I have one red eared slider turtle, about 9 mos old in a 20 gallon aquarium with heater and all necessary lighting. After MANY different filter purchases I now have a Fluval 205 canister filter which worked awesome at first. It has the 3 chambers with the top 2 being the biomax and the bottom being the carbon and it also has the 4 sponge/foam filters in it. It lasted a month without me having to change the water and it stayed crystal clear. Since the first change, the water gets cloudy now after 2-3 days. I've torn the entire thing apart cleaning the hosing and all and doing partial water changes but for some reason it gets so cloudy within a few days I can't even see my turtle (Rocky) anymore. I desperately need some help as to what I'm doing wrong! Please help me and Rocky!!!
2006-12-20 05:07:04 · 7 answers · asked by cody930 1 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
"Remember it takes 4-6 weeks to build up bacterial colonies, so make sure you do a large water change AT LEAST weekly until your tank cycles." (http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/filtration.htm)
This is pretty common. Just do water changes periodically until the bacteria colonies are established.
2006-12-20 06:04:34 · answer #1 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do not clean out your filter like that. Once a month squeeze out the sponges in dirty tank water. Remove all food particles or uneaten food every day. Do a 50% water change twice a week and try to get the turtle a larger tank. They live a long time (25y+) and produce a lot of waste. They need a good space to get out of the water and bask in a good heat lamp and uv light.
There is a lot of bad advice about turtles out there, and the worst is usually from the place that you bought it, or from that chelsey c person, don't do what she said.
2006-12-20 20:51:12 · answer #2 · answered by Johnny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is probably beneficial bacteria attacking the bad bacteria in your water. Everytime you do a water change they will multiply and start cleaning your water. If you leave the water alone for a while when this happens it will probably go away after a day or so.. If it doesn't take a sample of your water to the pet store so they can test it. It could be something like ich
2006-12-20 13:19:37 · answer #3 · answered by talarlo 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Change your water in your tank monthly. Completely dump it out and start fresh. The same time you do this, buy new filter cartridges, and put them in. Every two weeks, take out your cartridges and wash them in your sink to get rid of any bacteria and algae build ups, then put them back in until it is time to clean everything again.
Unfortunatly, you will need to take the houseing and everythnig apart every month (or so) and clean it, as much of a pain as this is. Turtles (im sure you know this) are really messy eaters, and any left over food goes into the filter...and his "waste products". lol.
there isn't good bacteria eating the bad bacteria... dirty water will mess up your turtles eyes and possibly cause blindness, so make sure you do your "once-a-monther". The bacteria gets in your turtles eyes when he is submerged and stays in there and causes infections that are hard to get rid of and cause blindness if left untreated.
hope this helps you out!
2006-12-20 15:34:22 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
for one the tank is too small for your turtle! it might just be your water, I use fluval filters in my turtle tanks and I change 70 % of the water each month and my water stays crystal clear. take the water to the pet store and see whats going on. or go buy the stuff to put in your tank that takes away cloudy water
2006-12-20 13:56:42 · answer #5 · answered by kristinad21 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
put white pebbles in there
2006-12-22 00:41:24 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
u talk smart and lots, me no kno wat u say, can i have hints
2006-12-20 13:11:16 · answer #7 · answered by PsychoTony 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋