# White film



## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Hey everyone
In the last week I've had a Nitrate spike I've been dealing with. I've had to take the wc down 60% to get nitrates below 20 and its only been three days and noticed the fish hiding so tested and its back up to abt 80ppm. I've also noticed over the past 24 hrs a white film has formed on the glass. It doesn't seem to be algae. No smell or taste to it (yes I tasted it...I'm panicking a bit) And it feels dry like power and wipes right off. Very strange and I've never seen anything like it. No new fish added, tank hasn't changed in 4 months.
Any thoughts?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Calcium deposits if it is at/above the water line. Eventually it will harden on, but no way to avoid it that I know of other than keeping the tank completely full at all times.

Keep changing the water to remove nitrates and keep them under 20ppm...even if you have to do it daily. Too many fish?


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Yes I have too many fish. And in the last month I've seen significant growth in some. I promise to deal with that. Thank you for quick reply. The white film tho is all over the top half of the tank. It especially loves the heater, as I still have a jäger 200w inside the tank. I don't have any water lines as the tank is pretty full. But calcium does make sense. So it can form under water line, that quickly? Do you think it's because I am doing frequent water changes?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No it would form at or above the water line. Nothing to do with frequent water changes.

I had a beige growth on my glass once...turned out I had a nitrite spike. What are your readings for ammonia and nitrite?


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate after water change abt 35ish
Will do another wc tomorrow and will not feed tonight. 
**** it. My tank hardly looks like it has fish in there. Other people's look sooooo jam packed. I thought I'd get away with 15 fish in a 120 gallon. Guess not.

You know I'm looking at my tank as I just finished the wc abt 14 min ago, and there is still a lot of tiny white particles floating around. Could be tiny bubbles, could be....whatever it is, I've never noticed them before this week. I think that's new. Wonder if there is something going on with city water. I'm gonna do a nitrate test out of the tap.


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Nitrate out if the tap 0 
I am no good at posting pictures and I am on my phone. But I have two pretty good pictures. One of the white film and the other of the bubbles (if that's what they are)


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Any fish missing? A dead fish can raise nitrates and kick start a heterotrophic bacteria bloom, which resembles whitish, hazy looking water.


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Thanks, I just double checked. No dead fish. Did a bit of an experiment last night and moved my spray bars around. The white particles were for sure bubbles. The spray hits the front of the tank below the surface, travels down the glass, sweeps across the sand and brings the debris into the intake. So I'm comfortable with that. This white stuff tho, so strange. 
I will do another wc when I get home today and clean up the glass where I missed it last night. I'll pay close attention to see if there is any that appears to have come back over night and let you know.

I am hoping like mad that for some reason this white film is the cause of my Nitrate spike and I don't have to rehome any of my fish. A girl can hope.

Thanks gentleman. Will update!

Melissa


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What about ammonia and nitrite?


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 10-20ppm 
I'll see how long it takes before the nitrates spike again

The white stuff didn't reappear over night. But I'm still concerned abt it.

M


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Just a thought...What declorinator are you using?


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Prime. And it is a new bottle.


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

Here's a quick video of my tank I did a few weeks back for my fish club. this is of course before the white stuff problem. Do you think it looks overstocked? Ignore my yapping. My fronts are rescued...and are non breedable as I believe they are mutts. My male has 7 stripes on one side and 6 on the other. So I don't want a species tank until these fish have passed away so I keep them with peacocks.





 ... e=youtu.be


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## Mellywell (Dec 1, 2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CexhPEjl ... e=youtu.be


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## afracichlids (Feb 5, 2013)

Mellywell said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CexhPEjl7gw&feature=youtu.be


What do you feed your fish and how much I seen that white film before and it was from over feeding and overfeeding raises nitrates get a nitrate scavenger like purigen or chemipure elite will control problem nitrate for 6-8 months.


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