General Care Discussion :: Problems with Biotize?

[Dein211]

so Rolo was very very sick for about two weeks. she was lethargic and didn't want to eat. I thought it was odd that she got sick so fast and was looking around to find out what could have caused it and found veggitable matter acctualy rotting in her tank! I had just cleaned it so the veggies It must have gotten caught on the fish net when i cleaned it and fell in when i remove the minnows since i thought they were the problem. after i removed them though she got worse. I imediately moved her to a different, smaller tank and upped the water temp. she got better after about a week but she still isnt eating I think i found the source of the problem. after i did her last tank cleaning i reembered i had bought and used this BIotize waste eliminater stuff thats basically micro organizims in a bottle that break down waste. i put in about the correct amount (2 drops to every .25 of a galon thats a lot of drops for a 45 gal) i probably only used half of what i needed and then she got sick!

anyone else have a problem with this Biotize crap? i'm not using it anymore

[marisa]

I don't use chemicals to help break down poop and other debris; I never found them to be necessary. If you think that's what was making your turtle ill, then it's good to stop using it. Regular water changes (full and partial) and tank cleanings and a good filter (as well as netting out crap when you see it) will do more to keep the water quality up than additives to the tank.

Glad your turtle is better.

[Dein211]

I acctually didn;t have a poo problem originally but as a newish turtle owner i saw it and thought hmm.... has a turtle on it... for turtle water.... hmm.... I have a good filter, and i nettet poo when i found it if the minnows didnt get it first. so really i can't say exactly why i bought it. Good news is Rolo was eating and basking today so i'm going to move her back to her tank tomorrow. seriousely though, bad idea.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I'd imagine it was because you added all of the bacteria at once. If you had added drops slowly over time, Rolo would have been able to immunize herself against the new strains. Honestly, looking at the wikipedia article on Bacillus (which the Exo Terra website says four strains of are in the solution), I don't know who thought to put this into a turtle tank. It said that they are common causes of food poisoning in humans and food spoilage. YUCK! However, the wiki said that even if you clean out the water, the bacteria could have left spores behind. I'd recommend a good hard cleaning of the tank and filter and you'll need to start your beneficial bacteria back growing. Otherwise, the Bacillus will just continue being in the tank.

I put in the ZooMed ReptiSafe, it's a water condition that breaks down the ammonia and nitrates but isn't bacteria. It seems to be helping and not affecting my turtle. I'd recommend using one of those vacuum things for removing solid waste and letting your filter get the rest from now on. And thanks for the warning, I definitely WON'T be buying Biotize!

[Tiny]

I used Biotize in Tiny's Tank once- yeah it's supposed to break down solid waste in the tank, but I found that it actually breaks down solid waste inside the turtle too.

Turtle diarreah is very difficult to clean off the dock, when it's baked under the lights all day. Poor Tiny didn't know what happened. I stopped using it immediately and super cleaned the tank- Tiny is long over it. I will never use it again!

Later the guys at the pet stire who advised it's use told me of the time it turned his turtle's shell blue!!! And he still uses it!Tiny

[industrial_girl_2000]

Biotize isn't what is causing your problem. I have been using enzymes with my turtle for years with no problems (including Biotize). Friendly bacteria exists everywhere to break down poop, leftover food, etc. and if your turtle was in a pond, she would be exposed to this bacteria anyway.

Most turtles (especially the smaller ones) don't need Biotize anyway because the poop isn't very large so I wouldn't waste my money on it if I were you.

If you are concerned about a stinky tank, then you have the option of feeding pellets in a separate pan of water. I have been doing this for years & my turtle's tank has absolutely NO smell. the only time I ever had a problem with smells/rotting was when I fed her pellets in her tank. Keep in mind that feeding lettuce in the tank daily won't make the tank stink....it's something about the pellets because they have fish meal in them & you know what leftover fish smells like!

[Dein211]

well just the same. i'm going to disinfect EVERYTHING tonight. my tank never smelled but she just got so sick so drastically and its the only thing i can think of that got her so sick. luckily i didnt have to deal with diahrreah but she slowed down so much i thought that for sure one day i'd come home to a sad story. like it wasn't sad enough. but she's better now