algae like surface on my marine tank

[alphaque]

Hi

All the while, my reef marine tank (3 feet) is OK except there are some algae stick on the glasses after 2 weeks of change, i treat that is normal

But started one month ago, i notice there are one layer of dirty thing appear on the surface of the water after 1 week of water change. The algae like surface is not oily and it started with a small "dirty" thing on the surface and when time goes by, it will become thicker and thicker and cover the whole surface until my 4 T5 FL lights cannot penetrate the water and the coral cannot grow. I also notice at the edge of the water surface, there are some greeny things begin to stick on it (pls refer to 3.jpg attached)

Even i changed the 2/3 of the water, i still can't get rid of that dirty surface. it will come back after a week

I asked the marine shop, they said it was caused by the excess phosphates and silicates so i used Seachem PhosGuard™ Filter Media but it still the same result, no improvement at all.

Can any sifu tell me what caused this irritating dirty surface ? Is it i didn't put enough trace elements or some other reasons ?

Pls help me here, thanks in advance...

[deep_end]

Bro,

It appears that you just have a simple case of surface scum. This is mostly organic waste and is directly related to what Jaze posted. This is normally removed by a surface skimmer or an overflow compartment connected to a sump. What sort of filter are using for your tank?

Originally Posted by alphaque

Hi

All the while, my reef marine tank (3 feet) is OK except there are some algae stick on the glasses after 2 weeks of change, i treat that is normal

But started one month ago, i notice there are one layer of dirty thing appear on the surface of the water after 1 week of water change. The algae like surface is not oily and it started with a small "dirty" thing on the surface and when time goes by, it will become thicker and thicker and cover the whole surface until my 4 T5 FL lights cannot penetrate the water and the coral cannot grow. I also notice at the edge of the water surface, there are some greeny things begin to stick on it (pls refer to 3.jpg attached)

Even i changed the 2/3 of the water, i still can't get rid of that dirty surface. it will come back after a week

I asked the marine shop, they said it was caused by the excess phosphates and silicates so i used Seachem PhosGuard™ Filter Media but it still the same result, no improvement at all.

Can any sifu tell me what caused this irritating dirty surface ? Is it i didn't put enough trace elements or some other reasons ?

Pls help me here, thanks in advance...

[alphaque]

Hi Bro,
i only used one canister filter, i used to have two but one was broken down. Since i am using only canister filter so i don't have the overflow compartment built in my tank, i think it is time for me to look for a surface skimmer. thanks for the advice..