My turtle tank is by a window now, is that causing algae to grow faster?

Question

I have 2 red-eared sliders that I've had for about a year. I saved them from an evil flea market. Anyways, usually their tank doesn't get very dirty too fast. It stays pretty clear for several weeks after cleaning it. I don't have a very strong filter, just a ReptoFilter, but until now it's been doing it's job just fine. We just moved them to a new room temporarily, and they're right in front of a window now. Could the sunlight be the reason for the tank looking so green so fast? Any ideas on how to prevent this from happening?

Answer 1

any source of heat would cause algae do grow faster.

Answer 2

With turtles i would always recommend a filter rated over the gallon size of your tank setup.  Sunlight would make algae grow faster yes.

Answer 3

yes that is causing algae to grow faster. my turtle is near the window too and its water gets very dirty all the time. i have to clean the water like almost 3-4 times a day. maybe you can close the curtains so the sun won't shine through or if that won't work, i suggest you put the tank somewhere else that is away from the sun.

Answer 4

yes thats why the algae is growing so fast. i would suggest getting them away from the window or clean it every other day.

Answer 5

algae feeds on sunlight so yeah

Answer 6

You got good answers on the algae, so I want to mention the 'saved' bit.

You basically paid the seller to mistreat the animals, reinforcing his bad cares and evilness. He made a profit because you felt sorry for the turtles, which he will use to buy more turtles to sell to more people who will do the same thing.

Evil pet sellers, of all animals, will keep it up as long as they make money. The way to beat them is to keep them from making money- report them for the conditions and boycott them.

If the authorities do their job, you can then adopt the turtles from the local shelter!

Answer 7

Yes it is.  Algae is a plant, and like any plant, it grows faster in sunlight!

There's not really too much you can do, short of putting chemicals in the tank (which wouldn't be a good idea).  Maybe put some kind of paper over the glass on the part that faces the window?  Either that, or move it back to someplace where it isn't so sunny.

Good luck!