green algae on shells
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Hello, I have noticed that in the past few weeks green algae has been forming on the shells of my dbt’s. I use a wet paper towel and remove the algae but it seems to grow back within two weeks time, even after I did a 25% water change. Will the algae have any harmful effects on the health of my turtles? If so, how can I combat the growth of such algae in my tank? Here is some info on how they are kept. 3 dbt’s approx. 6 months old in: 75 gallon tank in fresh water water temp is 80-82 degrees F Basking temp is between 88-90 degrees F Also have an area to bask outside of the heat lamp fed in seperate container 25% water changes done every 3-4 weeks Thanks, Shaun
Shaun, Do you have any kind of substrate in the water? Often detritus will collect in the substrate and its decomposition will create high phosphate and nitrite levels that persist even with regular water changes as this source is continually breaking down. It is this excess of “nutrients” in the water that causes the algae bloom that you are experiencing. To get things under control I would suggest a good vacuuming of any substrate, a good rinsing of your filter materials and at least a 50% water change. It sounds like they are just eliminating more waste into the water than your 25% every 3-4 week water changes are dealing with. Feeding in a separate bin definitely helps but turtles usually don’t wait for the bin to go the bathroom all the time unfortunately. When I kept fish (which usually produced much less waste) I found a 25% water change was in order almost WEEKLY… and most fish hobbyists recommend doing it weekly as a rule. Being that turtles excrete more waste, I would suggest at least following the 25% per week… maybe you’ll find 25% to be enough… you may need to do 50% weekly. Use the algae as a guide and/or you can get a nitrate test kit for fairly cheap at a fish supply store. If you keep the nitrites below 15ppm the algae should keep in check. Being that your tank is freshwater, the water changes are much simpler and definitely not do any harm. People have used plants and/or algae in a controlled environment to act as a type of biological filter to help eliminate the nitrates and phosphates naturally but this takes some ingenuity, time and resources. In a saltwater environment they often use live rock in the sump just for that purpose. Hope this helps some… Michelle —–Original Message—– From: Shaun Flynn [mailto:dacaptain78@…] Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 11:25 AM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] green algae on shells Hello, I have noticed that in the past few weeks green algae has been forming on the shells of my dbt’s. I use a wet paper towel and remove the algae but it seems to grow back within two weeks time, even after I did a 25% water change. Will the algae have any harmful effects on the health of my turtles? If so, how can I combat the growth of such algae in my tank? Here is some info on how they are kept. 3 dbt’s approx. 6 months old in: 75 gallon tank in fresh water water temp is 80-82 degrees F Basking temp is between 88-90 degrees F Also have an area to bask outside of the heat lamp fed in seperate container 25% water changes done every 3-4 weeks Thanks, Shaun
Just re-read… Edit: …its decomposition will create high phosphate and NITRATE levels that persist even with regular water changes… And again: … If you keep the NITRATES below 15ppm the algae should keep in check… Bugger. Basically substitute NITRATE for nitrite. Ammonia breaks down to nitrite then to nitrate by action of the bacteria present in your system. In an established tank the nitrites are very quickly converted to nitrates… and when testing for nitrite in an established tank one usually finds it to be undetectable. The amount of relative toxicity decreases as it is converted down as well. Thus high nitrates (as found in your established tank) are less of a health hazard than the high ammonia or nitrites (as found in a newly setup tank that isn’t cycling properly yet). Sorry for the confusion. Please feel free to ask for further clarification if I’ve totally messed up your thought pattern… 🙂 Michelle —–Original Message—– From: Michelle E. McGuffin [mailto:me.mcguffin@…] Sent: Monday, November 29, 2004 12:31 PM To: diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com Subject: RE: [diamondbackterrapins] green algae on shells Shaun, Do you have any kind of substrate in the water? Often detritus will collect in the substrate and its decomposition will create high phosphate and nitrite levels that persist even with regular water changes as this source is continually breaking down. It is this excess of “nutrients” in the water that causes the algae bloom that you are experiencing. To get things under control I would suggest a good vacuuming of any substrate, a good rinsing of your filter materials and at least a 50% water change. It sounds like they are just eliminating more waste into the water than your 25% every 3-4 week water changes are dealing with. Feeding in a separate bin definitely helps but turtles usually don’t wait for the bin to go the bathroom all the time unfortunately. When I kept fish (which usually produced much less waste) I found a 25% water change was in order almost WEEKLY… and most fish hobbyists recommend doing it weekly as a rule. Being that turtles excrete more waste, I would suggest at least following the 25% per week… maybe you’ll find 25% to be enough… you may need to do 50% weekly. Use the algae as a guide and/or you can get a nitrate test kit for fairly cheap at a fish supply store. If you keep the nitrites below 15ppm the algae should keep in check. Being that your tank is freshwater, the water changes are much simpler and definitely not do any harm. People have used plants and/or algae in a controlled environment to act as a type of biological filter to help eliminate the nitrates and phosphates naturally but this takes some ingenuity, time and resources. In a saltwater environment they often use live rock in the sump just for that purpose. Hope this helps some… Michelle
Thanks Michelle, I have not been changing the water weekly because I was under the assumption that doing so would remove the beneficial bacteria that help keep the nitrites in check. I have crushed coral as a substrate which is a bit of a pain to clean but I usually do a good job siphoning with the python. It is good to know that keeping the nitrites under 15 ppm should help the algae problem. I will make it a point to do more frequent checks of the nitrite levels/water changes. Do you know if the algae will harm the turtles? Shaun — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “Michelle E. McGuffin”
Ok. I seem to have more sucess keeping my nitrate levels in check than my nitrite levels anyway, so that is good to hear. Thank you again! Shaun — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “Michelle E. McGuffin”
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