Habitat - Indoor :: Water quality

[sinarstar]

Hi everyone, I am new here and I am glad to have found this site, tons of quality information and expert here here.

Ok, I got a problem. I have a 5" turtle and he is in a 67g tank with a Fluval 405 filter. I set up this tank 6 months ago and I am having problem keeping the water crystal clear, it always has a very slight cloudiness, and the colour tend to be slightly yellowish. Water test result is good, no amonia and nitrite with about 40 - 60 nitrate. I change about 20% of water once a week. Do you guys think my filter is underpower? Or there is something I should pay attention with?

[VeipaCray]

Definitely. See this thread: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145

[sinarstar]

Wow, that is a very detail info on filter, great job there!

From what i have learned from your post, my fluval 405 can handle 40 turtle gallon, which mean 120 normal gallon if i am understanding it right, so basically my filter should be powerful enough for my tank. And my media configuration is exactly like what you stated in your post, and i have added some floss at the top basket last week.

My water quality is not all that bad, it is considered clear, but just not crystal clear, even with the added floss. Or I am asking for too much? given that turtle is such a messy animal. I find many people in this forum say their water is crystal clear. And I have also seen many fish tank with crystal clear water, absolutely no impurity in it at all. Is this kind of water quality achievable in a turtle tank?

I use some river rocks as substrate, covering about 1/3 of my tank bottom, I basically keep my tank plain and simple. I feed my turtle floating stick once a day, and some green occasionally. Water temperature is 28-29c all year round, it is a bit warm but I can't do anything about it except turning on air conditioner as much as i can.

Any advice or comment would be much appreciated.

[steve]

What have you been feeding your turtle?

[sinarstar]

I am feeding him with Nutrafin turtle pallets (by Hagen) once a day, the amount is about the head size of my turtle. Occasionally, like once or twice a week, I will feed him either green vegetable, tomato, banana, melon, or papaya, depends on what i have available at the moment.

Do you think my turtle pallets possibly the cause?

[steve]

Feeding in-tank could be a problem... if he's causing a big mess, you might want to try feeding him in a separate container.

[Love of Animals]

I feed in the tank with out problems. I just have to skim the top every once in a while for lettuce bits. My water is crystal clear, so it is achievable. VeipraCray is our resident filter expert. Do you have any drift wood in your tank? If so it could be tannins causing your yellowish water.

[VeipaCray]

The 405 is quite a bit undersized for a 67 gallon tank. Those "turtle gallon" sizings in the thread I linked exist because of the very issue the OP is having.

[sinarstar]

I used to have a drift wood in it, but I have removed it a month ago, the yellowish colour seems to be getting lighter after a few 20% water change. I hope my yellowish water is caused by the drift wood, not by other more serious problem.

I also suspect my filter is undersized, as VeipaCray has suggested. I find that the suction of Fluva 405 is kind of weak. I always see tiny debris just floating pass the intake, unless it is really close to the intake, like 1 inch, then it will get sucked up. Its water output is very strong though, so i assume it is working properly.

I am thinking to buy a fx5 - the king of turtle filter, as VeipaCray put it, but I need to make sure it is my filter being undersized that causes the proplem before I invest in it. It is a very expensive filter here in Malaysia.

[Love of Animals]

If VeipaCray says it's undersized then it is. It would be in your turtles best interest to get a larger filter. If you're thinking about the king of filters that's great since your turtle will keep growing, you won't have to worry about upgrading your filter with him.

[sflemin2]

I bet it was the driftwood too. I would just keep doing partial water changes until it clears up. When you get a new filter, check online..shipping may be a lot still but at least you will have options. Also, consider replacing the river rocks with well rinsed sand if you can. I have heard that a lot of stuff gets trapped under them and they are a pain in the neck

[VeipaCray]

Agreed... the coloration is most definitely the tannins from the driftwood. Not sure what media you have in your filter, but Purigen or carbon would help clear up your water quickly.

[sinarstar]

I followed the advice from this forum to configure my media, it goes like this: 1st basket - carbon and bio rings, 2nd & 3rd basket - bio rings, 4th basket - bio rings and floss. All baskets are fully filled, did I over stuffed it?

If you look at my tank from the front, it looks quite clear, but if you look through the tank from the side, it is slightly yellowish and foggy. After reading all the input here (thank you guys), I think i will replace the carbon and keep doing partial water change for another month to see if it will clear up, if it doesn't then fx5 is my only solution.

As for the river rocks, yes, they do trap pooh underneath. Gave me a big headache in the past. I try to solve it by placing all the rocks to the left side of the tank and place a water agitator at the left wall to push all the waste to the right hand side, which it is just bare bottom and where the filter intake is. It does cut down the stuff being trapped under the rocks.

As for using sand as substrate, I will definitely use it after I have learned how to manage my tank. Just want to keep it simple for now

[VeipaCray]

Try some purigen. It works wonders for making water crystal clear. $8 from BigAls.

[sinarstar]

Ok, i will go buy some purigen as soon as i can.

Thanks for all the input, I Will keep you guys updated.