Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've got some green stuff growing as a thin film on objects in one part of my tank that gets a lot of UV and incondescent light. I assume it's algae. Right now it's not too bad---I just take out the stuff and scrub them, and I clean my tank monthly. Questions:

1) does algae harm the turtles?
2) does it negatively affect water quality?
3) is there a chemical that I can use to curb its growth?

I read that "plecos" are algae-eating fishes that some keep with their RES. I'm a little hesitant to introduce them into my tank though (more animals in the tank = more maintenance) until absolutely necessary.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Algae can actually positively affect water quality because it sucks up waste from the water. Other than that, it doesn't hurt anything, it's just a plant. Plecos do eat algae but the common plecos can get over a foot long and the smaller ones would probably become turtle snacks (maybe not, they're fast). Snails also eat algae, but turtles like them too. My turtle tanks don't have algae, but my fish tank is covered in it... I think it adds atmosphere. It's the free floating 'pea soup' algae that gets really annoying.