Habitat - Indoor :: Algae Growth....

[cooleststan]

i have a lot of algae growing on the ramp of my turtle dock, this is a good sign right/ because it means that the ammonia is being converted to nitrates, which is good?

can there be such a thing as too many nitrates? i already have a plant in my tank to take away soem of the nitrates....

thanks
stan

[marisa]

Some people don't like algae and remove it whenever it forms. I have algae on the edges of my turtles' basking areas, and I think it adds a natural look to the tank as long as it doesn't get out of control. Light, warmth and nutrients in the water (from decaying food and poop) all contribute to the formation of algae.

Beneficial bacteria that form on the biomedia in the filter as well as the surfaces of objects in the tank convert ammonia to nitrite and then nitrate. Yes, there can be too much nitrate in the water, and you would know this using a testing kit for nitrate (it should be at least below 40 ppm, but you would want to have it as close to 0 as possible). If you test the water and the nitrate level is high, the best thing you can do is to do a partial water change to get the level down. If you've got a small tank (10-20 gallons) I'd just do a tank cleaning and water change.