White stuff at waters surface

[bobboman]

Hello, i am new to these forums and new to salt water aquariums. I just bought a 24 gallon Aquapod Nano-Aquarium. I put about 15 lbs of Coral Sand and 20 Lbs of live rock in the tank. The tank has been set up for 5 days now, and i currently have 3 blue Damsels living in there.
I have this strange white filmy stuff floating at the top of the tank. I talked to the pet store owner and he told me i needed a protein skimmer, so i bought a Fission Nano-Skimmer. When i got it set up i found it very difficult to put in the back of my tank where the filter and my heater are housed, so i put it in the front just to see if the skimmer actually did anything. after 2 days it removed some of the white stuff. Later i talked to another fish store owner and he said that the white stuff is there because my water level is probably to high sow i lowered the level half an inch.

My questions are what is this white stuff floating on the surface? And will lowering the water level help? And do i really need a protein skimmer to get rid of all the white stuff?

thanks.

[rroselavy]

Hello bobboman. Welcome to TR.

White stuff, hmm....I wouldn't worry about that right now. Let's take a few steps back.

You have a decent sized nano, and about 1 inch of Aragonite(?) sand, 20 lbs of live rock. A bit light on the LR, but otherwise OK.

I am assuming that your LR and sand have not been fully pre-cured before putting it into your tank. Most LR you buy from an LFS tends to be uncured or semi-cured. Most "live sand" that you buy in a bag should also be considered semi-cured. Even dry aragonite may have organics in it, which may decompose in your tank - so dry aragonite should also be considered semi-cured.

Since your tank has only been up for 5 days, there are going to be some major (Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate) chemical swings in your tank that are going to be hazardous and stressful, even for hardy fish. If you do a bit of research online and in (newer) books, you'll discover that stocking a tank with fish from the start is not necessary, and is even considered by many to be cruel.

I am wondering if you can return the Damsels to the LFS and just let the tank establish its cycle for 3-4 weeks before slowly adding a cleanup crew (snails and crabs; later, and just as gradually - corals/fish). Your Ammonia and Nitrate should be tested to be zero, and your nitrates on the decline before adding a cleanup crew to help with the algae and the eventual fish detritus.

You've come to the right place, listen to Rob's Talkingreef Podcasts on Tank cycling to get a better idea on how the tank cycle works and what to expect.

Good luck!

[lReef lKeeper]

Podcast Episode 2

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by bobboman

I have this strange white filmy stuff floating at the top of the tank. I talked to the pet store owner and he told me i needed a protein skimmer, so i bought a Fission Nano-Skimmer. When i got it set up i found it very difficult to put in the back of my tank where the filter and my heater are housed, so i put it in the front just to see if the skimmer actually did anything. after 2 days it removed some of the white stuff. Later i talked to another fish store owner and he said that the white stuff is there because my water level is probably to high sow i lowered the level half an inch.

Regarding the white-filmy stuff.

The Aquapod should have a "surface skimming" feature, which basically means that the water level in the rear "sump" compartments should be lower than the main display. This allows the biofilm (proteins that rise to the surface) to be sucked into the sump and concentrate there. A skimmer that collects from your rear compartment should produce more skimmate than if the skimmer intake was in the main display.

If you have too much water in the tank, then the levels in the front and back will be the same, and thus you will not get as much (if any) surface skimming to occur.

White stuff? When I put my dry aragonite and water into my 55g, I did not rinse the sand (as many people do). This means that there are more "dust" like particulates in my sand, and they happen to be quite buoyant due to surface tension. This creates an initial "froth" (with bubbles) when the sand is first added, and dissipates over time.

The other possibility is that your precipitating calcium...but I am not sure about that.

Questions:

What salt water or salt mix are you using? Some people have complained about white residue coming from their choice of salt mix. These could be insoluble impurities in the compounds that make up the mix.

What do you have in the Aquapod's rear compartments right now?

[PhotoJohn]

you really really really dont want damsels unless they are the green reef cromis damsels. all other damsels are truely devils. With 3 fish you are already reaching your bio limit for that size tank. I have a 2 year old 24g nano and 4 fish but they were added slowly and I would not consider adding anything more. I also have 40lbs LR and a 3in sand bed. A protein skimmer (a real one, not a surface skimmer) will make life for the tank creatures better but it is not necessary. I dont use one. Whenever I dont have the surface skimmer on I get nasty stuff ontop of the water, it is normal. If i were you I would seriously consider building a tube fuge. Check TR episode 88, it is a great video. They work well, you may as well start one now, nitrates will always be a problem in a nano tank and this will help.

Take your damsels back, get your $15 back you paid for them, and buy some uncooked table shrimp from your grocery store. Put a peice of shrimp in the tank for a few days, that will cycle your system and it is a cheaper nicer way to cycle it.

[CarmieJo]

Hello bobboman! to TR and the salty world of nano tanks.

At this time I would not worry too much about the white scum, it is probably the result of the new sand and die off in the rock. What are your tank parameters?

I would worry about the damsels and I too recommend taking them back. As your tank goes through its cycle and becomes established there are many toxic compounds that mount and recede. Damsels are tough fish and may survive this but this is cruel to the fish. Plus you will probably not want these guys in your tank long term, they are mean! in fact they are often called DAMNsels!

[rroselavy]

Originally Posted by bobboman

My questions are what is this white stuff floating on the surface? And will lowering the water level help? And do i really need a protein skimmer to get rid of all the white stuff?

Oh yeah, I forgot about the Protein Skimmer question. Let me blather on some more...

Do you need the Protein Skimmer for the white stuff? I think your LFS was trying to arrive at a quick answer and possibly a quick sell. The short answer is - no. Will you eventually need a Protein Skimmer to help pull excess nutrients/proteins out of the water? The answer is probably, and if you want to minimize nitrate accumulation - most probably.

The main problem is that your LFS got you to buy a $30 skimmer. They probably carry the Fission because it is an impulse buy for those who are not familiar with skimmers. At the risk of sounding snobby, the sight of the Fission skimmer on an LFS shelf is one sign (to me) of the credibility of the LFS. IMHO, there is no way to build a decent skimmer for $30. I have also read several accounts that the Fission skimmers are finnicky and fiddly and have really watery skim...and the collection cup is tiny. I have also spoke to one retailer who admitted that they were going to stop selling the Fission because they have had so many customer complaints.

YMMV, but the same $30 would be better spent toward a second hand Remora, Tunze or other well-built/efficient skimmer.

[bobboman]

Thank you very much for all of your guys input. I returned the damsels and the protein skimmer. the tank has been cycling now for 6 days, and i went to a different fish store in my area and i think they set me on the right track. To get rid of the white stuff floating at the top of my tank they told me to lower the water level a couple inches and that helped. They also tested my water and found that my PH was a little low, but otherwise my water was good. So they sold me an Air Stone to put in my tank and gave me a little buffer to raise my PH. I am going to have them test my water again on Monday. If they say the water is good and i am ready for a couple hardy fish then good

Anyways, the podcast that i was told to listened to helped out a lot and all of your advice helped a lot as well. thanks again!

[CarmieJo]

Hi Bobboman,

It is not unusual for the pH of a new tank to be all over the place as it cycles. I would wait until it is through cycling before I tried to adjust it. Low pH can be a function of excessive CO2 and an airstone could help with this especially if you are drawing the air from outside. But the breaking bubbles will cause plenty of salt creep.

You haven't asked but since I just wrote "through cycling" and yet I don't know if you know what that means. Just in case I am going to tell you. When we initially begin our tanks there is very little of the good bacteria that breaks the fishes waste into harmless products. So when you start your tank and you test your water there is no ammonia, nitrite or nitrate in it. You test the water 2 days later and you find the the ammonia is now 1.25, nitrite 0 and nitrate zero, a few days later ammonia is 1.50, nitrite is ,25 and nitrate is 0. A week later the