Urgent Care :: shell problems and green tank.

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Post Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2017 12:57 pm   shell problems and green tank.

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e2/li ... onkki1.jpg

Hello. I hope I did the picture correctly. My turtle is about 4 years old, I have never had any problems. Her water has turned green and I can't seem to fix that and she has just developed these spots on her shell. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Worried about my Turbo :( Thanks, Jen
listenveryhard
 
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 6:43 am   Re: shell problems and green tank.

Having to need high heat , long hours of light , and water it's a party ground for algae having a turtle ! You could have all lights on a timer ( on 10 hours a day ) for a day/night cycle. Adjust your maintenance schedule. Watch very large water changes that causes algae blooms too. Smaller (%) more often is better and will help keep a cycle going if your tank is cycled. Also to me a simple fix but works is // start with a clean tank and add live plants ! Floating plants works better , a turtle will dig up rooted ones just to see what's under it.
Goggle for safe plants or read this : http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html
Some plants are better at producing oxygen and others better on controlling algae. I think floating water lettuce controls it well and hornwort ( just let the hornwort float) of tie it to something works the best for my setup. Each setup is different and would need different amount of plants.
The live plants will out compete the algae for the nutrients in the water and also give the turtle some things to pick on while at work and or play in. You take the food supply away from the algae it dies. You can Not remove the heat , light or water so remove its food source. Also you can add a few ghost shrimp they are cheap and do eat some algae without adding lots of waste as a cleaner catfish would defeating the purpose of having a catfish. Yes with a turtle they will become food but he has to hunt for them and they are cheap. Will give your turtle some exercise and let it be a turtle hunting ! By me ghost shrimp are 10 for a dollar but I keep a DIY trap in a lake and catch mostly my own free !
The algae on shell double check basking area for correct temps so it bask more , that will take care of algae on the shell. Do Not use or try chemicals to remove the algae , long time turtle keepers try to keep chemicals out our tanks for control.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:10 am   Re: shell problems and green tank.

Ghost shrimps are so small you won't even notice a difference with the algae. Idk maybe it's just me but I found they are a waste of money if you want to use them as cleaner fish, especially with a turtle around lol

Try to be sure your light hits just the basking area and not the water since less light = less algae. I've heard UV filters are amazing at keeping your tank algae free.
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 19, 2017 10:58 am   Re: shell problems and green tank.

Little more details on my use of ghost shrimp. Yes true small but for me at 10 for a dollar I keep 50 ghost shrimp ( for $5 and works) in a 150 stock tank with live plants and that combo works "Great" for me ! My videos have no algae , must be working. With a lot of hiding spots so Piggley doesn't get many. One problem is that some only used 2-5 ghost shrimp in a 150 gallon thank and yes that will never work. Must find a balance on everything. For my tank it's 50 ghost shrimp. Sounds like a lot but 50 adult ghost shrimp will fit on a serving spoon .

UV sterilizers are great but you must do homework on them , different flow rates of the UV does different things , then must match it to the tank size.
Good read : http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/artic ... icleid=435

Most built in UV lamps on some filters are very miss matched for the proper flow to work well and serve little good. More of a marking gimmick. Must match size of bulb wattage to a proper flow to remove algae / a flow rate for bacteria and even a different flow rate to say remove parasites to the size tank. For the UV to work each problem needs to pass the UV light for a certain amount of time in order to kill it , hence the different flow rates for each area of concern. A properly matched UV flow does work and kills the algae blooms but then you must have a good filter media to be able catch it so it's removed from the water. Algae attached to substrate will never be picked up by a filter , so my ghost shrimp eats it and all gone ! One problem is that some only used 2-5 ghost shrimp in a 150 gallon tank and yes that will never work. Must find a balance on everything. For my tank it's 50 ghost shrimp. Sounds like a lot but 50 adult ghost shrimp will fit on a serving spoon .
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 1:16 pm   Re: shell problems and green tank.

http://s36.photobucket.com/user/listenv ... iew=recent

Water is a bit clearer after a water change. It is a 75 gallon tank I believe. Still debated to try ghost shrimp or live plants. Just thought I would post some more pics of the set up. Thank you for the feedback. Any other suggestions on changes to the set up would be appreciated. I have started turning lights off at night as I think that was a huge contributor to the algae. Thanks again, Jen
listenveryhard
 
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2017 2:15 pm   Re: shell problems and green tank.

Jen you may want to google turtle basking dock's and click on images for some ideas. More time and attention to her basking will help with the shell problems.
DIY with things around the house could work.

Get a child's "soft" toothbrush and "gently" clean your girl's shell off some to help get that algae off her.
litefoot
 
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