General Care Discussion :: my RES Tank

[magaly]

Hi, I bought my turtle a large glass like tank, and I was his t ank every week, however lately i have been getting this awful smell coming from the tank, as in a rotten water fish smell. Is this normal?

[missibsu]

What size is the tank? Do you use filtration? Water conditioner? How many decorations do you have? Do you have gravel in the bottom of the tank?

All of those things could be factors for the fishy smell. I don't think that either of the tanks I have set up have a fishy smell, but they each have their own unique smell. It doesn't smell bad though.

[cprcheetah]

How big is the tank? Do you have filtration? What is your turtles diet? What kind of pellets are your feeding?

[marisa]

How big is the tank and how much water do you have in it? Do you have gravel/small pebbles on the bottom? Do you have a filter and if so, do you use carbon in your filter? How warm has the weather been where you are?

I've found that smaller tanks (like 10, 20 gallons) seem to develop a "smell" rather quickly if they're not cleaned and water changed regularly (and more frequently than larger tanks). If you have gravel/small pebbles on the bottom, poop and debris is likely to get trapped, which will cause a smell unless cleaned really well (and to me a faint smells remains even then). An inadequate filter/no filter will just add to the problem, as will really warm weather (the warm temp can make whatever debris is in the tank smell more). Using carbon in the filter can help control odor, but only for so long and is not a substitute for a good cleaning and water change.

[magaly]

it has little water just enough to cover the bottom. Its is a rather large fish tank like with no filter. I feed him WARDLEY Reptile Premium Sticks.

[Kallistos]

You definietlely want to invest in a filter. Also, if you could measure the dimensions of the tank it'd be easy to calculate it's size in gallons

[CountryGirl68]

If the there is only enough water to cover the bottom, you need to add more water and get a filter. The filter cleans out the poop and gunk in the water. Smelly water is a sign of dirty water.

[missibsu]

The less water you have, the harder it is to maintain the quality. Rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length.

I believe the calculations for determining gallons is to multiply the length times the width, times the height. Then divide by 231. Check the main site to be sure though.

[marisa]

A small amount of water that's standing (no filtration) turns into a "toilet" that smells very quickly.

[fishandcandy]

it has little water just enough to cover the bottom.

Am I reading this right? This is NOT ENOUGH WATER!