Habitat - Indoor :: filter help!!!!

[Jess+skittles]

[b]hi,
sorry i havent been on around here. last time i posted was about skittles not eating ... well now he and i r back at my parents but since i brought my ramp back he was better like nothing happened *whew* dont worry hes not gonna do any more traveling so i might use his tank at my apt for some fishies.

but anyways... i have a filter problem. i have a power 10i from tetra. for some odd reason a couple of months ago ( at the apt) ive had to change the filter like every 2 weeks cuz it got soo dirty. i left for a while and i came back and it was GREEN!! it was never like that but now since we are here at my parents i used a newer filter (same kind) but then i still have to change it!! i gave the tank a bath last week and fresh rocks and water and got a 12 pack of filters.. 2 days later it got cloudy!! ggrrrr i just changed the filter again last night and added salt to the carbon... could i have gotten a bad batch of carbon or something? i dont fill the tank all the way up.. i use about 4 gallons maybe 5 in a 10 gal tank. my filter is made for a 2-10 gal.

thanks [/b]

[steve]

Since turtles produce more waste than fish, it's recommended to get a filter that is 3x as powerful for the tank. So if it is rated for a 120 gallon aquarium, you can use it in a 40 gallon tank.

Are you replacing the carbon or just cleaning it? Carbon is part of the chemical filtration and should be discarded after a month.

[Jess+skittles]

i am always replacing the carbon

[DavidY]

Is the water getting green or just cloudy. If it's just cloudy it could just be a bacterial bloom which happens sometimes with new setups. It takes a couple of weeks for the beneficial bacteria to colonize the media in the filter. Until then, some bacteria will rapidly multiply in the water feeding on the turtles waste and causing the cloudiness. Try getting some "biozyme" or other bacterial tank starter available at pet stores. Give the tank some time to cycle and for the bacteria to establish itself. In the mean time, just do partial water changes like 50% to 75%. Instead of replacing the filter media, just rinse it out gently in the old tank water when doing water changes. Replace the carbon once a month and the foam/floss maybe every other month. Don't replace the carbon and foam/floss at the same time. That will deplete all of the bacteria and start the cycle all over again.

[Jess+skittles]

ok. i will try not to.. the water is just getting cloudy and the filter media just keeps getting dark and greenish so that's y i replaced it. he is 3 inches in diameter and probably 5 1/2 maybe 6 inches long. its gonna be his bday soon so i will maybe get him a bigger tank and a stronger filter. any ideas? i dont want to fill the whole thing with water.

[DavidY]

When the filter gets clogged and dirty like that, siphon out half of the water from the tank into a bucket. Then gently rinse the filter media in the bucket until all of the gunk is out of it. The color isn't a problem, you just need to get the solid waste out of it and make it so the water can pass through it again without restriction. Then put it back in the filter. When it starts to get really clogged and gunky then replace it (maybe once a month). Add clean water back to the tank, making sure there's no chlorine in it (use water conditioner if necessary) and try to make sure it's close to the same temperature as the tank water.

Aquatic turtles are very much at home in deep water (3' to 6') and love to swim freely. A bigger tank filled 3/4 full would be great for your turtle. As long as he has a ramp that he can climb up on to get out of the water and bask regularly, he'll be fine. A Rena Filstar XP3 is a good choice for a cannister filter for a 40 to 70 gal turtle tank.