General Care Discussion :: Crystal clear water, 100% water change better or 25%?

[Sen5es]

Finally after 3 weeks of using the AquaClear 20 in my 10gal 80% full of water the water is crystal clear. It has already been 2 weeks and the water is still does not smell or get cloudy at all. I have done a 25% water change once. The water is still clear but I don't have any of those chemical strips. To be on the safe side, should I do 25% water change weekly or 100%?

[mikee]

Sen-5 -- There is a distinct relationship between the size and number of your turtles, the amount of water and filtration. If you are sticking to the 10 gallons per inch of turtle and the 5x water exchange the 20% water change should do it. Ten gallon tanks are very small for most turtles and require constant monitoring. A ten gallon tank is the correct size for one, one inch turtle.

[Kemul]

25% water change is fine weekly. Turtles don't get affected much by nitrate unless
there is too much of it (very dirty), unlike fish.

I do water change bi-weekly or even monthly and my tank inhabitants are doing
just fine. In my tank I have: 2 RES, 4 goldfish, 1 pleco, 2 small plants. Then again,
perhaps the nitrate in my tank is absorbed by the plants and algae. I have some
algae in the tank. After sometime, the water will turn very light greenish tint.

Well, that's what I'm doing. I'm rather lazy

[theartbook35]

Nowadays, I rarely do a 100% water change unless they have really dirtied up their water. I still clean their tank accessories, like the filter media, river rocks, basking spot and plants once a week. More things cling to the objects in the tank, and aren't as common in the water as you think. 100% or 50% water changes are what prevent algae and bacteria from growing, that includes the good bacteria.

I'm doing a 50% water change this Sunday, since I'm seeing a little bit of algae on the basking spot and their super rock.

[Sen5es]

Algae? like from plants? I don't have plants in my tank but there is a little bit of thick green liquid on the bottom. Could that be just paint rub off from the fake plants?

My AquaClear 20 filters the water 10x an hour. Rated at 100gph.

Will do a 50% water change now since it has been two weeks already.

[Sen5es]

Also does anybody use water conditioners? And how effective are they?

[BullDog]

The green stuff is actually a liquid? Or is it just stuck on the bottom of the tank?

You should use a decholrinator of some sort to remove chlorine from the tap water. I usually get whatever is the cheapest (this time it was "Aqua Plus").

[bover907]

You sure the green goo isn't liquified turtle poop. Whe my turt eats a lot of lettuce he poops green. It only stays in the form of a turd for a little bit until it turns to mush and is harder to scoop out.

What a crappy conversion, lol.