Surface Skimming
 

I just rebuilt my tank with new sand and base (Marco) rock. For now at least, I've pulled my HOB sump off and I'm not running a skimmer. There is a nasty film on the surface that I'd like to get rid of and without an overflow, I'm looking for ideas on how to manually get rid of it.

Nuggets of wisdom would be greatly appreciated !

Powerhear pointing across the surface

what are you using for filtration? There are lots of DIY or prefab tricks to mod HOB filters into surface skimmers, I believe aquaclear even has an attachment.

http://www.personal.psu.edu/u0y/nano....skimmer.p.jpg
http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/fi...e-skimmer.html
http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=33376

This presumably serves to break up the film and mix it into the water column ?

No filtration.

I may have to put my HOB sump back on simply because it's the only way I have to connect my chiller but for now I'm looking at a purely manual method of removing it.

You could go super ghetto and scoop it out with a dinner plate. Not really a permanent solution though.

Ohhhh I've used paper towels before when my skimmer overflowwd. Just lay it on the surface to wick it up

+1 on this one! Not permanent obviously but good for clearing that film on the surface. Just make sure its not the first sheet on the roll because it has glue on it.
Or (as mentioned above) you can use Aquaclear surface skimmer but you will need an external canister filter to run it.

Just get a cheap hob filter like aquaclear or acqueon. Returning water will break the surface and the filter will absorb the stuff. You can even replace the filter with carbon and you've got a water polisher as well

not true, you can make the attachment and buy the attachment for the HOB models as well:wink:

Ok so now you've all got me thinking (everybody stand back!!) that with my DIY HOB sump on the tank, I never had surface film problems. This tends to reinforce what several of you are saying about making a turbulent surface to break up the film.

So while really didn't want to put the sump back on, it's looking like it might be the best idea. There's a better than average chance I'd have to put it on anyway because my tank volume is so small that the temperature in the summer climbs too high during the day and I have to run a chiller (which connects to the sump).