water quality problem?

[jeppry]

hey all,

i think i might have bit of a water quality issue plus maybe a temp problem is contributing to,temp can range anywhere fro 27c to 34c. before summer thetemp was pretty stable around 26c-28c and i didnt have any scum film ,cooling for summr is not really an option besides a fan for evaporative cooling as its a garage.

the system has 12x2ft tanks. sump is 4x18x18 with filter wool, course sponge and lots of bones/frags of coral for filtration.

this is the bit thats got me stumped its only 3 or 4 of the tanks on the system thet are holding the thin whiteish film floating on the surface, sometimes the sump has it in the pump section. i know the smell of bak quality water and mine doesnt smell anywhere near as bad. i do w/c once a week plus sump top ups inbetween.

any suggestions on some filter medium i can add to the system?

i will post up a pic of the sump to give an idea on filtration.

cheers brett

[Josh]

The scum could be alot of things. Oil of you hands from feeding them is usually the main thing I have found causes it.

Add a few airstones to the tanks and create some surface movement. That should clear that up

[CThompson]

The scum could be alot of things. Oil of you hands from feeding them is usually the main thing I have found causes it.

Add a few airstones to the tanks and create some surface movement. That should clear that up

I'd agree with that, and in addition, the normal biological actions from the tank's occupants can add "foamy" type excretions, or from the food itself if of a poor quality. Case in point the crap that foam fractionators remove from marine tanks. Just make sure there is no skin on the water’s surface that will prevent O2 exchange and an air stone will do that as Josh recommends.

I'd be more concerned about the 34 degree temperatures, and garage or not, consider a portable air con. Though I have never kept tropical fish in the tropics as you are doing.

It is hard to see, though the photo is good, assuming that the water is going from right to left in the sump, I'd have more mechanical filter media in the first chamber, and use different grades from coarse to fine. It looks like the water first flows into a bag? If so, this must get dirty quickly.