Quote Originally Posted by reptileszz View Post
OK, so here's a thought, is my biological filtration too well established?
Algae is of itself is not a bad thing, algae does not increase nitrates. In fact algae becomes established because it is a response to nitrates and excess in the water (algae like plants, feed off of it). What color is this algae?

Should I scrape off some of this biowheel thing?
Rinse it in old tank water, if it has a lot of build up.

There is also a fair amount of buildup of algae inside the filter and tubing and stuff. Should I scrape that all out?
Algae? Probably organic gunk built up, after 8 years it may very well be excessive. I would use a pipe cleaner brush to clean them out.

I thought it was good to have it there but maybe not. I should also mention that I have 5 small nerite snails in there to take care of any algae and I did remove the aforementioned pleco.

Thanks
Again algae isn't 'bad' but when you have plants present to soak up your nitrates and algae is still flourishing it's usually a sign of excess nitrates/nutrients and an imbalance in water chemistry. The algae itself is not any harm to your frog, addressing the algae will not 'fix' the problem. Nerite snails are great for eating algae but they will contribute to the bioload, somewhat. Have you lost a snail lately? Nerites are usually a brackish water snail, they will survive in freshwater but they thrive in brackish.. did one die by chance? A dead snail can cause huge spikes in ammonia, possibly lead to excess nitrates..

What kind of pleco is this? I think I missed the part where you mentioned a pleco present, my apologies. These are some times very large fish, many require 55+ gallons. A large pleco and 5 nerite snails most certainly will add to the bioload of this tank especially the pleco, as they are known as being large waste producers.

Again I don't know the type of pleco you have but they are also territorial and aggressive as they get older.. I am starting to wonder if your smaller frog was a victim of aggression (some times will even attach fish/frogs to eat their slime coat). Keep in mind plecos are nocturnal and if such behavior was occurring, you'd most likely be asleep when it does..