Algae signs in the Turtle tank!!!

mumof2

:(Im getting fed up of having to clean the tank weekly, and now have Algae!!:mad:

Im taking out the gravel but hope the external filter wil keep the water clean, but will have to clean tank completely now.

Anyone got any ideas?

(Have reduced the temperature to allow for seasonal changes........)

Cookie_Monster

The more you change the water and the better the water quality, the less algae you'll get. 20-30% a week should keep on top of it and once its under control you can go back to 10% or so
Don't over feed the fish as this will also encourage algae.

Edit: oops, i'll read it properly next time

mumof2

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

The more you change the water and the better the water quality, the less algae you'll get. 20-30% a week should keep on top of it and once its under control you can go back to 10% or so
Don't over feed the fish as this will also encourage algae.

Its Musk Turtles we have (2), and I change about 70% water every week. it gets replaced with fresh water, with Nutrafin Aqua Plus tap water conditioner added, and Nutrafin cycle added too.
I think its the gravel retaining alot of the dirt (old food particles) which doesn't get siphoned unless I remove the gravel which contains most of the dirt which isn't an option on a weekly change, as I read somewhere that some of the water needs to be left in the tank which contains the good stuff?


We only have the turtles since 21st december, filter cleaned twice now (which also cant be done at the same time as the water change - so its a bit restricting).
So I don't know where we're going wrong.....

Limerick Bandit

You have too much light on and not enough water would be my first guess.
I only clean my 300L tank and filter about every 6 months,
What size is the tank and filter and what light have you got?

mumof2

Juwel 120 L tank filled wit approx 80/90L water.
UVB T8 lighting on for 5 hrs per evening (pull curtain during bright days to block out extra light)
Fluval 305 external canister filter.

(my dad suggested I change the water too often?)

@ Limerick Bandit - do you keep fish or turtles in that size tank? (or both?)

Limerick Bandit

mumof2 wrote: »

Juwel 120 L tank filled wit approx 80/90L water.
UVB T8 lighting on for 5 hrs per evening (pull curtain during bright days to block out extra light)
Fluval 305 external canister filter.

(my dad suggested I change the water too often?)

@ Limerick Bandit - do you keep fish or turtles in that size tank? (or both?)

I keep fish. it sounds like your doing everything right, only other thing i can think of is you may be over feeding?
Could you post a pic of the tank and the algae?

mumof2

Hope this worked - had cleaned glass already. Sorry for delay, but laptop crashed lastnight.

Here pics showing the brown algae, and one of the turtles Fred. Im going to remove gravel on Sunday, clean everything again except filter - or should I clean filter alltogether and start fresh (not having time to cycle tank obviousely as turtles will be waiting patiently in the bath or somewhere...)
Thanks again.

Sorry quality of pics not my best

godtabh

Is the tank in sunlight or getting to much light? That can also be a big problem for algae

Limerick Bandit

That algae problem is not bad at all, I have seen some horror blooms of algae but you will be able to tidy this one up

The only image i can see any problem in is this one


The output from your filter looks to be a nice bit under the water, as this tank is not filled to the top anyway this should be putting a fair bit of pressure on the filter, the best way of running an EX filter is to take the input from the bottom of the tank and have the output go straight from the filter to the top of the tank and let the water out at the top of the tank. if you have the output going from the filter up to the top of the tank and down a bit inside and then the output is under water this will slow down your filter.

Dont clean everything out again, good bacteria will be growing all over everything in your tank so you dont want to do any harm to that.

Do you have a gravel cleaner? I would also cut back on food for a few days untill your happy with the tank, i often dont feed my fish for a few days if im not happy with the tank, its better to be hungry than dead

This is my tank

Limerick Bandit

My filter N stuff set up

mumof2

@Limerick Bandit - Ur setup must have cost a packet! But then uv got fish! Is that sand on the right h/s of the tank? Does that not float around when disturbed? Wouldn't be an option for turtles anyway.....

Is it ok not to feed the turtles for a couple of days so?? They seem to go crazy for food round feeding time as if they know its on the way:D

I know the algae is not bad yet, as I said it was only signs, but don't want it getting worse. I will start with taking out gravel, and cleaning plants only for now then. No more water changes until every 10 days exactly and see if that improves things.

Will move the inlet valve up 4 inches to the top of the water level so. Wil post picture tomoro of complete tank. Checking camera settings first...

Thanks so much to all from Fred and Barney too!:D

mumof2

So in order to get rid of the first signs of algae, aside from feeding them less, and taking out gravel - more importantly

should I take out the water and completely clean out the tank? Or wil the algae disappear by itself?

fred funk }{

I don't know what type of Turtles you have and what are there water requirements but could you not put in a Pleco of some sort. He'd munch away that algae in no time.

Limerick Bandit

Do you have a gravel cleaner? its better than taking the gravel out of the tank.
ya thats sand, why can you not have sand with turtle tanks?
I have never kept turtle's but the water quality for fish would be more than enough for them.
I wouldn't put in any fish with them.

mumof2

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

Do you have a gravel cleaner? its better than taking the gravel out of the tank.
ya thats sand, why can you not have sand with turtle tanks?
I have never kept turtle's but the water quality for fish would be more than enough for them.
I wouldn't put in any fish with them.

The only gravel cleaner I have is the siphoning system, but it just doesn't get rid of all the dirt. If I were to do it really well, then all the water gets drawn out of the tank, and defeats the purpose of the "good" bacteria left behind.

Im not putting fish in with them as the nitrate levels will change and its hard enough keeping it clean as it is!!

Limerick Bandit

mumof2 wrote: »

The only gravel cleaner I have is the siphoning system, but it just doesn't get rid of all the dirt. If I were to do it really well, then all the water gets drawn out of the tank, and defeats the purpose of the "good" bacteria left behind.

Im not putting fish in with them as the nitrate levels will change and its hard enough keeping it clean as it is!!

If you use your gravel cleaner and collect the water in a bucket then you leave it for a little while for the dirt to settle to the bottom and you can put 90% of the water back into the tank then you can use the gravel cleaner again

mumof2

Limerick Bandit wrote: »

If you use your gravel cleaner and collect the water in a bucket then you leave it for a little while for the dirt to settle to the bottom and you can put 90% of the water back into the tank then you can use the gravel cleaner again

Thats a good tip, I did that once except used tap water again!!

going to try that, but will clean out plants anyhow first to clear algae. I have reduced feeding too.

Thanks a mil.:D

Wibbs

OK first off, mumof2 don't sweat it. You have very little of an algae problem. Forget about comparing them to fish or fish tanks. They're not fish and they produce far more waste. What works for our finned friends rarely will for our shelled friends. Algae is something you're going to have to live with to some degree. Or you will drive yourself potty cleaning it on a weekly basis.

You could remove all the gravel like some in the hobby do. You'd still get algae on the glass etc. In any event it's not harming the turtles.

As for reduced feeding. I really wouldn't. Not at the age they're at. Adults can go weeks and weeks(as long as they're healthy with good fat reserves), juveniles much much less so. Anyway your algae problem is unlikely to be uneaten food, it's their waste.

Ditto for reduced lighting. Do not do this. They require light(and heat) in a big way when young(and as adults but especially when young). Full spectrum lighting too.

Turtles live in tanks, require lights and heat and filters, but that's kinda where the comparisons with fishkeeping end.

PS you could have sand with turtles though they may ingest it and it can kill them. They often ingest small stones to help digestion. The biggest issue with sand is that it will foul really really rapidly with turtles. I've used it as a substrate with softshells and trying to keep an adult softshell happy and un smelly in sand is a full time job.

dibleyfm

Hi
I have two turtles but im no expert im just going on what i was told
you can fed them on alternate days as they are very greedy and its in their nature to eat till they pop kind of thing lol . mine do
they eat you out of house and home and always get giddy when i go near tank as they think they will be fed but you dont want to overfeed them.
your tank looks great by the way good luck x

mumof2

dibleyfm wrote: »

Hi
I have two turtles but im no expert im just going on what i was told
you can fed them on alternate days as they are very greedy and its in their nature to eat till they pop kind of thing lol . mine do
they eat you out of house and home and always get giddy when i go near tank as they think they will be fed but you dont want to overfeed them.
your tank looks great by the way good luck x

Thanks for that, I see that too when I approach the tank they go crazy!! I often skip a day, but really to get them used to the fact that I could be gone a day/night.

TBH I havn't done a thing about the tank - still need to take out plants and clean them. They due a water change tomoro, so wil do it all then and take up Limerickbandits tip of reusing the water taken out to give it a second cleaning as the gravel is very dirty.

Thanks again everyone for tips, and yes I agree with you too Wibbs, its a part of aquarium life I think, im not going to sweat over it, Im just going to enjoy them as my small fellow has gotten over the excitemnent stage of having turtles, and Im left feeding most of the time now! (I expected this to happen with any potential pets - thats life with kids!;))