What is this?

[blizzack1]

Hey guys, stuck my hand in the tank with lights off to move a frag that fell over and it came out looking like this (glad I was wearing a glove). I didn't disturb any sand and nothing on the glove appeared to be moving...

:

[Greatwhite]

Is there an oil slick on the surface?  It almost looks like food flakes that might have been floating on top?

If not that, then it kinda looks like diatom algae... http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&site=&source=hp&q=diatom+algae&oq=diatom+&gs_l=mobile-gws-hp.1.3.0l5.1749.4407.0.9317.8.7.0.1.1.0.201.701.4j2j1.7.0.les%3B..0.0...1ac.1.4.mobile-gws-hp.knDsQgkRNS8#miuv=0

Not sure if that link will work from my iPhone.

[blizzack1]

I feed pellets that get gobbled up big time, but could be some kind of surface residue... Was just odd that it was only at night. I have been working in the tank a few times this week and didn't see any of that stuff...

[Hookup]

off the bat I have no idea.  it does look like food.

two things pop into my mind.

1) you might not have adequate surface skimming if there is "stuff" on the surface

2) what kind of stuff is in your tank? 

[blizzack1]

off the bat I have no idea.  it does look like food.

two things pop into my mind.

1) you might not have adequate surface skimming if there is "stuff" on the surface

2) what kind of stuff is in your tank? 

1) I 100% don't have adequate skimming, and I just noticed this morning that I have a bit of a slick that has developed.  So, have to get that skimmer working properly.

2) I have 25 hermits, probably the same in snails, and then a kole tang, two clowns, a goby, blenny and a cleaner shrimp and two peppermint shrimp.

[Greatwhite]

What kind of skimmer are you running?

When I was asking about the oil slick, if you fed flakes as well as pellets, sometimes bits of flake food are in the slick.  But since you feed pellets, there's a chance that some of the oil stuck to your glove on the way down, and then some disintegrated pellets may just have been disturbed by trying to re-set the frag.  Have you tasted it?? (Just kidding)

[blizzack1]

I have a octopus BH-1000 skimmer that i've had an ongoing battle with.  I finally got it working, but then it was foaming out of control and almost overflowing out of the collector.  I read this was possibly due to the water conditioner i was using and not using RO-DI water...

I played around with the valve to control how much air was coming in (?), but then it didn't seem like it was actually doing anything.

Then I had to trim the plastic intake in order to fit in my tank and just said to hell with it, so long story short, I'm not skimming...

[Cheebs]

I also think it might just be gunk floating on the top of the water. When I don't run my skimmer for a while or slack on water changes, my arm comes out with an orange-brown tinge and little specks of stuff on it after I dunk it in the tank to move something.

[Greatwhite]

Ohhh yeeah... Some water conditioner can cause hyperactive skimming for sure.  All you can do to calm it is to constantly drain your collector cup.  Eventually the foaming will get under control.  Prime says that it will not cause the hyperactivity...  I used some kind of Aqueon stuff that went NUTS so I just used unconditioned tap water until I bought an RODI from Aquasafe (Canadian made.. does a decent job)...

It's too bad you're not having much luck with that skimmer... I've read mixed reviews on it, but the common message was always that it was "the best HOB in its price range"...

[az]

actuall best in any price range.

you need to get this going properly, maybe I will send someone to hook it up for you properly.

[Greatwhite]

actuall best in any price range.

you need to get this going properly, maybe I will send someone to hook it up for you properly.

I guess... If Deltec MCE600 is not available...  They appear to be backordered everywhere, and still $500+...  When I had mine, it was like "MCE600 or NOTHING"...

[Darth]

I have this skimmer, and it took a lot to get it working properly, but now it works great, I actually marked the collection cup so I know where to put it for my best results, as before everytime I would clean it , it would take a few weeks to get it back to what it was, I find a line with the sharpie was my best friend.

My biggest problem was to get it to stop making the gurgling sound, but lately that seems to be under controll as well

[Hookup]

I didn't mean skimming.  while skimming is important!  SURFACE SKIMMING is what I was talking about. 

Do you have a sump?  I'm guessing no because you have a BH-1000.


The thing that I see on your tank, that could be an issue, is virtually no surface skimming.  In marine tanks organics form long chain molecues which bind together and float to the surface where they join together and form a large "slick" of oily, grease gunk... 

Surface Skimming is the process of taking just the top 1/16th of an inch of water off of your display and sending it down to the sump where your filter socks, carbon, phosban, skimmer, UV, or whatever else you use in your sump will clean it.    These long-chain molecules are very easy for a properly tuned skimmer to remove.  In fact the whole process of a bubble skimmer is based upon these exact molecules binding in rings around micro-sized bubbles which crash into each other in the riser tube and are pushed up into the cup.

Surface skimming takes the worst water from your display, the surface, and sends it for cleaning.  With proper in-tank flow and circulation this is one of the most important parts of running a healthy system.   


Your BH-1000 has very poor surface skimming.  Its better than no surface skimming, but its not great surface skimming.  Its one of the biggest draw-backs to HOB style skimmers and why I think they should be avoided at all costs.

If your skimmer has been running poorly or not at all, then no doubt you had a pile-up of gunk on the surface of your water that got stuck to your hand, and anything else you put into the tank.

[Greatwhite]

The surface skimmer I mod'ed onto my MCE600 did a great job.

I think that the surface skimmer of the BH1000 will probably be "OK" once the skimmer is working right.  But ya - without ANY surface skimming, there's going to be a nasty layer of oil and crud up there!

[blizzack1]

Yeah, it must have just occurred over the past couple days, but there is lots to skim now for sure. Have to get this darn thing going.

Hookup, I don't have a dump and was planning on going sumpless. This skimmer alone has been enough of a headache for me, and it is my first sw tank... I just wanted to go as easy and simple as possible

[Greatwhite]

There are some very successful tanks that run sumpless...  It's just a matter of tuning the skimmer, and getting the flow right.

The main benefit of having a sump that you miss out on is the ability to hide all your "unsightly" equipment

[blizzack1]

There are some very successful tanks that run sumpless...  It's just a matter of tuning the skimmer, and getting the flow right.

The main benefit of having a sump that you miss out on is the ability to hide all your "unsightly" equipment

Agreed, hence me spending a whack of cash on two Mp-10s

I painted the background black which helps the pumps and heater blend in.. The skimmer is another story though

[Greatwhite]

My MCE600 had a neat little compartment for a media pouch, that fit a heater nicely...    I don't know if the BH1000 has a media compartment, but if it does - that may be a way to hide one item!

Good call on the black paint, though!!

[Hookup]

Yeah, it must have just occurred over the past couple days, but there is lots to skim now for sure. Have to get this darn thing going.

Hookup, I don't have a dump and was planning on going sumpless. This skimmer alone has been enough of a headache for me, and it is my first sw tank... I just wanted to go as easy and simple as possible

There are a number of tanks that are successful without sump.. that said it is the minority of tanks.  maybe 1 in 100 or less that you'll find in the big SW sites like RC.  Just enough success stories to make people think its an option.. and I guess it must be because there are some hum-dinger of nice tanks out there without sumps.

In the end, i know that luck has a lot to do with this hobby... so if you can buy or even better sell a bottle of luck right on...

for me, i went sump and would always recommend it as the advantages are not quite as good as being lucky, but are better odds than the lottery.

[robt18]

It's definitely just surface just that's come out on your hand....

How long did you run the skimmer for while it wasn't working properly? It'll take a couple weeks to break it in and get it working properly/not over skimming/bubbling/etc.