Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello All,
I have an outdoor pond in my yard, and I've been thinking about added a Red Ear slider to it. I live in Phoenix Az, and sometimes I have a problem with algae. Because there is so much sun here, the water turns green. What can I use to control the algae that won't harm a turtle.

Thanks,
Stuntman Mike

The stuff I've seen for algae only warn about other plants in the pond. All of it claims not to hurt animals. However, all the things I've tried, didn't work! So if'n you figure it out, please let me know, then we'll both know! lol!
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0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
1.0.0 Yellow belly slider
0.1.0 Red belly cooter
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.11.0 chickens
1.0.0 Dutch(rabbit)
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband

The best way to treat algae is to deprive it of what it needs: nutrients and light. Floating plants (duckweed, water lettuce) or floating-leaved plants (water lilies, lotus) will severely cut down the amount of light that reaches the algae. A good filter, along with plenty of plants, will help pull nutrients from the water; making sure organic debris doesn't accumulate too much also helps.

Algicides are short-term treatments at best, and many of them are lethal to plants and invertebrates and can also be toxic to vertebrates. However, a UV sterilizer can severely reduce the numbers of planktonic algae and photosynthetic protists, the causes of green water, without harming the more desirable pond inhabitants..

I have a large 20 ft long concrete pond in florida. I used to have a major algae problem until I hooked up a uv sterilizer. It burns up the algae. Plants would work great, except they get gobbled up by aquatic turtles faster than they can grow. I still have a problem with organic sludge building up on the bottom. I have to vacuum it out regularly, which is a major pain.
Link

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-Jake

1.1 juvie L.t. annulata
1.1 adult/subadult L.g. californiae
0.1 mexican double yellowheaded amazon parrot

I get red algae and bugs like locusts that end up in my turtle's outdoor summer tank. I'm in Toronto. Any clue why the difference in colour?