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Anyone else have a problem with film accumulating on top of the water of their tank? I have a young turt (less than a year old - about 3 inches) that I have in a 10 gallon tank (plan to upgrade to a 20 gallon soon). I use a ZooMed Turtle Clean Filter 318 submersible filter. It is rated for a 30 gallon tank but doesn't seem to get rid of the top film. I have a glass top covering half the tank, but leave the other half open so the UVB light can get through. I think the film is caused by dust and such. How can you enclose the tank to prevent this without blocking the UVB?

I'm not familiar with the filter you're using but if you can adjust the output valve so it aggitates the water on top it should do the trick.

Yep I have that problem, get some snails, ghost shrimp and a few guppies and that really helped get rid of the film as my filter is an in tank filter so it doesn't aggitate the water. But the ghost shrimp and snails and guppies are doing a wonderful job of getting rid of that film!

The film is a build up of proteins and other substances, and is most noticeable if the water surface isn't being moved. Submersible filters such as yours also aren't the best, but moving the outlet so that the water circulates better and moves the surface will help (but I've noticed with these kind of filters that films will also form rather quickly if the filter isn't also kept really clean). Feeding your turtle outside the tank in a separate container if you're not doing so already would also help.