Habitat - Indoor :: Algae Control

[dandj425]

New tank woes ugh! Water is smelly and greenish colored in new 55g. Not happy. Had gotten a Fluval U4 since it is in bedroom until I can get my canister. But ended up today putting back on my Aquaclear 70 from the last small tank to do double duty now as a bio with the u4. Have running in the AC70 the sponge, then bioceramics, then sponge on top. Waiting for my purigen tomorrow from amazon. Should I put it on top of second sponge or in middle with bioceramics layers? Tried snails- 3- and map turtle was Very happy for that treat. Got them red rosies to leave snails alone but the red rosies are eating along bottom and being left alone for the time being so.... that should help temporarily with the turtle waste right? Also I hate sand! Had clear bottom before. Is this causing early algae growth? Will this prolong bb growth? The girls kick it up constantly going up and down, another Ugh. How long in a new tank this size should I see algae improvement based on bio methods? Hints help? Also past few days really nice out so the girls stayed in outside enclosure and I "bathed" them breifly with toothbrush before putting back in tank at night so haven't used my uvb in two days. This helps right?

[Into_the_Mystic]

I have recently noticed a pinkish tint to my hoses. Anyone else have this issue?

I P.M'd VeipacCray. and he told me what it could be, but I wanted to see if any of you have or have had this problem.

[steve]

I got a pink tinge to my XP3 hoses too, but they haven't spread. I initially thought it was a bacteria that has a pink color to it (usually found in bathrooms) but I read that it could be a type of algae. For me, it's more of a stain than something that is growing, so I haven't really looked into it anymore.

[Into_the_Mystic]

I was able to clean the hoses out, but it has returned within 2 weeks.

I don't see it in the tank, or maybe only notice it in the tubes because they are clear.

[dandj425]

Our smaller tanks are staying clear but my big one is becoming a sore thumb! Ammonia was 4 before water change and about 3.5 after 1/3 tank change ugh. Tried a bunch of a plant but they ate every last torn piece. Put an air stone in this week and changed one side of my flucal u4 and one of the 2 sponges in the ac70. But need to recharge the purigen. I think my 2 old girls are just too big to keep the 55g clear. Looking to buy the 125g but cant afford for a few months. Maybe 1/3 changes twice a week instead of once? I wanted to get a bio-balance going though.

[steve]

It does sound like there is a large bio load for your filters. What kind of bio media are you using?

[ignites]

Hi,

I am new to posting in the forums but have been reading for a while.

I got some second hand aquarium equipment and aquarium from family for free and I noticed a lot of things had algae / algae smells in it even after cleaning it (just using cloth / water - no chemicals). I was wondering if the stuff is usable (ie. the heater) even though there is still a strong algae smell.

If it matter its is going tobe used to house 2 RES

[steve]

I'd give it another round of cleaning and make sure the old filter media is discarded.

[Crusader13]

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....

[VeipaCray]

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....

Please provide a source for this book. Not that I'm questioning your post, but others may like to read the book as well. Thank you.

[ballarddamallard]

@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]

@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.

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.

[slider_keeper]

Hi all, I have learned over time and well like usual researching. Algae is like any other living organism. If you provide bright light, algae is gonna grow. Unfortunately you won't get rid of algae without making your water sterile, without any minerals or bacteria in it. If you don't want algae, then you will need to wipe down the ornaments and objects every so often that have algae on them. I for one like algae and try to promote it's growth in my tank. 1) for the benefits it provides to cleaning water like all other plants do. 2) it provides additional food to my fish, which eat algae. It also gives a natual look to the wood in my tank. As said before algae isn't exactly bad for your tank. Altough there is several harmful types, most common that could be found in freshwater water is Blue Green algae, but in all my years I have never encountered this type in my tanks. Just my two cents on the subject.

[Crusader13]

@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.

[ballarddamallard]

I will do a full break down. About the filter, I meant to say fluval 306. With the media, it recommends only replacing the media one at a time. Would it be ok, once I break everything down, to replace all the media due to healthy bacteria? I've also been using vinegar for cleaning, is there a recommendation for what I should use to clean otherwise? Ice found it pretty impossible to get all of the algae off of his basking area and alligator head. Would I thorough soak do the trick or should I consider replacement.

Thanks so much!