Posted: Tue Jul 26, 2005 7:09 pm
Warmth, light and nutrients in the water combine to form algae. I use corkbark for the basking area, and the edges that are under water have algae on them. I think it adds to the "naturalness" of the habitat, and I generally leave it alone until I happen to do a thorough cleaning of the tank, then I just scrub it off.
It won't bother your turtle, but if you find you're getting more of it than you want, there are some things you could do to slow down/discourage its growth:
1. If you've got the tank in a window, move it to cut down on the light.
2. How long are the lights on? If they're on for something like 14 hours a day, shorten the time they're on.
3. I've read that turning the lights off for a few hours during the day can disrupt growth--maybe this isn't possible for you, but since the summer has been really warm and sunny here, I try have my RES outside for a few hours each day, and I turn off all lights when he's not in the tank.
4. Keep the water temp down to around 76F (hard to do in the summer, I know).
5. Dilute the concentration of nutrients in the tank by doing partial water changes in between regular cleanings/changes.
6. Add oxygen to the water with aquatic plants that are oxygenators like anachris (hard to do because the turts will eat them), or devices like bubble wands or airstones.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
