Algae problems

["Red-eye"_Matt]

I have had my fire bellied toad tank setup for around 1 1/2 years now. Just in the last few weeks I have had a HUGE increase in algae production in my tank (it is 1/2 land 1/2 water). I was wondering if anyone had any advice on how to get rid of it. The usual method of just scrubbing will not work because the algae is only growing on the piece of glass I have dividing the land and water. When I first setup the divider I coated the glass with a thin layer of silicon and then covered it with some play sand to give it a texture to make it easy for the frogs to get in and out of the water.

So if anyone knows of a safe algae eater that will survive being in with the fire bellies I would appreciate it because I think that might be the easiest way to put a dent in it.

Matt

[jaracas]

your problem is a high nitrate level, thats what the algae is thriving on.
there are chemicals to combat this, but personally i wouldnt use them.
your best attack is to plant more live plants (these will use the excess nitrate and cut down the light that the algae receives) and change 25% of the water every week.

basically treat your enclosure like a fish aquarium, your tank is suffering from a 'cycle'.

["Red-eye"_Matt]

Well I did the water change last night before I went to bed. All was well and good and when I woke up this morning the frogs had decided that new water was exactly what they needed to "set the mood". Now I have TONS of eggs all over again.

These guys deserve the title of "Horny Toad"

[jaracas]

well if you get some spare toadlets you can throw em my way! lol

["Red-eye"_Matt]

I will probably have to remove the eggs and dispose of them. I really don't have the time right now to invest in raising more toadlets (I delt with probably 400+ eggs over the summer). Too bad you are not closer as you could come take the works if you wanted.

[Kyle Barker]

funny how floods work eh :D

[pablo111]

your problem is a high nitrate level, thats what the algae is thriving on.
there are chemicals to combat this, but personally i wouldnt use them.
your best attack is to plant more live plants (these will use the excess nitrate and cut down the light that the algae receives) and change 25% of the water every week.

basically treat your enclosure like a fish aquarium, your tank is suffering from a 'cycle'.

LOL ok there buddy ;) Nitrates are not necessarily the cause of algae. An algae colony need only reach critical mass before it starts to divide and populate at an alarming rate.

You have algae on a divider covered with silicon and sand. Crappy. If it were just glass I'd say grab a razor, scrape it off, and bob's your uncle.

Is this divider siliconed into place?

I can't think of an algae eater that will eat algae and not be murdered by the toxins the toad puts out.

I personally wouldnt really worry about the algae as its presense is in no way detrimental. If it really really pissed you off, you could take the filter (if any) out, the water out, and the toad out. Cover a cloth with hot water and salt (about 1/3 salt) and tap away at the divider. THe algae will die on contact with this concentration of salt and rub off. Make sure you wipe away all the residue after with clean water. You don't want to get salt on your toad, and you dont wanna shock your good bacteria when you put the filter and water back.

Obviously dissolve the salt in the water first. Duh.

[jaracas]

but the algae does need nitrate to survive, that and light.
if the nitrate is physically removed to a certain level (water changes) and out-competed for the rest (higher plant forms, these also help reduce the amount of of light getting in) then the algae simply cannot survive, without food and light it will die or stay at extremely low levels
:D

[pablo111]

a lot of algae can grow reasonably well with out any kind of nitrogen compounds actually.

If you wanna just out compete it and have decent lighting, hornwort will do- duckweed owns- and your froggies will love you.