General Care Discussion :: Rocks and water quality

[reptilegrrl]

I know that conventional wisdom says it's good to have rocks in the tank/pond for bacteria to grow upon, but since I removed the (large) gravel from Al's tub, his water is a lot cleaner. Smutz used to get all mixed up in the gravel and it was hard for the filter to pick up, and for me to clean out when it was time to change water. Now that the rocks are gone, smutz is not collecting at the bottom of the tub anymore; the filter must be picking it up.

I also think that being outside is keeping his water cleaner- between the algae and the sunlight breaking things down, the ammonia levels are very low and I am down to doing partial water changes once a week or so and a full change maybe once a month.

[steve]

I've read that very large ponds benefit from having rocks/gravel/mud/dirt and I don't think that applies to the size of tanks and tubs that most of us use. Gravel does look nice, but as you mentioned, affects water quality.

With outdoor habitats, my initial research indicated that once it stabilizes (re: algae) it should have fairly clear, good water quality. But again, that applies to large ponds with filtration and circulating water. If the water wasn't clear, I would have reservations about keeping my turts in it.

[reptilegrrl]

If the water wasn't clear, I would have reservations about keeping my turts in it.

Why? They live in unclear water in the wild and do fine. They seem to thrive in heavily algae'd water, maybe because the algae keeps the water clean chemically. it certainly gives them room to hide.

I am more concerned about the quality of the water, health-wise, than about visibility. If you don't examine and interact with them often, then visibility could be a problem, because health problems could get out of control without one noticing.

Algae doesn't imply unsafe water; ponders just don't like it for aesthetic reasons (and because too much can cause problems for fish.) Al's water is pretty green, but the algae seem to be improving his water quality; his ammonia levels are lower than they have ever been.

Lots of aquarium types are all in favor of rocks and etc as surface area for bacteria, but in the case of this turtle, it's just not best.

[steve]

My primary concern with algae, especially green water, is the lack of oxygen in that water. Without sufficient oxygen, I don't think the bio-media (or any beneficial bacteria) would do well. Quality of water is more important with me as well, however, if the water becomes cloudy or less visible, then I might suspect an imbalance of the water properties or the abundance of waste. I'm not sure if there is a digestive impact regarding greenish water.

[reptilegrrl]

I thought that algae emitted oxygen during the day, and absorbed it at night? I could be misremembering. And he does have a splashy outlet on his filter. It also has a built-in venturi, but I closed that off because the sound it made was really agitating.

His water still smells good, which is, I think a good sign. When he was indoors, it got green a few times and at those times it smelled bad. And it's not cloudy, just green. I definitely don't want the water to get thick and soupy the way some over-algae'd ponds do. That's why I'm doing a half-change every week now.

I gotta say, having hiim outdoors makes water changing SO much easier! I love it.

Thank you for your advice... I am feeling all warm and fuzzy about this forum tonight.

[steve]

I think I may be the one getting it mixed up here! (Will have to research it later.) Since a tank is a closed-system, I still wouldn't prefer to have an algae situation

[cam722]

I was reading on algae the other day because of my fish tanks. For some reason they all are getting covered in algae. I read that when a tank's water is green with algae, there is less oxygen in the water. I'll see if I can find the site again. I'd think the same thing would hold true regardless if it's a fish or turtle tank. Perhaps the confusion is in algae growing in the tank as opposed to the water being green from algae. There is a difference.

btw, the reason I now have this bloom of algae is because someone keeps the lights on in the fish tank too long.. and it's NOT me!!!

Found the article: http://www.petfish.net/articles/Goldfis ... _Algae.php