Habitat - Indoor :: green water...

[ninja_turtle]

the water in my turtle's tank is turning green and cloudy. i know it's from the algae that's forming in the back of the dock, where the basking light manages to warm the moist area. anyway, every weekend, i've been changing the water, cleaning the tank and scrubbing the rocks and dock. i was wondering if there's way to prevent it from happening so quickly. the water usually turns green on the 4th or 5th day after i clean the tank. and yes, i change the filter pads monthly, as instructed on the box. im tempted to get an algae fish but for the last two times, my turtle ate one of them and attacked the other (dead now). please advise, thanks.

[octpusgirl8]

An algae bloom is generally caused by too much nutrients in the water. I don't know what your setup is like, but you might need a bigger tank or filter. An algae eater won't help with the kind of algae you're describing, they will only eat algae that's growing on surfaces.

[SpotsMama]

More frequent water changes will also help rid the tank of excess nutrients.

[marisa]

Partial water changes to help dilute the nutrients in the tank would help.

[mikee]

Ninja- T -- It is very hard to get rid of the algae. You will have to start by sterilizing the complete system and getting it off your turtles. Getting it off your turtles is the hard part. You will have to brush them off with warm salty water; Table salt is ok and then let them dry off with the salt on them. Even at that it will be difficult. Then you have to take into account the algae need uv light to survive. If you tank gets sun light, that helps the algae and also the uvb lighting for your turtles help the algae also. You will need to reduce your sun light and put your uvb light on a timer. I also would suggest that you check to see if your filter is pumping at least 5 times the volume of water that is in your tank.