General Care Discussion :: Green water :(

[dave09]

I used the search and I didn't find anyone with the same problem as me.
But maybe I overlooked :l

Anyways

I had the smaller type of a Hydor filter and it broke. So I got myself a new filter, it's also Hydor but it's bigger than the first one, and it wasn't cheap.
But the water always turns green after 1 week use and then I have to clean the tank.

The only things in the tank are the filter, the RES, a heater and a UVB.

The strange thing is that the smaller filter worked perfectly for the same setup for about a year. Then it couldnt handle the job and the water always turned green, and then it just broke.

I can't understand why the smaller type handled it at first, but the bigger doesnt...

Sorry for my bad vocabulary I'm not used to explain things in english, hope you can help :l

[missibsu]

Green water sounds like an algae problem to me. Is your tank near a window?

[SpotsMama]

I think at first you didn't have algae. That's why the water didn't turn green. Then, your tank "caught" algae and now the spores are everywhere, so even when you change the water there are still a few spores left behind and they multiply in the freshly changed water until it once again turns green.

Have you changed your lighting? Is the tank now near the window whereas it didn't used to be? Or maybe the curtains are left open now. Have you gotten a new more powerful bulb?

[retard]

same thing with me

[marisa]

Does your tank get a lot of light (if it's near a window, move it).

How long are you leaving the light on (if you have a regular flourescent UVB which doesn't give off enough heat, your turtle also needs a heat source, which can be a regular lightbulb).

I'm not familiar with your filter, but am wondering:

what size tank it's rated for,
how big your tank is and
how big your turtle is.

Try doing some partial water changes for a few days and see if that helps at all.

[Jessica313]

does the water kind of look like pea soup?? if so, you have algae bloom. i had this problem in my fish tank a few months ago. no matter how much u change the water, its going to keep coming back unless u kill the algae. i solved this problem easier than i expected. i used these drops that you put in the water called something like "algae destroyer" or something like that. in addition to droppin them into the water, you need to cover the tank for 24 hours blocking it from all light.
i dont know if these are safe for turtles (maybe someone else does??)
but within 2 days, my water was CRYSTAL CLEAR, and it hasnt come back

[dave09]

Thanks for the replies,

I recently bought a red heatbulb because the vet told me to. She told me that it contained some vitamins that the turtles get from the sun.

I'm gonna put that light away and try to get those algae destroyer drops or something :l

[cam722]

Thanks for the replies,

I recently bought a red heatbulb because the vet told me to. She told me that it contained some vitamins that the turtles get from the sun.

I'm gonna put that light away and try to get those algae destroyer drops or something :l

If you put that light away, will you have the necessary lighting for the turtle? They need a UVB and a UVA light source which is what the vet was talking about. You never said if you have the tank near a window.

[dave09]

It's near a window but the curtains are always closed.

[SpotsMama]

Like Cam722 said, you must provide the good light and also heat over the basking area. But I haven't heard of a red heatbulb that provides UVB light, which is very important. I would think a red bulb would just provide heat and UVA. What's the brand name and wattage? Is it an incandescent bulb?

Do you use any other lights besides the red heatbulb?

[cam722]

I agree SpotsMama.. I think the red lights only produce heat and not the necessary UVB which I think is what the vet probably recommended.

[dave09]

Yes. the red bulb is only a heatbulb, I know it's not uvb.
But I also have a uvb light and I wasn't planing on removing that.

Now I've cleaned the tank from top to buttom and I'm gonna let it stand in a dark place over the night. Hopefully the algae thingy will go away.

[marisa]

If I remember correctly some infrared heat lights do say on the package that they contain some phosphorescent (sp?) chemical that's supposed to enhance something in reptiles, but it's not UVB rays. They are for heat, though, and can be used 24/7 because they're not supposed to disturb the sleep cycle.

Dave09, are you sure the vet didn't tell you to get a red heat bulb to use at night to warm your turtle and also to get a UVB light so your turtle could have "sunlight" to bask under? If you get a regular flourescent UVB light, your turtle still needs a heat source. You could use the red heat light for this and have both the red heat and UVB lights on during the day, but turn the UVB light off at night while keeping the red heat light on (if it's cool where your are). Or, if you don't need to warm the tank at night you could use a regular lightbulb for heat and turn both lights off at night.