Crusader13 wrote:Actually, according to a very accurate book on RES, they said that algae is not really a problem.... RES have been living in ponds with unfathomable numbers of algae, and yet they lived for so long. Why? Two Words: Adaptation and Evolution. I mean, if they can withstand being in children's mouths for 70 years and still be alive and kicking (well almost.... *scratches head*) as well as resisting algae numbers in which a fish would have died in, then algae isn't really as scary as you think, huh? But, however, he did say that, if you look into the water of the habitat from above and you can't even see in it, then yeah it is time to deep clean it. But, the most hardest of problems has such an ironic answer, and that would be to simply put a houseplant or an aquatic plant in it and it will suck up all the algae very quick...maybe in 24 - 36 hours time.... Awesome, right? Just try it....
ballarddamallard wrote:@crusader13 I would also like to know name of this book.
I am having a lot of algae trouble as well. I am a first time RES owner, and have learned most of my information from this website. My 4-inch about a year old male RES is in a 55 gallon tank. I use a fluval 304 cannister filter with the carbon filter, bioballs, and currently phosban and algone. I have minimum decorations in my tank, besides the basking area i have an alligator head that the turtle seems to be very fond of, and a branch like decoration that he likes to climb over. He gets 12 hours of light a day. I feed him a few times a week in a separate tank. I am usually forced to do a full water change because the algae gets so bad that I can't see through the water. When I do a full water change, the algae seems to come back full force by a weeks time. I've tried moss balls, and heard that placing pennies in the tank would help. Like I said, I am currently doing phosban and algone, replacing them once a week, neither of those chemicals are working. The only reason I'm OK with the algae is because I know it doesn't really hurt the turtle, but like others have said, it's very unsightly, and I do enjoy watching my turtle swim around. I'm not really sure what other things to try, maybe I should do a more frequent partial water change at the first sight of algae? How often are partial water changes recommended?
MEandYouPhoto wrote:ballarddamallard wrote:@crusader13 I would also like to know name of this book.
I am having a lot of algae trouble as well. I am a first time RES owner, and have learned most of my information from this website. My 4-inch about a year old male RES is in a 55 gallon tank. I use a fluval 304 cannister filter with the carbon filter, bioballs, and currently phosban and algone. I have minimum decorations in my tank, besides the basking area i have an alligator head that the turtle seems to be very fond of, and a branch like decoration that he likes to climb over. He gets 12 hours of light a day. I feed him a few times a week in a separate tank. I am usually forced to do a full water change because the algae gets so bad that I can't see through the water. When I do a full water change, the algae seems to come back full force by a weeks time. I've tried moss balls, and heard that placing pennies in the tank would help. Like I said, I am currently doing phosban and algone, replacing them once a week, neither of those chemicals are working. The only reason I'm OK with the algae is because I know it doesn't really hurt the turtle, but like others have said, it's very unsightly, and I do enjoy watching my turtle swim around. I'm not really sure what other things to try, maybe I should do a more frequent partial water change at the first sight of algae? How often are partial water changes recommended?
With algae unless you get rid of every last ounce of it when you clean, the algae will come back very quickly. Some folks are going to read your post and give you the "reason" you have the algae and you should listen to them closely. But I wanted to point out something else that may attribute to it as well. I don't know how much water you have in your 55 gallon tank but if its more than 40-50% full then its severely underpowered and may be a contributing factor to your algae issue.
It's a red eared slider book written by Animal Planet. This is where i got it from: http://www.amazon.com/Red-Eared-Sliders ... red+slider. Just in case I didn't link it.
As per the filter media thread viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145 your Fluval 304 is effective up to 30 turtle gallons. I think that if you either reduce the amount of water in your tank if its more than 50% or if you get a stronger filter then you will see a big difference. Also I think that you should consider doing a full break down of your tank, filter and all accessories and clean them as best as you can. Hoses, decorations, filter, EVERYTHING. Then put it all back together as if it was a brand new tank with brand new equipment and such. If your tank is near a window it might contribute. Try reducing the light from 12 hours down to 10 hours. Try introducing a Chinese algae eater (worked wonders for me) and stop using the chemicals. They can do more harm for your turtle than good. More frequent water changes can help. But if you follow my suggestion you are going to have to live with what ever algae grows in there until after the tank cycles.
Good luck and keep us updated on the progress. Maybe start a visual thread with pictures and progress. We love that kind of stuff.
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