General Care Discussion :: algae control

[brittany4211]

Hi, I saw somewhere on the forum someone suggested using chemicals like algae control. Is this really effective? Will it hurt my turtle? Does anyone recommend a brand?

[Bascomb]

britt 411- Algea remover will slow the growth some if you start out squeeky clean in the beginning. You will have to clean the tank, contents, filter, hoses and the turtles. Use bleach with all but the turtles. With them you use warm salt water and brush them gently with a soft toothbrush. When you put in the algea remover keep in mind that the carbon in your filter will take out the remover. I put it in and cut off the filter for an hour or so. You don't leave it off for long as the bacteria will suffer too much. You want them to survive the ordeal. b.

[meltedspork]

I use Tetra Algae Control in my frog tank and it works pretty well. Just follow the directions on the bottle. And be careful if you have any invertebrates in your tank because it will kill them. It doesn't prevent algae all together, but there is MUCH less algae in the tank when I use it.

I don't use it in my turtle tank because I haven't had an algae problem at all in that tank. I think it is because Toby swims around a lot and digs in the rocks, so algae doesn't have a chance to start growing. My frogs are much less active and their water current is not as strong, so algae builds up in their tank quite quickly.

[imderanged]

I dunno. I'm nervous about algacides. I have heard of it sometimes hurting fish. I think it damaged their slime coat. I honestly don't know if it would hurt turtles, but I haven't wanted to take the chance to find out. I used to use a algea scraper and it worked just fine. I put a pleco in my tank and haven't had a real algea probelm since, but I have had bad algae in my goldfish tank. I got one of those magnetic tank cleaners and that worked REALLy well. I also shortened the length of time the lights were on in the fish tank and that helped. I don't get too crazy about algae because alittle aglae can be a good thing.

[RicharDC4]

i also use tetra algae control.

i had green water for awhile because i was a bit busy and didn't have time to clean the turtle tank as much as i liked. i used the algae control and it got rid of all the algea in the water and it is clear once again. and my turtles seem to be find. still getting excited about food and stuff.

[brittany4211]

ok thanks everyone :]

[packfan1]

I have notice algae on my guys, I read in the forum that a little is ok, is that true or is it a concern? I am going to brush it off to be on the safe side. What leads to it?

[imderanged]

Wastes in the water lead to algea growth. Maybe you need to upgrade your filter?