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I have a 40 gallon tank with 2 RES's, I filter my tank with a Fluval 350 cannister filter. I cannot get this thing to properly cycle. My ammonia levels are slowly climbing.

I have an ammonia indicator in the tank which 2 days ago was very high. The water was also very murky. Yesterday, I fully cleaned the tank and filter (trying my best to preserve the bacteria colony in the ceramic media) I also use ammo-carb in the filter to help with the ammonia levels.

The tank was clean, but less than 24 hours later, the ammonia levels are climbing again, the tank is not as crystal clear as it was yesterday. I've been trying for months to get this filter to cycle properly, but I'm having the hardest time. Is there a safe way to reduce the ammonia levels without having to do a water change every day? I am sick of this bacteria bloom which, once it forms in a few days, will not go away.

Never do a full clean, don't clean more then 20% of the water or you could kill the colony. Have you tried using a beneficial bacteria product?

I have tried using a product, however, sometimes it makes the bloom worse.

I had no choice but to fully change the water, it was so bad. As I said, I did my best to preserve the bacteria in the filter, I didn't wash the ceramic media.

Perhaps you need to wait it out while changing 20% of the water daily or every
other day. The turtles should be tough enough to endure the bloom, unlike fish.

What product did you use?

Even if you preserve bacteria in the filter, if you change all the water in tank you in essence killing the bacteria. The turtles should be able to withstand a bloom if you do a 20% change every other day until it clears up.

Bactreia bloom is what you are dealing with. I suggest that you do a 20 to 50% water change every two to three days until it clears up. By changing the entire tank you are getting rid of a lot of the bacteria. Good Luck! m.

How big are the RES?

I just used Turtle Clean from Nutrafin...I added that yesterday...I'm hoping it helps the levels of ammonia drop. I will also try to do a 20% water change every couple of days until the tank stabalizes.

I have 2 RES's:
Flash - Female, 12 inches
Squirt - Male, 8 inches
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I suspected you were going to reply that your RES were large, but not that large.

The problem is that the two RES you have will be putting a huge biological load on the filter in a small tank. Quite simply, your filter is overloaded and can not cope.

The best solution is a much larger tank, and a much larger filter. Using the conventional logic of 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length, you should be looking at a 200gal tank and filter to match.

viradian wrote:I have 2 RES's:
Flash - Female, 12 inches
Squirt - Male, 8 inches

The guideline minimum tank size for your two turtles is close to 200 gallons.

seanwb was right in saying you need a much larger tank, and much larger filter. You have two large turtles in a tank that's barely enough for one small turtle.

I know my tank is slightly too small for my turtles, but I have no room for a larger tank right now. When I move, I have a huge tank waiting for me in my parents basement.

However, I just bought a second filter. I now run both a Fluval 305 and a Magnum 350. I hooked up the Magnum on Monday, now by Thursday, the water is clearing and the water looks better...My Ammonia Levels are dropping back to normal too.

At this rate, in the next 4-5 days, my water should be crystal clear.

Vir-ian - I think the increased water flow and the increased media will help. You may have to do another water change or two but you are on the correct track. If you stick to the 5x rule with a lot of media you should be ok. Good Luck!! m.