General Care Discussion :: Oily film on water

[pixidust]

My turtle tank seems to have an oily build floating onthe top of the water and one of the filters is just making a frothy mess. Where could this oil be coming from?

[Linus]

I forget where it comes from but you just need to keep up on water changes and get an aerator(this will help more than the water change)

[sagoy]

Yes, aerator or bubblers will help clear up the water a lot. I have one. But remember you still have to be consistent with the water changes.

[Kemul]

I read that the oily surface could be caused by even the tiniest amount of oil from
food, our hands, the air, equipments, waste. A good way to prevent oily build up
on water surface is to agitate the water surface. This will mix the oil with water
and keep it from hindering gas exchanges between water and air. One of the ways
to agitate water surface is to use bubbler. I don't use bubbler anymore, but I aim
the output of the filter towards the water surface, creating the same effect. Using
a good filtration system helps a lot.

Filter creating frothy mess could be because of protein build up. Just scoop the
froth and throw it away. I think this happens more for a salt water aquarium.

[AllTheCandies]

It might be a bit of protein film. I used to get them on top of my fish tank water all the time.

[floydster]

I used to have this occasionally when I used mainly commercial foods. Since I started feeding mainly fresh veg, fish, prawns etc I've never seen it. Sometimes if I'm in a hurry I'll feed this stuff but it's expensive and makes my water cloudy for about a day after.

Floydster

[Joao]

I had this issue after I put a tiny piece of fruit in the tank. I did a water change and it cleared up for a day or two. It then showed up again.

It only completely went away after I put an airstone in the tank.

So, like everyone else said... Water changes and an airstone is the best way.