Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My tank looks like Swampthing's yard, even though I just cleaned and disinfected it 2 weeks ago. And I scrubbed down all the stuff in it too. I have only one turtle that is 3".
I have the heater off because it is summertime. It is a 75 gallon tank, filled to the top, and I have a Fluval 404 and a Fluval 404plus running in there because I HATE cleaning out the tank. But the algae is really bad.

THis problem is harder to get a hold of than a greased pig at the county fair. Is there anything I can put in the water to slow algae growth?

Thanks!
...Anne

1 RES JFK
1 Anklebiter named Reece(20 months and just escaped out of his crib and unlocked the "childproof" door. Time to myself?What's that?)

Well... Algae is basically a plant. It's not harmful in and of itself, and can acutally act as a sponge to mop up nitrites in your water. But if you want to get rid of it, you have to eliminate its food sources. One method, growing live plants in the tank, won't work with turtles. Another, reducing light, won't work either (although if you have sunlight hitting your tank moving it will probably help). Keeping the water very very clean is the best thing to do, but that's understandably hard as well. One thing you can try is to buy a clumping agent in the aquarium section at a fish store. These make the algae stick together so that your filter can remove it. It's not permanent, but it does clear up your tank. There are also algae killing chemicals available. I used one brand on a tank with an aquatic frog (Pipa pipa) in it and it had no adverse affects on him or his live food. So I personally would use it on a turtle although it's up to your descretion. Phosphate sponges, which go in your filter, may also help.
As a note, I once had a horrible algae problem in my 75 gallon that killed all my fish. I broke the tank down and then put a turtle in it (same spot, same water) and the problem never came back. To this day I have no clue what happened. But see if the above stuff works for you.
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

I have this stuff by BIotize that is a waste degrader.Will that work? Is it the same thing as the clumping stuff?
And I have the tank in my kitchen, which is huge and full of sunlight. The rest of my house is carpeted and so I don't want to move it.
Thanks for all the helpfull tips! I totally appreciate it!
...Anne

I think the main cause of your algae growth is that your tank is in a room with lots of bright direct sun. Even moving it to a corner that doesn't get as much sun might help. You could also try to shade it some how to block some of that light.

Yeah, you could like, put aquarium background on three sides of it.
Biotize would theoretically work... if it you know... does what it says it does...
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Eryx - All the fun of a boa in a convenient pocket size!

I used to have that problem, and I cleaned my tank about 5x more than I do now. But when I switched my tutles to a bigger tank, I got new filters, Duetto, with boilogical filter and chemical filter in it, and their tank is beautiful now, and I haven't had that problem since.
The sunlight is also a big thing, but everyone else already mentioned that

I have a Fluval 404 Plus and a regular FLuval 404 in there. Are any of these chemical and Bio filters compatable with these types and how do I know if I already have them or not?
...ANne

Does the Fluval have biological and chemical filters? I'm not really sure. I've never used a Fluval, so I can't really say and I know a lot of people who are very successful with fluvals, but when I went to get my new filters (a while ago), the aquarium/petstore person suggested the Duetto even though their not as well know, becuase it has biological and chemical filters in it and he said something about Fluval's owner was switched to the son or something, and it wasn't as good anymore. (unless its been changed again since then? IDK)

Fish also helped my tank a little too when it had a lot of algae.....before the turtles ate them...hehe