General Care Discussion :: Water changing?

[JaYrX7]

I am just wonder how often do you guys change water, I change it every other day, but my water still looks so cloudy.

[Marcus.85]

What filter do you got? I change 10% of mine every week.. that's all.

[untsmurf]

The cloudy water could be because you are changing the water so often. You need to give your tank a chance to settle and create all the bacteria in the filter and whatnot.

the larger your tank is, the less often you need to do water changes.

[tidaboy9]

yah its called the Nitrogen cycle!! just do 10 to 15% waters changes weekly not 15 to 20% changes!!

[JaYrX7]

I currently have a Whisper 30 power filter running in my 20 gallons tank. I think the filter is not strong enough or something, and I am trying to buy another one. I saw three on Amazon that are on sale and have good reviews, which one do you guys recommend? I want something quiet and can get the job done.

#1.Marineland Emperor Filter 280
http://www.amazon.com/MarineLand-Marine ... 050&sr=1-4

#2. AquaClear 70 Aquarium Power Filter - 40 to 70 Gallon
http://www.amazon.com/AquaClear-70-Aqua ... 43&sr=1-11

#3. Fluval 3 Plus Internal Filter, 185 GPH
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00178 ... d_i=507846

Thank you!

[untsmurf]

I've had the third one before and it did a pretty good job. My turtle was in the 2''-3'' range and was in a 29 gallon.

[TurtleKeeper48]

I've been doing full water changes about once a month lately, but only because I'm super busy and only have had time for tank maintenance about once a month. I should be better about keeping up on partial water changes and spot cleaning every week and I wouldn't have to do the full changes nearly as often.

[JaYrX7]

I just bought the Marineland Emperor Filter 280, before I put it in, do I need to do a 100% water change first?

[tidaboy9]

I just bought the Marineland Emperor Filter 280, before I put it in, do I need to do a 100% water change first?

Do 100% water changes NOW! Then make sure u leave the filter runing and do 10 to 15% WATER CHANGES WEEKLY@@~!!

I on the other hand would have really bought the Aqua Clear because it has storage for bio media and such!!

Nitrogen cycle (Nitrification cycle) / New Tank Syndrome
The nitrogen cycle is responsible for the biological filtration aspect of your turtle’s water. New turtle setups have insufficient “beneficial bacteria” to compensate for the amount of ammonia that quickly builds up. While RES are fairly tolerant of harsh conditions, fish and more sensitive aquatic turtles may find the situation irritating. During this time, water may appear cloudy and have an unpleasant odor.

Over time and given the correct conditions, beneficial bacteria will colonize inside your tank. Well-oxygenated water and biological media (i.e., inorganic media, such as ceramic rings) encourages this colonization. The cycle begins when waste products and uneaten food decay and decompose into ammonia. Bacteria such as Nitrosomonas feed on the available oxygen and ammonia, oxidizing the ammonia into nitrites. Similarly, bacteria such as Nitrobacter feed on oxygen and nitrites, producing relatively harmless nitrates. Nitrates can be reduced through partial water changes or absorbed by aquatic plants. When cleaning biological media, it is best to rinse that media with existing tank water to preserve those colonies.