The turtle waste degrader really does work wonders for turtles as large as mine. I use it primarily because my turtle is so large & her waste is very large (I'm not always there to scoop it out). The faster the waste breaks down, the healthier the water. It's when the waste just sits that you can get some problems with disease, etc.
There are many different reasons why tanks can get a bit cloudy:
1.) feeding in the tank - some foods can make the tankwater cloudy. You can try feeding in a separate laundry pan filled with water. ESPECIALLY if you feed them pellets. Pellets soak up the water & just make the water rancid over time, even if the turtle eats everything. Veggies can be fed in the tank since they don't dissolve like the pellets do. Always remove any uneaten pieces regardless of what you feed them.
2.) A tank that is too small for your turtle or having too many animals in one tank - not sure why this is like this, but I have noticed that upgrading to a much larger tank has made tank maintenance a WHOLE lot easier (water is MUCH clearer/cleaner).
3.) If a turtle throws up - sometimes their stomachs get a little upset or maybe they have diarrhea. I don't feed my turtle canned catfood too often because it gives her a bit of diarrhea if she is fed too much of it ("too much protein")....this waste from eating catfood dirties the water very fast for some reason.
4.) Eggs (if your female laid them in the tank by accident) - if a turtle lays an egg, she WILL eat it if she sees it. This creates a horrendous mess that I hope you never have to deal with. The only solution is to change the water PRONTO.
5.) Filter media - I have to chg the filter media about once a week. Every time I change the media, I add waste degrader at the same time. For some reason, doing these things *simultaneously* ("the same day") helps keep the water immaculately clear.
6.) Reptisafe water conditioner - it's good to get the chlorine out, but Reptisafe doesn't mix well with the waste degrader stuff for some reason so I don't use the two together. Waste degrader & water neutralizer calcium blocks are for Sheba, Reptisafe is only used for my frog & fish's water since they don't need waste degrader.
7.) Shell conditioner cream - main reason I stopped using this stuff on my turtle's shell is because it made the water cloudy. The good news is that we aren't supposed to use it anyway since the turt's shell needs to breath & the cream tends to clog up the porous shell. So don't use this on your turtle! On the other hand, it makes a fabulous hand cream in the winter for YOU.
If your water stays cloudy for a few days, then you are prolly due for a 100% water change and none of the above is going to help.
Good luck!
