film on water

Question
Hi, I just asked you a question about my female betta's 6 gallon tank a few days ago. I went to Petco, but the ingredients on Tetra's  Aqua Safe are the same as the ingredients on what I'm using, Tetra's BettaSafe, so I wasn't sure how that could cause it? Saturday I did a gravel cleaning, added Cycle, did a partial water change, changed the filter and put new hosiery over the outflow and last night I STILL ended up with a film over the top of the water that broke up into white pieces when I tried to get it off. This is very frustrating! Any ideas?? I'm not overfeeding her, she gets one or two little pieces a day that she eats right away.
Thanks.
Ashley

Answer
Hi again Ashley,

I'm sorry, I reread your query and now I see that the product you were using wasn't the product I had in mind. Betta Basics has pH buffers in it (it's supposed to bring the pH to 7.0) but you're right, BettaSafe doesn't. It is just like AquaSafe - diluted, but that isn't harmful.

The first thing that jumps out at me is, why are you using Cycle? You really don't need to keep adding it. Once your beneficial bacteria are established, this product is useless. It may tell you to continue dosing, but I don't see why you would need to. Your ammonia, nitrite levels are 0 ppm, correct? Then no need to use Cycle. Save it for when you cycle another fish tank, if you ever do.

So, stop using the Cycle and see if that clears up the problem you are experiencing. I have seen additives get old (such as EasyBalance) and become "chunky" so this might be all that you're seeing.

When you say you're putting hosiery over the outflow, I'm starting to think that you're putting it over the filter tube - is that right? In that case, that's the intake tube. I have tried doing this but have had the filter stop after a while, so now if I need to keep little fish from being sucked up, I just use a sponge prefilter on the intake. I could tell you more, but I'm not sure this is what you mean! So, if you can, just let me know if you are putting the hosiery on the tube to keep the betta from getting sucked in by the filter - or if actually you are putting it in the outflow path (rocks would do a better job and wouldn't get so messy.) Speaking of this...

Here's a question, for a saltwater tank, that sounds like your situation, and it's interesting to note:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Saltwater-Aquarium-3215/White-film-top-water.htm
That the solution seems to be to add more surface agitation!

So, try not using the hosiery in the outflow path(?) and instead using something like pebbles to soften the flow...and stop using Cycle. Wick away the white film with an unscented white paper towel and see if it develops again. A few bubbles (an airstone with an air pump) may be all you need to break up the surface tension. More and more, I believe your problem is related to a lack of surface tension (that is, the surface of the water is not getting broken) and maybe some gunkiness in the Cycle product.

Does that sound like it might be it? Try it and let me know!

Thanks for writing, sorry about the confusion over your product - BettaSafe is fine. Keep up the good work!

Take care,
Nicole