Habitat - Indoor

Dumb question...Should I put the rings in a bag, or can I just put them in without it?

Not a dumb question. You don't need a bag for rings.

Awesome...well, time to empty the water out of the tank...see you in a bit. One more question...Do you think its important to remove 100% of the water this time? That last little bit is always soooo hard.

Hey, my heater just arrived!

Mr. Tuck wrote:Awesome...well, time to empty the water out of the tank...see you in a bit. One more question...Do you think its important to remove 100% of the water this time? That last little bit is always soooo hard.

No. You'll be fine if you get as much as you reasonably can.

Mr. Tuck wrote:Hey, my heater just arrived!

Sweet. Perfect timing. Did you get the on sale Eheim Jager?

Sure did!

I very rarely see the eheim jager heaters go on sale. Smart to grab it when you did. This thread needs more pics!!

Well, I'm trying to get this dang thing finished...I just refilled the tank, but...um, I need to make one more run to Petsmart for something I forgot. I'm going out of town with my son for a week on Friday (hah, no one knows where I live) and I want to have Tuck in his tank by this Thursday.

ok...7000 hours later, the tank is finally re-set up. Everything was re-cleaned, I did a 100% water change and used significantly less carbon. I have my purigen and bio media in place as well. My only concern is the carbon. I re-used some of the original carbon and trashed the carbon that smelled of sulfur. They were two different brands and in separate bags. Before I forget, I had to place my Eheim Jager sideways because it was so long.

Sulfur/egg smell is from anaerobic bacteria which produce Hydrogen Sulfide as a byproduct of their metabolism. Canister filters tend to get the least oxygenated water in the tank due to their position and the way they work. The way you have your outflow and inflow set up with the tank doesn't create much surface agitation. That agitation is what allows the gas transfer between the water and the surface air. Because you don't have much transfer, the water is becoming anoxic (lacking in oxygen). I would set up a few air stones to increase surface agitation.

Also, sand would look really nice in that tank.

Last edited by Mr. Tuck on Wed Dec 07, 2011 1:44 am, edited 1 time in total.

Sand! Dangit, I knew I was missing something. I was thinking of something off-white...or even green. It would look great with the plants I've already stuck in the tank. I'm definitely going to get some, but it may have to wait until I get back to town. My biggest worry is cleaning it. It's been 100 years since the only time I ever had any sand or gravel in a tank and I never cleaned it. (I was a child) If you don't mind, could you give me the basics. Are there any legitimate risks to the turtle with the types of sand I purchase? I will also search the topics here. *edit, I just did that search and I found:

PridgNYC wrote:Actually with sand it is okay that his poo gets into it. The sand will create a natural bio filter. Bacteria will colonize it in different layers depending on how much oxygen is available to them. Just be careful if you are using play sand, its variable sized grains produce more compaction which could result in pockets of hydrogen sulfide gas which can be released when the turtle digs. Pool filter sand is better, because it doesn't compact, and it provides a lot of surface area for beneficial bacteria. Do a google search for deep sand bed filtration, and you'll see what I mean.

Still, what happens if my turt eats it? What are the compaction risks? Where can I buy some?

As for the real issue, I did know about the hydrogen sulfide, however I never made the connection with the lack of oxygen. I had to raise the water in the tank as high as possible, because my wife was a bit annoyed with the sound of the water falling. I raised it in order to minimize the sound of the splashing, and hindsight probably minimizing the amount of oxygen that otherwise could have entered the water. Interestingly enough, I am limited with how high I can raise the water because my dock is fixed. So, air stones will help? I just have no idea what I would need to do to set them up. Could you, or someone please give me some insight? Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be my last chance for over a week to do anything about it and I just don't want to come home to rotten eggs again.

PridgNYC, I'm just "borrowing" this quote from you to help remind me to never prematurely cut the length of my tubing again.

PridgNYC wrote:I was just wondering because I could only see the intake, and it was in the middle of the tank. Ideally with a canister, your intake and output should be on opposite ends of the tank to create a cross flowing current

Last edited by Mr. Tuck on Wed Dec 07, 2011 2:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

...and before I forget, any idea what this knob is for thats located on my input bar and jutting out horizontally? It has a screwed on cap at the end.

The knob I'm guessing is a valve to shut off the imput when cleaning the canister. But I'm not exactly sure.

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