General Care Discussion :: Question about tank cleaning

[FinnAgain]

Up until recently my tank has stayed pretty clean on its own from just the filter, but recently I have been getting green "sludge" for lack of a better word on the dock and the sides of the glass. Can anyone help me out on what this is and how to keep it from growing?

[Arisu]

Algae? I usually just wipe it off the sides of my tank and scrub the basking area with a toothbrush. make sure its a new one.

you should just do 20-40% water changes weekly or biweekly to improve water quality.

[BullDog]

That would be green algae. It's not harmful, but you can scrub it off with a brush pretty easily.

[papoopeepoo]

i actually view algae growth as a good sign...thats plant growth in your water. so in many ways its a sign of good water health....but for looks sake a toothbrush should do the job.

[untsmurf]

I had that problem in the apartment. It was caused because my tank was by a little window. I didn't realize that was the problem until we got the house and put the new tank under the stairs. I also moved my UVB light farther away.

The algae does scrub off, for the most part, but until you rearrange whatever is causing it, it will just grow back. Algae isn't harmful, so you don't need to clean it if you don't want to.

[papoopeepoo]

oh yeah, by the way, you probably shouldn't clean your pet's things in your sink or bathtub. this is because the bacteria and germs might spread to you or any little ones you may have in the area

[untsmurf]

I always clean my turts things in the shower and the kitchen sink. If you're really worried about contracting something from it, you can just clean your sink/tub afterwards.