General Care Discussion :: Water conditioners.

[Nettle]

I've been using this Aquaclear stuff. Is it ok?

What do you guys use?

[steve]

I think Reptisafe is the popular one here, I recently used the Big Al's brand. Most aquarium-safe conditioners should be fine for turtles.

[SpotsMama]

I use Reptisafe. It's supposed to do more things that are beneficial for reptiles in addition to dechlorinating.

[Take-One]

I also use ReptiSafe. It is has more benifits for turtles and reptiles. But for Crayfish I used AquaSafe. It doesnt really matter.

[Nettle]

Kay, thanks!! ^_^

[Apollo&Scampi]

Does reptisafe help with a good pH balance? (not that I've ever checked or anything..)

Also, can you put in too much? I usually just squirt our a bit in the tank and hope it's enough (or not too much).

[starscollided]

Reptisafe removes the chlorine and ammonia in your tank and helps keep those levels low. Becuase of this it does keep your PH level pretty close to where you want it to be. (Still a good idea to check though)

Yes, you can put too much - and Yes you can put too little. You should be putting a Teaspoon sized amount for every 5 gallons of water (reptisafe - it may be different per brand) . Too much will change the concentration of the water - You want enough so that it neutralizes the 'bad stuff' in the tank and leaves little to nothing behind for your turtle to ingest. Too little may not dissolve all of the chlorine and ammonia in your tank and could be potentially harmful for your turtle as well.

Its probably best to just follow the directions on the bottle of whatever you are using.

[1981camaroz28]

Your question about PH the turtles require a level of 8.0 there are many fluids to buy just make sure you do it very little at a time. I don't use chemicals in any of my tanks. Here is a old school trick to bring PH up add sea shells to bring it down add wood. If in your tank you have any wood logs or toys for the turtles your PH will drop. Did you get a test kit and check your levels? Hope this helps

[marisa]

I think the pH level required by turtles depends to some extent on the species of turtle. RES are tolerant of a fairly wide pH range, but to me a level of 8 consistently is a bit high. Whenever I've tested the water here, it's been around 7, which is neutral. A slightly acidic water level (a little below 7) has been held by some to be preferable for water quality and shell health.

Reptisafe is supposed to contain electrolytes and other beneficial substances as well as those which eliminate chlorine and chloramine. It doesn't deal with pH and I don't think it would really affect it.