Habitat - Indoor :: Water changes & hatchlings...

[MoreBloodWine]

Well its only been maybe 1.5 - 2 weeks and that aside I have a master test kit. Maybe I just took the test too soon, who knows... I'll test it again here in a few hrs and see whats up. Oh ya, the water is still cloudy but it doesnt look as bad since the partial water change.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so it's definately not a false reading and the only reason I'm sure of that is because of the following which some of you may get a chuckle out of. I did a test on water from the faucet and water from the toilet... yes I said toilet. Both came up 0ppm so I dont believe it to be a false reading on the test I did after the water change. That aside I did another tank test today and it's looking like 4.0 - 8.0ppm so it doesnt look like a solid 8.0 but it's close to it. I did what I believe to be a 30-40% water change the other night. Anyway, as far as filtration goes I have the ZooMed 501 canister filter that has the ponge on the return flow and on the in flow I got the ceramic rings on the top with the carbon bag on the bottom.

Since it's a 10g tank with like 7.5 - 8g of water in it that might have something to do with it as well. The water is still cloudy but it could just be me. As far as additives go I have cycle for beneficial bacteria which yes I know is under debate then I have Prime which is for de-chorinating water etc. Either way if I could maybe get a small handful of ceramic ings from someone who has an established tank to help seed my filter I might be ok. Either that or I think I might be in for the long haul cycle.

Edit: Ok, I've made up my mind... after reading about BioZyme and countles comments on the stuff I'm def gonna buy some. Seems most people get theyr tanks to cycle inside of a week with this stuff. But either way it seems cheap enough so I figure WTH.
On a related note, aside from putting the BioZyme inside the tank what are your thoughts on me also putting a pinch in the filter on the ceramic rings. My filter has an opening o nthe top for priming it and that cap is right above my rings.

[steve]

Problem could be that it is only 10 gallons, maybe less. The water volume is too low to really establish a biological balance in there for a RES.

[MoreBloodWine]

you say potato I say po-ta-to... While I know RES's are messy the lil ones to small to create that kind of imbalance aaaaaaand I've seen plenty of other 10g setup some with only 4g of water that are crystal clear. You did say problem could be so I'll take that as speculation.

Edit: The amonia was a problem before the turtle went in, and the cloudiness has cleared up some since the water change and even before then really.

Edit 2: Lets for a minute assume that your speculation is correct, even then following the directions on BioZyme when I get them in the mail would alleviate any such problems.

[chrisinva]

My 10 gallon is crystal clear but I am unsure what a *tank cycle* is

I only add water conditioner to remove chlorine and nothing else

I haven't tested my water yet but change it sometimes twice a week

It has never gotten cloudy...I guess I need to add more stuff and test my water too

[steve]

I said could be because I was unsure of the volume. I would not spend the time or money doing water tests on a small tank, though it's a good practice to learn.

[MoreBloodWine]

Nothing to wrong with spending money on a small tank to do water tests. Grant it the Master Test kits by no means cheap but at the same time its also not very expensive. As far as volume goes, about 7.5 - 8g of water.

[mh_sac]

I'm skeptical about the effectiveness of Biozyme (although to be fair, I've never personally never used it). Do you have a friend or know somebody who has an established aquarium? If so, ask them to borrow some bio media. My friend had a cartridge filter, so what I did was stick some of my bio media in a net and left it in the tank for a few days, and then put it into my filter. This appears to have expedited my cycling process to a significant extent, and only witnessed very faint cloudiness, indicative of the cycling process which disappeared in 1-2 days. This is probably the most effective method. Sometimes a pet store will have refrigerated live cultures you can try too. Although, this solution will only work assuming the environment is viable for bacterial establishment.

Also, make sure not to change a significant portion of your water while your bio system is trying to develop.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well my enviroment is good for establishing beneficial bacteria... I have considered trying to get some ceramic rings from someone who has an established tank but I dont know anyone who does.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well the BioZyme showed up today and I'm gonna follow the directions and hopefully it helps / works.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well, its official... BioZyme is my new hero. I havent done any tests yet but following the directions on the package gave me clear water. I've one last dose to use following the directions so this should just boost the already awesome preformance. I'll get some tests done here in the next few days to make sure the BioZymes all settled in nicely heh. But ya, its lookin like this stuff realllllly works.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well the BioZyme def seems to have done it's job. These are the levels for the new tests I did as of 5 mins ago. I tried to read the cards / colors best I could and this is what I came up with.

Amonia -- 0.25 - 0.50
PH -------- 7.6
Nitrate --- 10
Nitrite ---- 0.5

I know I keep asking this but is it the ites or the ates that are bad ?

I know the cycle starts with Amonia and that the end of the cycle is ites or ates which can build up and what warrants water changes the frequency of which depends on the size of your tank but for the 10g tank I have that has about 8g of water in it isnt lookin so bad. After I move though which should be within the next 3 weeks I'm def gonna look into a bigger tank, minimum of 150g since I only got the one turtle but gonna shoot for more so my lil one has alot of space.