What can i do to keep my Turtles tank from smelling so bad.?

Question

I'm cleaning it every 3-4 days. It seems to get worse

Answer 1

Turtles are extremely messy dirty animals. Doing water changes every other day or so, and getting a bigger filter should help. Also, make sure you are only feeding him as much as he can eat - uneaten turtle pellets and other food decaying in the tank will make it smell REALLY bad. For the water changes, use one of the siphons that you can suck all the debris out of the gravel with. I know cleaning it more frquently is probably not what you wanted to hear, but if you have a turtle, and you don't want it to stink, that's what you have to do. Frequent water changes and filter changes are all part of owning a pet turtle.

Answer 2

there a few few things that usually work to help make the tank smell less bad, not better, but less bad. meaning it will still not smell good but you'd have to be really close to smell it.

1) feed the turtle in a seperate tank. the food then won't spoil the water and turtles generally will soon deficate there after also not spoiling the water. make sure the water is close to the same temp as the tank it is housed to not cause shock to it.

2) get a bigger tank. more water = more diluted waste, simpley, there is more water so it will take longer for the waste to bulid up to make a stink.

3) get a bigger and more effectient filter. canister filters are great but if that's a little out of your price range then you can simple add another submersible or one that latches to the side. make sure that you have 2-3 times the power of water is rated for your tank. i.e. if you have a 20 gal tank get a 40-60 gal rated filter. turtles can make more of a mess in a tank in one day than fish can in a week generally.

4)Anacharis. it is a plant that more or less digestes turtle waste. yes the turtle may eat it but it readily grows back.
it does not require gravel to grow as the turtle will more it anyway.


these are the most common answers i have come across. and they all work great. most turtle care givers agree that these are the way to combat this.


on a last note. unless you have a filter that has biological, mechanical and chemical filtration the you should be cahnge ing the water about once a week anyway, with the triple filtration it should be about every 10-14 days, naybe more depending on tank size.


hope this helps

Answer 3

The smaller the tank, the harder to keep clean. Using a large aquarium and a good external canister filter will help. Be sure to get all the gunk left on the bottom of the tank when changing the water, which depending on tank size, should be done about every week or so. If you add charcoal to your filter that will also help with the odor. Some filters we put charcoal in a cut off piece of panty hose tied off and place it next to the filter pads. When changing the water, only change about 1/2 to 3/4 of the water out. Try feeding the turtle in a seperate container to cut down on debris too.
Julie, Director
Turtle Rescue of Long Island

Answer 4

1. Big tanks are better for the turtle and easier to maintain in the long run. Small tanks foul quickly.

2. Filters! Big filters are a turtle keeper's best friends! Check out the 'articles section' of http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for a good article on filtration.

3. Even with filtration, use a siphon system to suck crud off the bottom (much of the smell comes from this) and change about 1/4th of the water weekly.

Answer 5

Tortles are very messy animals. Always after feeding time clean up uneaten food. Change the water every day, if possible. And assuming its a water turtle, install a good pump with ACTIVATED CARBON in it. I have put activated carbon in my pump, and my RES's tank barley has odor. Also, the more you overfeed your turtle, the more waste it produces. don't overfeed your turtle for its own good.

Answer 6

change the water very frequently. There is nothing you can do. Turtles can dirty a tank in no time. Try a better water filter this may also help.

Answer 7

clean it more often.