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hey guys i have a ten gallon tank for now for my baby res' there are two in there. there is a filter in the tank but i feel like the water just isnt clean enough. does anyone recommend anything?

also as for water level goes, how high do you recommend the water level to be? i see many tanks on here with the tanks filled to the top. i have my water level at about an inch or two over their shells. i feel like they dont swim enough cause they just walk on the rocks. does anyone have suggestions?

thanks

i have a 10 gallon right now and i filled it up about half way.. .they like to have room to swim...
and they can always swim to the top..
it might be easier for them if they also have some rocks that arent too far under the water level so they could stand up on and breathe to relax if they dont feel liek swimming or being in the basking spot

thanks

hey do you have a picture of your tank?

this is how i have it right now....
the filter iuse is a Fluval... and it works pretty well, but honestly in retrospect i wish i got a way more powerful model, because when time comes that i have to get a bigger tank, i'll have to buy that better filter anyway...
same with the water heater...
better to buy things with a bigger tank in mind

If the tank doesn't appear clean enough to you, you may need to get a better filter. If you have the funds, you should get a larger tank and a filter made for a tank 3x the size you have the turtles in. You'll be surprised at how soon you will need to upgrade your tank. With two baby turtles, you should have them in at least a 20 gallon tank (assuming they are about 1" each).

Fill up the tank as much as possible without giving the turtles a way to escape. They love to swim. I have my 4 1/2" turtle in a 75g tank with about 12" of water depth, which I will be raising another 3 to 4 inches this weekend. My turtle loves the extra swimming space since he was upgraded from the 30g I had him in before.

stanthrax, what sort of heater is that? I just got one that looks similar (Aquaclear 300 watt), but you're supposed to leave the top outside of the water... Might want to double check on yours

like everyone said, the more water the better! might be better to save up for a really big tank right now since you have two turtles, so you dont have to keep upgrading tanks every few months and wasting more money

Its an OK setup for babies, but I think you have that filter configured the wrong way, plus the rocks on top may be blocking the intake.

The filter is a Fluval 2+? If so, aren't they're suction cups that come with it so you can attach it to the bottom of the tank (which is OK to do, btw)? I'd be concerned that the rocks would shift... If you have the filter set this way to keep it anchored down, you could tie/velcro a flat rock to the top after you've suctioned the filter to the bottom to keep it from lifting out of the water until the media gets saturated. (I had to do this with a Fluval 4+, but not with the 2+).