General Care Discussion :: anyone hear of ALGONE?

[fungke]

came across this...
http://www.algone.com/

was wondering if people have ever used it. good experience? bad? want to try to treat my tank suffering from green water algae.

let me know please

[SpotsMama]

I've never used it. Sounds like an algaecide.

[fungke]

any bad side effects?

[scripta_elegans]

They say that it is chemical free, and safe for turtle tanks. I would need a list of ingredients in order to be sure. And as Meg said, it is best to be wary.
http://www.algone.com/faq/tank_type.htm

[megcornell]

I'm always very wary of products like that.
I'd try other algae solutions first such as moving the tank away from windows, redirecting the lights so they hit less of the water and focus more on just the basking area, and just scrubbing the problem areas.

Even if you kill the algae once, if the problem causing the algae is still there it's a losing battle.

[industrial_girl_2000]

I agree with Meg. I steer clear of algaecide-type chemicals.

Best thing for algae? Good old-fashioned scrubbing. Honestly. That, and keeping your aquarium away from any windows where sunlight can hit it.

[mikee]

fingke --There several different products that will work, IF YOU START OUT ON A CLEAN SLATE!! You will have to sterilize the entire system including the filter tubing and lastly your turtles. The turtles are the trick. I am on my secnond month without any algae. I used warm water and bleach. I had to scrub everything that touched the water. You cannot sterlize the turtles but you can gently bursh them off with table salt in warm water. Dilute as much salt as the water will absorb and gently bursh the turtle with a tooth brush. He will not like it. Let the turtle dry off good with the salt on him. Please bear in mind if you have carbon in your filter it will filter out any chemical that you put in the tank. So far his has worked for me. Also bear in mind that algea has to have sun light and will grow with the uva and uvb lighting. You should limit your sunlight and your lighting as much as possible. Good Luck!!

[octpusgirl8]

Keeping the water extremely clean has worked for me. I get a little algae on the area under the basking ramp, but not much. Get a good water testign kit, including a test for phosphates, and see what's in your water. You might need a bigger/better filter or more frequent water changes.

[fungke]

thanks for all the feedback.
unfortunately i cannot start from fresh. i used to clean the tank and its contents (not turtle) with vinegar and water. however this did not keep algae away for long.

below is a photo of my set up.

i have the UVA light to the left and heat lamp on the right. behind it i have a room that gets bright with daylight.

i cannot move the tank elsewhere. as such, would it help if i covered the back of the tank with something that limits the ambient light? do i still need the uva light or just go with the basking?

[mikee]

fungke -- Vinegar and water will not do the job. You do not have to "start from fresh", you just need to bleach what you have. You cannot miss a thing or you will have to start over. Vinegar is a weak acid with a PH of about 4. By the time you add water the PH is raised higher and is not very effective. Good Luck !

[megcornell]

Covering the tank back may help some, but you've got a serious algae bloom going on there. Where is the basking area in the tank? I do not see one...
Also I see your UVB and UVB at opposite ends of the tank, they should both be focused on the same area- the basking perch. YOu'd be doing yourself a favor to get a large floating dock that will block some of the light from hitting the water.

I think though a thorough cleaning may be what you need to do to at least get things under control for now. The algae in your case is literally all through the tank and I think it would really be beneficial to clean things out with vinegar or dilute bleach (about 2oz per gallon) and rinse well!
Once you get the current bloom taken care of you're going to need to try and make sure the tank environment changes by reducing the light that hits it and by redirecting the basking lights- you'll still need both of them.
You may want to look into building an above tank basking area-- that would keep the lights off the water and may be a very good solution.