to me.

I am not clear on how you would address this, and perhaps someone can chime in. You see so many aquascapes with crystal clear, glass-like water surfaces, and there is not always a lot of surface agitation. So, I am equally interested in how that is achieved.
 
Ref Richard
No wood, large river pebbles and new substrate, latter is 100% contributing.
 
Surface scum is just bio film. It should become less of a problem as your tank matures and things settle down.

Most of us either live with it or use a surface skimmer of some description. I have one permanently attached.

Good surface agitation definitely helps. But when it’s really bad the scum just wrinkles up at one end of the tank, like Nora Batty’s tights.

Also take a look at this

Surface Film

Hi all,i thought i would post this here instead of in my journal,as i am hoping for more opinions, Right the only real probs i was having while doing a fish less cycle was a few diatoms/brown algae,now my filter has matured that has cleared up nicely,i was dosing easy carbo 1ml a day and i was...
www.ukaps.org
 
I use a bottle to remove it once a week or so if it gets heavy. On a new tank, any of the elements might be providing fuel for it, so it'll pass somewhat.
 
This little adjustable surface skimmer is very efficient at removing surface film. I've used it in the past - it optionally aerates the water as well and the bubbles are very efficient at breaking up the film further increasing the efficiency of the skimmer.

Only caveats is if you have a lot of small surface plants - especially duckweed - it will clog up pretty fast or small shrimps (shrimplets) or fry may get stuck in the filter as well - a small and cheap mod adding a coarse sponge on top will help prevent all that.

Cheers,
Michael
 
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My surface scum only appeared for a couple of weeks when the tank setup was "new".

Removed by floating a sheet of kitchen towel on the surface, when necessary, to pick up the scum.

Best removal was an air curtain at the back of the tank, running after the CO2 had turned off, for an hour or two.
 
Superpuma1 said:
Or is it better to go the whole nine yards and splash out on an Aquario Neo Flow V2 with surface skimmer on the return?

Thanks for any input👍.
Click to expand...

That's the method I went with, I now have three of the Aquario Neo Flow V2 with skimmers, I like to think that they also help oxygenate the water. Work very well, if I need any photos or videos of them in action I'm happy to help.
 
If things don’t disperse with maturity this is the route l’ll go down, bit of a bummer having just bought a glass Lilly pipe set, you live and learn…..
 
Bradders said:
It is interesting. I suspect if I did not have surface agitation, the same would happen to me.

I am not clear on how you would address this, and perhaps someone can chime in. You see so many aquascapes with crystal clear, glass-like water surfaces, and there is not always a lot of surface agitation. So, I am equally interested in how that is achieved.
Click to expand...
They add a computer fan or something a little bigger on the top... also using a paper towel ~lie it flat on the surface and move it around the tank... this will remove all surface scum
 
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