General Care Discussion :: Foam in the water

[Boston_Zhao]

The water in my tank is only 3 days old, and have kept filter running all the time. Everytime after I feed them I scoop out the debris and try to keep clean. But there is still a lot foam on the top.....
Is the foam harmful to the turtles?

[Boogerbutt02]

from my experience the foam is from the conditionor that you put in the water... It will not bother the turtles

[Boston_Zhao]

But I didn't put in anything....

[marisa]

How big is the tank?

How much water is in it?

What kind of filter are you using? When did you clean the filter last? When you clean the filter do you rinse the media in the tank water and replace the carbon if you use it and if it's been in the filter anywhere near a month (a few weeks if you're using a Fluval + submersible filter)?

How big are your turtles (shell lengths without the curves)?

[Boston_Zhao]

well, I need to say that I am a new keeper, all set-ups are new. The tank is 15 gallons, filled 10 gallons of water, the filter is a new Whisper medium, only 4 days old. The water is only a few days old too. The turts are about one inch and a quarter long.

By the way, I didnt know that the filter pack could be cleaned and re-used, is that what you guys do, re-use the filter pack?

[missibsu]

If you didn't rinse the media very good before setting it up, it could be part of the cause of the foam.

As for reusing filter packs. If it contains activated carbon, it will need to be replaced. I'm not sure of an actual time period that it is good for. Other types of media, bio media for example, get reused but don't get rinsed in the sink. It allows good bacteria to colonize.