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I have read on here that you need a filter twice the size of your tank. I went out and bought a new filter twice the size of my tank and now my water is cloudy! It wasn't cloudy before! I have since added 6 live plants that he has ate alot of. I tried a partial water change it looked good for like an hour. I am thinking I will have to clean the whole tank and try it again. Any ideas why the water would cloud and stay that way? When I had the smaller filter it wasn't cloudy. My husband seems to think it is from the plants. Would live plants do that?

yes they would, luckily my water stays clear, and my filter isnt even that good!

What kind of filter are you using and what media are you using? A lot of people who do 100% changes or use a new filter have cloudy water for a few days. It's probably a good idea to let a filter run a day or two in a separate tank from your turtle.

The cloudy water is caused by "new tank syndrome". It takes at least 6 weeks for a new filter to cycle, building up the nitrifying bacteria to benificial levels. I'm going thru the same thing right now with three turts in a cloudy tank, and I used the bio-rings from the old filter, so that should jump start things a bit. In the meantime, I do a 25% water change (with conditioner) once a week and keep a close eye on the ammonia levels.

I have added live plants to my fish tank in the past and what a mistake THAT was! The algae was OUT OF CONTROL! My tank was taken over by these Dr. Seuss looking fury plants and when I broke down the tank to scrub it clean, they grew right back. I tried algae tabs, snails, giant sucker fishes...nothing worked.

Live plants don't cause algae to grow. In fact, many fish enthusiasts use live plants in their tanks to control algae growth.

Aquariumpros.com:
[quote]There are many types of algae. There are also a few organisms that look like algae but are not algae at all. In a healthy aquarium, the algae will be green, and if left alone, will grow hair-like in appearance. Algae that is red or brown may indicate a water quality problem, such as high dissolved nitrate or phosphate levels in the water. Red and brown algae are also common in new tanks, when the aquarium is not yet ecologically balanced. These types of algae are also quite common in saltwater fish-only tanks when the coral decorations are cleaned on a regular basis. The small round green "dots" that form on the sides of a tank are not algae. These are actually populations of Diatoms, microscopic animals that secrete a hard calcium shell on which green algae grows. This type of "algae" is the most difficult to remove.

An aquarium may occasionally break out with an infestation of cyanobacteria, a slimy growth that grows more rapidly than algae. It may be green, blue, black or red in color. Unlike algae, cyanobacteria is extremely easy to remove but very difficult to control. Even if every bit is removed, it can quickly grow back in only a few days. Cyanobacteria thrives in well-lit aquariums that have excessive levels of phosphate in the water. p/quote]

Hi CARISUE17,

A few weeks ago I got my first good, big filter and went through the cloudy water "new tank syndrom" mentioned above. Don't despair - the water will clear. I've had a second, milder outbreak of the cloudies this week but it cleared up again.

On the subject of plants in the tank - I have a question. I thought it was necessary to have live plants to complete the nitrogen cycle. If you don't have plants, how do you get rid of the nitrates that the bacteria produce?

Water changes.....

Well Darn! I was hoping to be done with those pesky water changes!

Sorry Spotsmama, there is no escape from the "bucket"......

I honestly think the cloudy water aka "new tank syndrome" is caused by the carbon pebble stuff within the filter cartridge. Im not 100% sure, but when i got my new filter cartridges, i ended up with cloudy water. maybe im wrong, maybe im right, but thats my guess as to why it happens with new filters.

It's actually the new media inside the filter. when you change your carbon, do you also change the bio-media?

im running 2 types of filters, but i have 3 filters all together. I have 2 whisperers and an older model Bio Wheel filter. for both the Whisperer and Bio Wheel filter, each time i change the filter cartridge, the water gets foggy. For the Bio Wheel filter, i only change the filter cartridge, i dont clean/change the bio wheel.

When I clean out my filters (once a month), I change the carbon only. The bio-ring and sponges are cleaned out in the old tank water.

Live plants help water quality. Some (like anachris) are oxygenators.

Partial water changes are the best way to lower the nitrate level.