I will try to help a bit.
JUst rinse the filter pads often ( may need rinsed daily) right now with clean dechlorinted water, and often as they will plug fast with all of the algea floating. Do not remove the bio media that is in there now as you will set yourself back, you can not see the beneficial bacteria unless you have a microscope.

To help get rid of the algea you can add a layer of quilt batting (walmart sewing section) in your filter and change it often it really help remove the suspended algea.

I personally hate the algea chemicals as they really wreak havoc with the balance of things when the algea dies all at once.

Since you have fish you should really not be turning off your filters and pump for any length of time. You can have family or friends check your place when you leave.

Unfortunately it is just going to take time. SOme small partial water changes wouldn't hurt either, but don't clean out everything all at once.

Great, thank you!

Cleaning the filter is such a pain the rear but will give it a whirl :)

I also saw some barley stuff at the store, does this work? I do have a UV clarifier on the filter as well, and yes you are right I shouldn't have shut it off... I was just worried, didn't want the neighbors to have too much responsibility with 14 turtles and 3 cats!!! :)

Thank you, I get started on it.

Your filter is clogging because of the suspended algae and it will continue to clog frequently until you solve the algae problem. The filter itself is unlikely to cure the algae problem, but I wouldn't remove any of the filter media because it is removing some of the algae that would otherwise die and foul your pond.

Curing the algae problem should be the main focus. If you search "green water" you will find dozens of threads on this topic with solutions ranging from adding plants, quilt batting, UV sterilizers, barley straw, to just waiting to see what happens.

My personal favorite is plants. Do you have any plants? What kind? Are they healthy?

I couldn't reply last time! :(

anyways....

I had plants before but it was a nightmare.. I have 6 turtles in the pond and the plants were gone in no time and WHAT a mess!

I have a 300 gallon galvanized tub above ground and was wondering if there were hanging type baskets that can be put in the pond so that the roots are in the pond but the plants are safe above the water???

It sounds like NOT having plants is turning into a nightmare as well.

If you actually have 14 turtles in there, you probably will always have a mess. Turtles produce a lot of waste. That's JMO. Glenda

Hi Glenda,

I don't have 14 turtles in there :)

I have 6 and yes they do produce a lot of waste, which isn't my problem, it's the algae that popped up while on vacation :) My filter works really well for the turtles actually :)

Thanks!

Filters do nothing to remove phosphates. The phosphates DO come from the turtle waste. Plants will use the phosphates. Without plants to remove phosphates you are going to have algae. So you have a classic catch-22. The plants that would solve the waste (phosphate) problem can't co-exist with six turtles.

One way around this is to circulate the water through another tank that has plants but no turtles. I'll bet some hyacinths or watercress would go crazy in that water with all the nutrients that must be in it.

I don't like chemical algae control, but the advice on the bottle is accurate. Watch your oxygen levels. Algae produce oxygen during the day, but consume oxygen during the night. When algae begins to die, it's oxygen production is reduced while it continues to consume oxygen when the sun goes down. The process can be a problem during a heat wave as warm water holds less oxygen than cold water.

Your UV should kill the suspended algae, but your filters will clog with dead algae and require frequent cleaning. It's important to keep your pump/fountain running to maintain a safe level of oxygen. A cheap aquarium air pump is also a good source for oxygen.

Thanks everyone :)

Well, I really can't see how the turtles could be a problem over 3 days away. The pond has been clear for over a year now. So obviously had something to do with me turning off the filter and then it couldn't keep up with things?? I just cleaned the filter, took 1 sponge out and added some more substrat so the flow is a million times better! And the algae isn't stringy or anything, the water is just green. So maybe it's the beginnings of the string algae? Very odd for sure! :) I'm going to see what I do about plants again b/c I'd surely love them in there to enhance the pond but my cooter just loves his veggies! ;)

Thanks again!

OH btw, I don't get response notifications here, is there something special I need to do?

SD - you don't necessarily need the chemicals to get rid of the green water. The XL bottles of Hydrogen Peroxide will do the trick -- you'll need need a XL bottle for every 200 gallons.

Before that drastic of a measure though, I'd really try to go with a bunch of water lettuce and water hyacinth. They're just floaters - the turtles can't make a mess except to eat them. But in the meantime, you should be able to clear up the problem.

Larry's last post is spot on, and you should really take it to heart.

The response notification option is only available at the time you start the thread, unfortunately.

Brenda