Habitat - Indoor :: Algae Control

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 2:12 pm   Re: Algae Control

So if I got a UV sterilizer it wouldn't kill the algae that is on the sides of the aquarium, rocks, etc.? The algae has to be floating? I guess that would work if I cleaned the algae off everything, and then the UV sterilizer would keep it from coming back? As of right now I do not have green water. I just have algae on things. It is obvious that my light is causing it, because there is no algae where the light doesn't reach to.
1 RES: Angelina
1 Beta: Simon (really Simon #2 but my daughter doesn't know Simon #1 died)
1 Miniature Schnauzer: Sugar
Mom2RES
 
Posts: 222
Joined: Aug 1, 2011
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:15 pm   Re: Algae Control

Algae has to pass through the UV sterilizer's light to kill it. If you want to keep the algae from coming back, control the food source. The extra nutrients and phosphate in the water. If you treat the source of the problem, the problem goes away.
User avatar
VeipaCray
Moderator
 
Posts: 4311
Joined: Aug 31, 2009
Location: Naperville, IL
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 4:47 pm   Re: Algae Control

VeipaCray wrote:Algae Control


So where do phosphates come from?
(some material sourced from http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/water ... phates.htm)

All established aquariums have Phosphates. It's when phosphate levels rise that algae growth is promoted. Phosphates naturally occur as wastes are broken down within the aquarium. In addition to being internally produced, phosphates can enter the aquarium from external sources. Everything from food, to the chemicals used to buffer the water, to the water itself can contain significant amounts of phosphate. Phosphate sources include:
  • uneaten food
  • plant decay
  • dying algae
  • fish feces
  • dead fish
  • carbon filter media
  • aquarium salts
  • pH buffers
  • kH buffers
  • water itself

How do we remove Phosphates?

  • Uneaten food - we can remove from the water.
  • Plant decay - can be removed from the water.
  • Dying algae - catch 22. We kill the algae and it serves as a food source for more algae..well sort of.
  • Fish feces - proper aquarium filtration systems and water changes will take care of this.
  • Dead fish - If your turtle hasn't already consumed the fish, it can be netted and removed.
  • Carbon filter media - Replace it regularly or switch to the eco-friendly reusable synthetic version made by Seachem called "Purigen". It doesn't leech phosphates.
  • Aquarium salts - depending on your setup this might be a necessary evil. (ie shared turtle / cichlid environments)
  • PH buffers - shouldn't really be needed for turtle environments as RES are fairly tolerant to a wider PH range when compared to fish.
  • kH buffers - (kH = Carbonate hardness via alkalinity) same as PH buffers. These however might again be needed in a shared cichlid environment
  • Water itself - see below.


If there's phosphates native to the water we use, how do we ever win the algae battle?

If you're using tap water for your turtle's habitat, chances are it's high in phosphates. Many water treatment facilities artificially add phosphates to the water to protect the pipe systems and prevent mineral build up.
We have two ways to remove phosphates from the water, mechanically or chemically.

The mechanical removal of phosphates from the water is done one of two ways. With an Reverse Osmosis (RO) system or via steam distillation. We can buy RO water or distilled water at the store. This is not the most cost effective solution, but it's certainly an option. Your grocery store will generally sell both distilled and RO water. Distilled water is available in plastic jugs and marked as distilled water. Sometimes in the fine print on the jugs, the distilled water will say something to the effect of "RO process" which means it's really RO purified water being sold as distilled water. Many grocery stores have a machine where for a monetary amount you can refill plastic jugs. This machine is an RO system. RO systems work by forcing water through a membrane that traps very fine impurities in the water. The membrane is flushed and away go the water impurities. Over time RO membranes need to be replaced. Who knows what condition your local store's RO membrane is in or when it was last replaced (if ever). Generally speaking, using store RO water is still better than using your home tap water. Local fish stores that cater to saltwater or reef keeping hobbies will also usually sell RO water. The RO systems at local fish stores are usually maintained well as the fish stores are fighting the same algae we are.

For us turtle keepers to do this ourselves in a practical cost-effective manner, we're talking about RO systems at home. There are many choices available online and at your local hardware stores. RO systems are relatively easy to install and range in price. One of the benefits of having an in-home RO system is that it can be used for more than just your turtle. You can purify your own drinking water, save money on buying bottled water, get almost perfectly clear ice cubes… etc.

Using straight RO water in an aquarium is probably not a good idea as the water is extremely soft and can cause the PH level to drop below the acceptable range for a healthy turtle. If you use RO water or distilled water, you can buffer the water with a phosphate-free product like Kent's "RO right" or Brightwell's "Remineraliz". This will add some minerals and salts back to the water. Now you have water that is free of phosphates, fluoride, lime, and other compounds but is able to sustain a PH for healthy turtles.


The chemical process for removing phosphates involves a filter media made of granular ferric oxide (GFO). GFO can be purchased in generic bulk form or by it's name brand "Phosban". GFO can be added to filter media bags and placed in our aquarium filtration systems or it can be in a separate filtration unit designed specifically for GFO called a reactor or phosban reactor. Over time GFO will become exhausted and need to be replaced.

There are other phosphate absorbing products and chemicals available that we can use. Phosphate absorbing pads have a short useful lifespan. Phosphate pads have another issue… when they are exhausted of their phosphate removing powers… they can actually leech phosphates back into the water column. Liquid phosphate removal chemicals are not recommended for use in your turtle aquarium. Remember your turtle drinks the water he or she lives in.




I'm not sure how to control the food source. Angelina (yes my 5 yo named her) never leaves any food. I have no live plants. I have no fish, but I assume turtle feces could cause the same problems as fish feces. How would I clean out turtle feces? I don't have gravel, but I do have rocks that cover the bottom of my tank. I believe I have adequate filtration for my tank size. I do partial water changes once every one or two weeks. I change my carbon like it is recommended. Maybe I'll try switching to Purigen. I think maybe I should try the distilled water too and use one of the phosphate free products to buffer the water. I may look into the GFO too.

Like I mention I think my biggest problem is the light. Not much I can do about that though. Would not leaving the light on as much help? Typically the light is on from 7:00 am to 9:00 or 10:00 pm.

I really need to figure this out though. My aquarium is in my living room. Quite frankly I hate the look of it with the algae and don't really want company at my house while it looks like it does.
1 RES: Angelina
1 Beta: Simon (really Simon #2 but my daughter doesn't know Simon #1 died)
1 Miniature Schnauzer: Sugar
Mom2RES
 
Posts: 222
Joined: Aug 1, 2011
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Sep 29, 2011 7:09 pm   Re: Algae Control

Measure your nitrates and the phosphates in your water. You can get test kits at your local pet/fish store for both of those. Nitrates - dealt with via water changes. However, if your replacement water is high in phosphates, you're still not out of the weeds yet. GFO can help lower and remove phosphates. It's not an "instant" improvement like Purgen is for water clarity but it definitely helps.

Your light is on a bit much. You can probably cut that back by a few hours and see if that helps any.
User avatar
VeipaCray
Moderator
 
Posts: 4311
Joined: Aug 31, 2009
Location: Naperville, IL
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2011 9:03 am   Re: Algae Control

Sunny and Lily managed to live with the two peppered corys I got for their bottom cleanup crew for about five days until today. The two cories were snapped at and unfortunately their lives were 'snapped' apart as well. The first cory died before I came over but the second one was still barely alive, bleeding all over. It survived for a few more hours before it finally died.
There are 3 kinds of people: Those who can count and those who can't.
[RiP] Tilly - Female 5yr old RES. [2005-2010]
2 x (Probably female) RES hatchlings - Sunny & Lily [18/09/11 - Present]
Matryoshka
 
Posts: 99
Joined: Sep 18, 2011
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 1:34 am   Re: Algae Control

We really can't avoid how algae grow and how they go about, and we can just do much in making a bid not to let them grow more by taking care of their riddance just over the first signs of them starting.

It is all about how keen you are to seeing them start and how you would react to cleaning and making sure that they are eliminated.
rheffley
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Jan 12, 2012

Post Posted: Tue Mar 27, 2012 8:47 pm   Re: Algae Control

Having major algae issues. The water gets nasty inside of 4 days (whereas I used to clean it once a week).

Now the feeder fish that was supposed to be dinner but is now a tank buddy. That being said, Fishy, used to eat Sheldon's poop (nasty right?) Well now that Sheldon is eating better, he can't. I scoop poop as best I can and Fishy now eats the pellet leftovers. My artifical dock is starting to grow algae. Water changes help but I can't be cleaning the tank every 4 days.

Anybody have any suggestions?

I have a 15 gallon tank and a fluval U1 filter. The Self-Ballasted Mercury Vapor bulb is on from 8 am to 8 pm.
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12
User avatar
cutepanda86
 
Posts: 1095
Joined: Feb 24, 2012
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 2:39 pm   Re: Algae Control

I'm no expert on Mercury Vapor bulbs, but I think your tank is too small to support using the bulb. Have you had it long? Most likely the MV bulb is helping the algae to grow because it is emitting too much UVB for your small tank.

-Michael
Sweeney & Pascal - RES Hatchlings & Martha - 2 yo YBS
Find out more about us at our - Turtle Blog & TurtleCam
michaelg
 
Posts: 233
Joined: Feb 12, 2012
Location: Southeast Georgia
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Mar 28, 2012 9:07 pm   Re: Algae Control

^^I've had it for almost a month and the algae didn't show up until this past weekend. It has been the only thing that gets the air warm enough for him to bask. If I maybe reduce the hours it's on, it might help.

Thanks!
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12
User avatar
cutepanda86
 
Posts: 1095
Joined: Feb 24, 2012
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:06 am   Re: Algae Control

The type of MVB you should be using is a flood (not a spot), so it will be exposing a lot - if not most of the water to light. But yea, it's a pretty small tank to use one on.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Mar 29, 2012 9:09 pm   Re: Algae Control

I'm using a flood. I guess Sheldon is just very picky about the air temp. He won't sleep on his basking rock because at night the temp dips into the upper 60's.

The vet gave me some ideas for the algae and upgrading the filter, so I'm going to give that a shot along with cutting out some of the sunlight. :) Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it.
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12
User avatar
cutepanda86
 
Posts: 1095
Joined: Feb 24, 2012
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 12:50 am   Re: Algae Control

Glad you saw a vet :)
...and I wouldn't wish for sleeping on his basking dock at night; that would be an oddity (happens sometimes, just like us insomniac humans), but if the water temp is fine, sleeping in the water is the norm.
Don't worry about keeping his basking area warm at night; just keep his water temp constant 24x7, and give him something to prop up on should he become lazy and want to pop up his head for air without having to swim to the top for it :)

What were your vet's suggestions for algae? I'd love to know!
"I know up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights"
~ "Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories" by Dr. Seuss ~
User avatar
penelope
 
Posts: 1393
Joined: Oct 17, 2007
Location: San Jose, California
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Mar 30, 2012 10:43 am   Re: Algae Control

I saw your post over there. lol

I was concerned at first when he slept in the water because he spent the first couple of nights on the basking platform until I corrected my other issues. Oh well, beginner's whoopsie.
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12
User avatar
cutepanda86
 
Posts: 1095
Joined: Feb 24, 2012
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 4:34 pm   Re: Algae Control

I've had success with a pleco. I'm not sure why because the last one got eaten. But I've had my pleco for like half a year. He was tiny, now he's beastly and keeps my tank sparkling clean. The new filter probably helps, too.

So tough with algae in my betta's tank. He was in a 5 gallon and had a mini-filter but hated it so I removed it. But the fuzz grew way too quickly and cleaning was obnoxious, so he's back down to a gallon size tank so I can do more water changes. He's much happier in the nice clean tank :P
Julibee
 
Posts: 23
Joined: Oct 23, 2007

Post Posted: Sat May 12, 2012 9:46 pm   Re: Algae Control

A pleco huh? I may need to get myself one of those. Sheldon has been fighting the algae monster himself lately.
1 RES - A girl named Sheldon
1 feeder fish - affectionately named Fishy - RIP 5/27/12
User avatar
cutepanda86
 
Posts: 1095
Joined: Feb 24, 2012
Location: Orchard Park, NY
Gender: Female

PreviousNext

Return to Habitat - Indoor

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests