Habitat - Indoor :: Water quality

[VeipaCray]

Your turtle is fine to leave in the tank. The bacteria blooms rapidly at first... it's reproducing to keep up with the present food source (ammonia and nitrite) in the tank. The bacteria will begin to colonize on all surfaces in the tank and the filter. The bio media is inert porous ceramic - it's job is to provide tons and tons of surface area for the bacteria to live on. This can unfortunately take days or sometimes even a few weeks before the cloudy water goes away - nature at work.

Yes it's a bit unnerving at first, but all sounds normal to me and your turtle will be OK.

[Alucard3601]

Your turtle is fine to leave in the tank. The bacteria blooms rapidly at first... it's reproducing to keep up with the present food source (ammonia and nitrite) in the tank. The bacteria will begin to colonize on all surfaces in the tank and the filter. The bio media is inert porous ceramic - it's job is to provide tons and tons of surface area for the bacteria to live on. This can unfortunately take days or sometimes even a few weeks before the cloudy water goes away - nature at work.

Yes it's a bit unnerving at first, but all sounds normal to me and your turtle will be OK.

Since it is normal I am not worried anymore. Thank you so much for responding and this forum is the best, I am glad I found it as I have learned a lot for creating a good habitat for my turtle. I will keep you posted about the conditions of my tank.

[PridgNYC]

If you get a water test kit, like the API Freshwater Master Test kit http://www.amazon.com/API-FRESHWATER-MASTER-TEST-KIT/dp/B000255NCI/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1344115109&sr=1-1&keywords=api+freshwater+master+test+kit (don't get the strips, they are inaccurate, you need a drop style test) You can check to see when your tank has fully cycled. Initially, ammonia will spike, then when it starts to drop, nitrites will spike, then when it drops, nitrates will start to increase. When ammonia and nitrites are stable at 0, you are fully cycled and your water should be crystal clear. Don't do any water changes until you reach this point or you only prolong the cycle. Regular partial water changes after your tank has fully cycled will keep nitrate levels down although they are not particularly harmful to the turtle, they do provide a source of food for algae.

[turtlesrmom]

Yeah that's most likely a bacteria bloom and is normal. That will clear up shortly on it's own. It MAY begin to produce an odor as well - if so you can point the output of the FX5 up to break the surface of the water and oxygenate the water a bit. The bacteria bloom will clear up and any smell will go away. It's just part of the natural cycling of the tank. Doing a water change will just prolong the process from finishing. Ask Penelope... she kept doing water changes ... same thing. We finally convinced her not to touch the tank for a bit and let it do it's thing for a few weeks and poof... clear water.

I knew I should have come here first but I had cloudy water and my filter media was due for a rinse (FX5). So hubby and I washed up all the media with plain hot water and replaced the Purigen. A week later, still cloudy. So we washed everything again, replaced Purigen again because it showed a lot of light reddish brown stuff, (don't worry I am regenerating it) and replaced the blue pad as well. A few days later, cloudy again and some weird soapy looking film on top and we already aim the output to break the surface and oxygenate the water. So yesterday we took it out again, put in another clean Purigen, and this time replaced the two charcoal bags, since they had been in there pretty much since Spring. So today it is still cloudy so here I am on the forum. But above, you say it might take a while to clear. Did I do anything wrong or am I just not waiting long enough? I just worry about Krush Thanks!

[turtlesrmom]

P.S In the past, the water cleared up very quickly for us

[steve]

Your past water changes... was it as extensive?

[turtlesrmom]

The first two times, 2/3 of a tank but those were the times that the tank cleared up quite well very quickly. This time, very small change of water....maybe 1/4 tank

[steve]

So it's only been about a day? I would give it a little more time.

[turtlesrmom]

Okay......will do. I just wanted to know if all the media changes were necessary or maybe we jumped the gun. But I'll report back on what happens. Thanks, Steve!

[VeipaCray]

It can take a few weeks to clear up and stay clear.

[turtlesrmom]

Thanks! I will let you know. I'm glad I have this forum and your collective expertise to count on

[turtlesrmom]

The water is still cloudy. I removed some junk with a net yesterday. Then I noticed that the heater wasn't woking. The one we had was hard to tell if the light was on or not, green or red so I don't think I noticed it right away, so Krush could have been without heat for a few days! I left his heat lamp on all night so he could warm up if he wanted to.

I just now put the new heater in and the water is starting out at 74 and I have it set to get to 80 degrees F.

Could that have anything to do with the cloudy water if the heater wasn't working for a few days?

[VeipaCray]

74 isn't terrible for a turtle. Your fish (if you have any in the same tank) may object but your turtle will be fine in 74 degree water. I keep my tank at 76.

The water temperature can affect the cycle BUT not at that temp. You're still well within the range of normal temperatures.

[Alucard3601]

Thanks! I will let you know. I'm glad I have this forum and your collective expertise to count on

Amen to that.This forum has saved me a lot of troble and my tank and turtle are coming along very well.

[turtlesrmom]

Hey everyone.......the water is still cloudy....getting a wee bit better each week and certainly not any worse.
Question: how often does the bio glass media need to be changed? I am thinking that is what may be the culprit since we have replaced everything else. I thought I had read that if it was rinsed well at each cleaning, it would last a long time but I don't remember how long.