Dirty water surface problem

[CoMMaNdeR]

I have the surface water dirty with something, it is like dust or small patches of dirt or don't know what. I increased the circulation but the problem remained.

When pumps are off you can still see the water surface is whitish colour. I am running a skimmer that is working just fine and I have a sump/refuge full of chaeto/caulerpa. What can I do guys and is this normal to happen?

Is there any surface filter or something to see if it will help?

[fittdog8848]

what kind of overflow do you have? To me it sounds like you are not surface skimming enough to get rid of the proteins building up.

[Reeling Reefer]

I had that problem , then added more surface aggitation by pointing a powerhead up towards the surface, and the problem wen't away.

[LBCBJ]

You need to skim the surface or get somewater flow on the surface to break it up.

[CoMMaNdeR]

I have 2 overflows build as durso pipe. The inside box that cover the durso pipes have the teeth up and also have some down and this is a bad thing that I did because I am skimming water from bottom of tank and not enough from the surface.

I have current in the surface and this don't really help. What can I make guys to eliminate or skim out this stuff out ?

[Reeling Reefer]

I have 2 overflows build as durso pipe. The inside box that cover the durso pipes have the teeth up and also have some down and this is a bad thing that I did because I am skimming water from bottom of tank and not enough from the surface.

Not real sure what you mean by this , but this is probably your problem, skimming water from the bottom of the tank is not what you want at all.

[CoMMaNdeR]

Yes I know. Damn, when I did the overflow box that is inside of the tank because the tank is drilled to the bottom, both were not sealed well and water penetrate from underneath instead from the teeth that are located up to the top.

So what should I do now guys?

Is there any silicone or glue that I can use inside the water?

Or is there any filter that can skim the surface water?

[LBCBJ]

I'm not aware of any glue that dries underwater, but someone here may know of one. There's not a lot you can do in terms of equipment. A HOB overflow or skimmer with a preskimmer would work, but that's unecessary. As I said before, I had the same problem, but I attached 2 powerful powerheads at the surface and they took care of it.

[CoMMaNdeR]

What is exactly this dirty stuff that is white in colour like dust on the surface then?

Are they proteins buildup?

[fittdog8848]

exactly! The proteins build up an dstay suspended on top.

[CoMMaNdeR]

What are they exactly guys?
Is this normal ?

[-=Zepplock=-]

When my skimmer returns water to my tank - it breaks the surface of water. It sucks these particles and dirt into the tank and it get picked up by skimmer.

You need the return of your pump/skimmer to break the surface.

[LBCBJ]

The oily film is a combination of many things including proteins, lipids, etc. These substances are hydrophobic, which means that they "fear" water and are repelled by it, so they float to the surface. Everyone saltwater tank has it, its just a matter of whether it is skimed from the surface or not.

[CoMMaNdeR]

Is there something that can skim this stuff?

I am sure there is because what people do who don't have sumps? I mean they cannot skim water from the surface by and overflow box etc down to the sump..

[-=Zepplock=-]

I have just a regular skimmer (Coralife 65) and my surface is clear.

[CoMMaNdeR]

Mine is a 1000 Multi turbo flotor Aquamedic Skimmer.

[-=Zepplock=-]

You need to make sure that the water from you skimmer/pump/powerhead breaks the surface and kind of sucks the scum into the tank, where it can be picked up by bacteria/skimmer.