I had this problem for a while now. The brown slime as I call it, Its on
all the sides and all the plastic plants and rocks ect. My preform is
above ground and because its not in the ground it gets warmer than a in
ground preform. The temp today was 78 and water temp is 75 if the
outside temp goes to 90 it gets to 84. I took a paper towel and wiped
off the sides of the pond. Its brown color. (stain brown like poop
toliet tisse color) Is this dead algae? Its thin and its on all the
rockes. The fish seem fine. The paper towel was browm stained. Is this
dead algae or bacteria? Im lost here. The water is clear, the fish are
happy. I backflush the caniter filter once a week. I have uvb. It is
thinner than it was last week. So is this a bio filter getting better? I
was cleaning the 3 bio filters course, medium ,fine, but now I just
bachflush once a week and the brown slime is better. Any Ideas here? Is
it better to just leave the bio.mech./uvb alone? Thank you

Not a clue about brown slime.... but ~
Do you have any water tests that you can do?
And post exact numbers here for the chemical
wizards to take a look at.

You really are running a large 300 gallon, outdoor aquarium
with fish, and turtles, as I recall,
which, without any plants, if you look at it that way
there may be some answers.

Turtles make significant waste, so I'd want to
know how your filter is doing, that is where the
water tests come in.

If the brown slime is algae, then algae feeds mainly on sun,
fish and turtle waste, blown in dirt, too much new water,
plant debris. Plants help use up much of the excess
nutrients when dealing with algae. If your turtles eat
all the plants, set up a seperate pond, plants only to
route the water through. Is also a good way to grow
stuff to keep ahead of turtle consumption.


kathy :-) www.blogfromthebog.com
this week ~ introducing Miss Lily,
a painted turtle

Pond 101 page for new pond keepers ~
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Ok, Thank you Kathy, I just got my new water tester. The old one was 3
years old. The new one checks nitrate, nitritret, ammonia, hardness.
ect. I will post that tommorrow. It just seems strange that its a very
thin brown slime substance. It does not get thick but it covers
everything and mostly on the output of the rock and plastic plants. I
use to deverter the water so the fish dont fly around in circles from
the high outlet pressure. I put a rock there and it keeps the flow down
and the water is clear. Also the turtles have a white fungus on ther
feet last week. I added a another float log but they still dont bask
completely out of water. Any ideas of a turtle platform? I have a 6 foot
round preform. Maybe silicone a slant plexiglass basking area? How much
land area does 3 turtles need in a 6 foot roung pond? I need ideas
here. The sun is only 6 hours here on the pond and they take full
advantage of it but there feet still stay in the water and cause white
fungus. The one one the rock never has a problem. Thank you for
listening

What you may be seeing is the filter bacteria. The bacteria that we want,
consume ammonia and nitrite, are types that attach to the pond liner, the
inside of the pipes, the filter mats, pots, etc., but rarely just float in
the water. If you take your plumbing apart and look at the inside of the
pipe, it is coated with a brown slime. The filter mats will grow the brown
slime. I think it is good. If you decide to clean, be sure you have tested
your water before removal. Test for ammonia within 24 hours after removal.
Don't clean more than 10% at a time. Would be better to just leave it be.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"DD DDD" wrote in message
...
I had this problem for a while now. The brown slime as I call it, Its on
all the sides and all the plastic plants and rocks ect. My preform is
above ground and because its not in the ground it gets warmer than a in
ground preform. The temp today was 78 and water temp is 75 if the
outside temp goes to 90 it gets to 84. I took a paper towel and wiped
off the sides of the pond. Its brown color. (stain brown like poop
toliet tisse color) Is this dead algae? Its thin and its on all the
rockes. The fish seem fine. The paper towel was browm stained. Is this
dead algae or bacteria? Im lost here. The water is clear, the fish are
happy. I backflush the caniter filter once a week. I have uvb. It is
thinner than it was last week. So is this a bio filter getting better? I
was cleaning the 3 bio filters course, medium ,fine, but now I just
bachflush once a week and the brown slime is better. Any Ideas here? Is
it better to just leave the bio.mech./uvb alone? Thank you

The white fungus. Yes, you are on the right
track, you need to have a way for the turtles to
get completely out of the water.

In my pond we built an island. We used aged
builder's brick and put a round, oil filter shaped
planter on top. We cut some slits in the side of
the planter and filled it with aquatic soil.
.. We put creeping jenny around the
edge as it grows over and helps the turtles
climb up. Before that happened we used some
branches to make a ramp of sorts for them.

It will probably take some experimenting to see
how to get something workable for you. But you
are right they need to get all the way out of the
water to bask and dry out all their nooks and
crannies.

k :-)

"DD DDD" wrote in message
...
The sun is only 6 hours here on the pond and they take full
advantage of it but there feet still stay in the water and cause white
fungus. The one one the rock never has a problem. Thank you for
listening
======================
Try using a partly submerged log or a large rock on some type of platform
for them to bask on. Our slider has a log so he can get completely out of
the water and dry him/herself off. So far he's eating the fish pellets and
doesn't bother the plants.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

I had this problem for a while now. The brown slime as I call it...

This nickname is universal, really. Yes, brown slime algae.

dead algae or bacteria? Im lost here. The water is clear, the fish are
happy. I backflush the caniter filter once a week. I have uvb. It is
thinner than it was last week. So is this a bio filter getting better?

Well, I don't think anything is wrong with your pond. It's
a sign of life, a good thing.

I think I read somewhere that certain types of algae -- usually
the "green water" variety -- thrive when nitrates are high, but
other nutrients are low. Plant competition may help reduce your
algae, but only if your plants have the appropriate growth nutrients
for the /plants/, otherwise the algae may dominate.

Perhaps someone else can chip in on the missing nutrient. Was it
potassium, perhaps? A little potash, perhaps? Take care, and
look into this carefully before adding any nutrient to your
currently clear pond with happy fish.

You might try adding more of your favorite type of water plant,
and using your pond brush and/or vacuum on the brown slime.

Or learn to accept the brown slime.

C//