Habitat - Indoor :: MIXED WATER??UH OH!?!

[butterfly_kisses91886]

Okay, so I got my new baby turtles today. I was told using bottled water was fine, but not straight tap water b/c of the chlorine. Well, my fiance' and I thought the water felt too cold and we accidentally mixed warm tap water with the regular bottled water... will they be fine til I can change the whole tank tomorrow or is that necessary ? I can't lift it by myself so please let me know what u think. Also, I don't have an official lamp to put over the aquarium, so for now I have two house lamps over it. It gets pretty cold in here at night- maybe 55 degrees . Will they be ok ? They havent even sat on their floating dock yet HELP! THANK YOU

[Deon]

hello, tap water should be fine but if you're worried about chlorine, a dechlorinator or some solution that takes away the chlorine should help. So, i don't think you should worry about mixing the tap and bottled water together.
As for the temperature, since it gets that cold, a submersible water heater will help control the temps. Without it, the turtles might get sick.
Hope this helps!

[Chrisbarnett]

You need to get a dechlorinator/general water treater to use tap water.

I use Tetra Aquasafe. Others use ZooMed Reptisafe.

[Daniel3507]

once you get some water conditioner you can use tap water and you will definitely need a submersible heater ASAP if you dont have one already. they are probably still getting used to the new environment and are too afraid to bask. just make sure the temp on the basking dock is warm enough and keep the lights on for 12 hours a day

[joeybsmooth]

How big is your tank . because using bottle water is very impractical in the long run .

As said before get a water conditioner and everything should be ok.

@Chrisbarnett

You have to tell me where you got that pacman thing from.

[Chrisbarnett]

I found it on a fishkeeping forum lol.

[butterfly_kisses91886]

my tank now is only 10 gal b/c they are soo tiny. The people at the pet store said using gallon drinking water was better than tap. Then someone told me that tap was fine, so does anyone really know whats best? As long as it won't affect their health then I'm ok.

[Chrisbarnett]

Tap is fine and has no bad health affects.

[joeybsmooth]

Tap water with conditioner would do well. I mean they normally live in muddy nasty water .

I am pretty sure most people on this site uses normal water .Unless you live in some odd places where people can not drink the water .

[marisa]

I don't know what an "official lamp" is, but your turtles need both a heat source (can be one of those house lamps you're using now, if it's an incandescent bulb) and a UVB light over the basking area.

They need a submersible water heater as well, and it should be set to 78F.

If it's really cold at night where you are, you might wrap the tank with a cloth to help keep in the warmth. When you get a submersible water heater you can also cover a good portion of the tank at night to help trap in the warmth from the water.

[lady_tortuga]

nothing's gonna happen in one day, stay away from tap water though, and like some guys said get a dechloninator if you do wanna use tap water. In my tank I have a heater, get one of those too. I have 2 exatra ones, but I'm pretty sure they're not all that expensive. And the lamp would be like 15 buck, the cheapest. Some turtles are "shy" so they won't bask for some time, they will however get used to you and soon enough they will be on the dock 24/7 ))

[joeybsmooth]

Lady why would you say stay away from tap water .... Bottle water often have additives in them as well. And one should use water conditioner even with bottle water .

[cassharper]

go over to the pet store and get some dechlorinator. Fish keepers would be lost without it! Everyone has different preferences, but IMO, the best is SeaChem's Prime. It comes in a red bottle and $10 worth with literally last you a year. When changing my turtles 60g I use about 10 drops and that's wayyy overkill.

[geekyturtle]

Check out the main site's section on water quality. It has all the details on everything detailing with water and turtles.

Most people that have been on this forum for a while will also suggest against listening to most things a pet store says about turtles, since most pet store staff aren't that knowledgeable about them. What the pet store says might be good enough to keep them alive and they are probably being honest and trying to be helpful, but the main site here was made by people who try to do the best for their turtles, and have had tons of specialized experience with turtles.

The main thing you should do is start a fund for your turtles, because they're going to cost you a bundle. But you'll find out that they're worth it.

Good luck, and welcome to the forums!

[bently11]

I use Tetra Aquasafe. It dechlorifies Bently's water just fine.