inari

Hey guys,

I had a betta tank that got some nasty oily film so i used instead of the normal brown paper towels i used a white one with no inking on it and here is what it looked like after i removed it about 5 days later

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SN852021.jpg (173.8 KB, 109 views)

Lucy

Ew lol
What did you do, let it float in the tank and absorb the nasty stuff?
Did it fix the problem?

inari

yes and yes and like i said it was orginally white nasty isn't it?

Tony G.

eeeewww! i did that once when i ran out of filter media. It gets the job done but is just disgusting to remove

reefdude

Looks like a cigarette filter! EEEEwwwww!

inari

i kinda wish i could say 'pych it's a close up of a used cigarette filter' but unfortuantely that is the oil crap that was on the top of my tank for a while where does/did it come from not a clue did it work getting rid of it you bet!

~inari

jclee

I've noticed the odd "oily looking scum" on occassion, and I've pretty much done the same. I seriously want to know where it comes from. Could it be something in one of the foods? I tend to feed a flake/algae pellet combo. What are you feeding your guys? Someone out there has to know what would make that happen...

joy1125

just a reminder...... if you have an air pump, it will pull in whatever is the the air in your home, including cigarette smoke, air fresheners, candle fumes, cooking oils, etc.

what room is the aquarium in? is it near the kitchen? do people in the house smoke, or have you recently had guests in that smoked? Had any candles going lately? (remember not to blow out candles in the room where the aquarium is; the smoke may get sucked in by the air pump, and streamed right into the water)

reefdude

[quote=joy1125;639867]just a reminder...... if you have an air pump, it will pull in whatever is the the air in your home, including cigarette smoke, air fresheners, candle fumes, cooking oils, etc.

Good point!

jclee

I hadn't even thought of the airborne debris idea, but that makes perfect sense. There might be something else, though, because I've seen the odd film on my tank, and I don't really do any of the above (indoors) because I have birds, and they're highly sensitive to fumes. (I rarely even use strong cleaning agents in the home, and I locked all of my candles in a cupboard when I got the birds.) I also don't have a bubbler set up right now. Just a HOB filter. What other variables could create film on a tank's surface? I wonder if oils from human skin can build up in a tank over time? I wash my hands before and after maintenance/redecoration, but it's always possible.

inari

the only think that i can think of is oil from the skin. But I rarely reach into my tanks unless I have to, When I redecorate I either do it when I refill by knocking stuff over or i push it around with the siphon. This oil appeared out of no where and the aboved mentioned I don't do, my air filter wasn't running and hadn't been for about a month. I don't want what it was but it didn't come back before poor Zengetsu passed. No idea but I do know how to fix it now lol

Red1313

Oil from your skin, from you're hair. basically it could be any sort of non-polar chemical "thing" that gets into the tank.

inari

impressive answer Red? You ever do any studying in chem? lol tho i would have to say that's probably what it is.

Red1313

I'm a pre-vet major... way too much science in my studies... I've taken 4 different chem type classes plus a whole bunch of biologies etc... I'm getting way way to into my sciences. rofl

inari

Well red,

Best of luck in ur studies, and even if u don't do the pre-vet thing and go onto an actual vet the chem can really help. I know for a while I has having a severe flux in my pH (no actual fish were affect mostly 'cause i haven't getten my lazy butt to the store to try and find another full moon tail betta) and my ammonias were almost non existant so after some review of my chemistry stuff I figured out that a few possiblities....but it wasn't any of them...it was just the cycle trying to figure which end was up lol. many different ions floating around doing strange things haha. Anyway knowing ur chemisty can really help sometimes, like being able to figure what's going wrong if say you have a lowish pH like u have elevated amounts of base in ur water which quite possibly could be ammonias since they are weak bases....ok i've rambled on long enough again best of luck to you!!!

Inari