film on top of water

[ricwilli]

Some of you have seen the sump that I've been working on in the DIY thread. Well it been up and running for two weeks and now I have a small problem. I've noticed that a film is accumulating on top of the water in the return section. What do most of you do to eliminate this?

 

[blange3]

You can direct your return pump output or a powerhead toward the surface to keep it agitated. The film is generally dead bacteria and other organics that collect near the surface.

 

[chase33]

I'm surprised the water falling into the return section isn't enough to agitate the surface enough to keep it clear of the film. I don't have this problem and I believe that may be the reason why.

 

[Jcurry@wesketch]

I get an algae build up in the last compartment of my sump. i just scoop it out with my hand or a net. If it's not that thick you can lay a paper towel on the surface to soak it up.

 

[ricwilli]

OK, I found the problem. I just had the water to high in the return section. The water coming down the baffle was not creating enough turbulance in the water to dirupt the film. The water was as high as 9" and the baffle is 10". I lowered the water a couple of inches and now the film is gone.

 

[Carlo]

Sounds like it might still be to high.

If you turn off your return pump, water will still overflow for a minute or two down into the sump. Make sure with power off you are roughly one inch from the top of the sump. This way you never get an accidental flood if power is lost. Then after adjusting this level turn the pump back on and after a couple of minutes you'll see the "operating level" of the water in the sump. Take a marker or something and draw a line to show you the optimal water level. Then you can topoff daily to this line.

Carlo