Film - Cloudy White-ish on surface of...

[agcentral]

inside of tank.

Acrylic.

New tank... no fish yet. Treating high PH with a decreaser before I stick a fish in it.

Water, tank surfaces were clear. A LFS talked me into putting a tablespoon of aquar. salt in a plastic cup and putting it in the tank at the bottom. 24 hours later the water was milky. 24 hours later the water was clear.

Now I have a film here and there on the inside surface that when I rub hard... seems to come off a little bit. Or is this hardwater buildup? I do have hardwater. Or is it algae? If so I thought algae was green in color.

Any kind hints on cause and cure?

[Lucy]

what is your pH that you're treating it already? Are you testing for any other levels right now? If so, for what, and what are your results?

[Tank Builder]

I use aquarium salt in my 4 gall QT tank. After a while I too get a slimy milky filmy substance build up on the tank walls and ornaments. I think its just a form of salt water algae, similar to slime algae in fresh water tanks. Just scrub the walls reguarly to prevent too much build up. It doesn't seem to harm the fish.

[agcentral]

Lucy/Sam...

Always there are you.

What a tribute to us... the unknowing and inquisitive.

Luc...
I bought one of those Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Master Test Kits. Results... the PH was WAY over 7.0. I took a sample into a LFS and they came up with the same findings. Sold me some Decreaser (PH). Nitrites, Ammonia etc. is Ok. My tests and theirs agree.
Other than that... the water is HARD. They didn't seem to think that was an 'issue'.

So... not sure if the film (whitish) is salt or calcium.

Finally got my PH tonight down to 7.0. Time to decorate with fish.

Sam..

I need to get a cleaner for the inside. Recommendation? Thinking of one of those Mag Float things for acrylic. In one site... they recommend buying one larger than that recommended for the size of the tank so the magnet doesn't fall off. In another... they recommend small so as you can manuever the thing around. Or should I get a toilet brush?

I'm trying guys.

[CrazieEddie]

Wait about a week or so before adding fish. Most tap waters contain buffering agents that will eventually bring the pH level back up. So you may see your pH at 7.0, but within a few days, it may go back up to it's normal range.

How high is your pH? If it's below 8.0, your fish should be ok as long as they are acclimated very slowly if they come from waters with lower pH. For example, if your LFS has about the same pH level as you do, you don't have to acclimate as slow as you would if the fish you obtained were from an LFS with a very low pH.

It's usually always easier for fish to acclimate to your water chemistry, as long as it's not very harsh, rather than you changing your water chemistry to suit the fish. This gets rather expensive, since you keep buying chemicals to change the pH.

Regarding the Mag-Float, I use them on glass and they work very well. Don't buy the imitations, becuase most of them don't float at all. There is a little string attached so if it falls it the water without the magnet, then you can pull it up with the string, without getting your hands wet. Unfortunately, it is useless if you have a very tall tank or you forget to hold on to the string.

[Tank Builder]

I use mag floats in all my tanks, the 4 gall, the 10 gall and the 40 gall. Its the same model each time, and there are no problems with any of them. They all float, as there name suggests, when the outside part of the magnet is taken away. I've never heard of needing different sized magnets for different sized tanks, I cant see how it would effect anything!
Also, dont use a toilet brush! especially if it has been used. You can get speciall algae scrapers with long handles to make cleaning easier. Also, most toilet brushes have metal handles under a plastic cover. When this gets wet and stays wet it will rust, and you dont want any rust in your tank.

[Lucy]

Yes, our city water is around 7.8 and that is how my LFS keeps their tanks. It can be more harmful to the fish to try and get it down than to leave it at 7.8. For many fish 7.8 is actually in the ideal range anyways.