Habitat - Indoor :: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Sat Oct 14, 2017 7:14 pm   Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

I've had a sun sun canister for over a month. I have bio balls, ammonia reducers, charcoal pads, and filter media in this thing. I haven't cleaned or rinsed with tap water to destroy the good bacteria. I haven't done a complete water change.
But the tank still sinks, there is red stuff growing in the tank and filter tubes and there is a white film floating on the top of the water.
What am I doing wrong?
Jadolphin
 
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 7:42 am   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

what model filter and how much water is in the tank? how big/how many turtles are in there?
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 2:09 pm   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

I have 1, 5 year old RES in a 30 gallon tank with about 6 inches of water. Filter is a sun sun 402B with uv light and 3 trays for media.
Jadolphin
 
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Post Posted: Sun Oct 15, 2017 3:13 pm   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

What size it is though ? I think you should add more water, 6 inch of water sounds very little for a yearling.

What food do you give your turtle ? Does it eat everything or is there lots of leftovers ? The white foam might be because of a protein excess in the water. I saw that happened in a fish tank.

Is your tank near a window ? If something is growing in your tank then it's algae. Your charcoal pad might be the cause. Can you post pictures ?
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PokePony
 
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:01 pm   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

Image

He eats the maintenance formula from Zoomed every 3 to 4 days and he usually finishes all but a few small pellets. When I have to add water I use the safe water additive to neutralize the chlorine so it doesn't kill the good bacteria. I've had smaller filters that have had less smell but I changed to a larger one because the smaller one couldn't break up the solid waste as well and I had to change the media every week. I have invested a lot of money in trying to improve my pets living conditions and our comfort but I seem to be going in the wrong direction with every step. My family has about had it and I am the only one that takes care of him now. I've had Water dragons, gerbils, mice, hamsters, dogs, cats, birds and fish. I managed to care for them all but this time I feel at a complete loss as to how to take care of 1 little turtle.
Jadolphin
 
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 6:48 pm   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

What is your definition of "managed to care for" ? Really any of those pets alive today ? or under your care?

water dragon lives 10-15 years
gerbils 3-4 years
mice 2-3
hamsters 2-6
dogs 15
cats 15-20
birds small 7 yrs and large surprisingly long time
fish 2-10

And that poor female turtle , I can smell the toxic water she's in over the internet. Please donate her to a rescue center !
And that picture , no matter how old you are "..." any other animals you want to go through?
Yes it's a she Not a he ! I know the dimensions on 30 gallon tanks in the US not a 30 maybe another country's def of 30.
Having a pet is what's wrong . All is wrong with this.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Wed Oct 18, 2017 7:10 pm   Re: Tank smell is awful! What am I doing wrong?

I can't see the picture because Photobucket.
Anyway I'm going to assume that your tank with 6 inch of water is way too small.
Your turtle need 10 gallons of water per inch of her shell. OR; your tank size should be:
Length: size of shell x 5
Width: size of shell x 2
Height: size of shell x 3

Your water smells because you don't have enough water and your tank is too small. Give your turtle some veggies as well ! You can find a lot of diet routine from other people here.

You're going to have to spend some money on a big tank. An adult male RES would need 45 to 75 gallons of water, and a female RES can need up to 120 gallons of water since they get bigger than males.
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