alabar1973

what causes a foam build up in the top of the tank? we did a complete shut down on Friday and put in new gravel but since we have lots of foam or bubbles on the top of the water.

fishuz

Fresh or salt water ?

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30g FW
2 Cichlids
2 Barbs
2 Tetras
1 Chinese algae eater
77g FW
1Empty

alabar1973

freshwater and we did save some of the water (10 gallon) to put back into the 15 gal tank

alabar1973

it is freshwater, we saved 10 gallon of water to add back in

yoshi191

They should Just go Away .if you want them gone sooner or they dont use a net to move them from the side of the tank and kinda take them out with the net they should go away thats what i did when i added sand to my tank.. i think they get formed when there is air from putting in gravel and dirt in the water from the gravel so they form a bubble thats what im thinkin and if im rong sorry some one else well Correct me ..

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12g Nano Cube Sw Reef Cycling
55g Sw 3 Blue chromis 1 scooter blenny
1 hermit crab
2 percula clowns+1 Anemone

Tommy Gun

It could be air from adding it too fast like yoshi points out or it could be some sort or residue that was on the gravel that is strong enough to bond with water and stay as a bubble. Also, if you have some very turbulent water that is mixing up detrius or fish oils, you could get bubbles. Again, could be some sort of oils or substance on the gravel. I would wait to see if it goes away.

Otherwise, if your tank is still cycling, this could be a symptom of high ammonia/nitrite levels in the tank. I might check the water parameters to be sure if you have fish in there already.

alabar1973

Did a partial water change and it's still foaming/bubbly on top of the water. The food is not swirling and/or going down for the fish.
What ideas can you suggest?
Thank you.

Jay

I would suggest that you give us better information, so we are not all throwing guesses back at you.

What is a complete shut down?
How big is the tank?
How old is the tank?
Is it cycling?
Are there fish in it how many?
What are your parameters pH GH KH Nitrates Nitrites etc.
What type of filter and how big?
What chemicals are you adding?
Where did the new gravel come from?

What you describe sounds like bubbles and a "slick" on the surface. Give us some more info and we will be able to help you diagnose it and get rid of it.

Regards,
Jay

alabar1973

Under gravel system.
It's a 15 gallon tank.
Complete shut down involved draining, cleaning, adding new gravel that was rinsed before adding.
Saved approximately 5 gallons of old water and added back in.
Have (5) fish, 2 gourami, 1 algae eater, 1 serpae tetra and 1 orange platty.
Sounds like air in the water or pop fizzing.
Bubbles go away when we tip the lid.
N residue or film on the top or the sides of the tank that I an tell.

Thank you.

Jay

Ah now a picture is emerging.

The foaming and fizz could be both dissolved O2 and Co2 from your water source. Its like opening a can of soda and pouring it into a glass, it will fizz and bubble for a long time. This is probably mixing with micro fines (dirt and dust from the gravel that for some reason does not rinse away).

If the under gravel is the only filter you have, I would consider another hang on the back or canister to deal with surface and water column debris. Protein, phenols, dissolved gases, etc. are not handled well with an UGF especially when the substrate is new. A HOB will agitate the water surface and mix in the surface debris and filter it out.

Sounds like you are going to go through another cycle as all of your beneficial bacteria was probably lost in the cleaning. There will be none in the water you added back.

A set of test results GH pH Nitrites, Ammonia would be helpful to see if anything else is going on.

Hope this is helpful,
Jay