All Turtles Message Board

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

Hey guys, been a while since I posted, but I've been caring for my turt the whole time, and constantly trying to improve his environment.
My problem is this. I recenly upgraded to a 29 gallon long. I know it's small, but he seems very happy, and loves having more swimming room, and basks alot, eats good, gives me attitude, all that good stuff. Problem is..I can't keep it clean!! I have a 40g whisper filter, change the filter every 4-5 days. a box of 16 makes them cost about a buck apiece, so 16 dollars for 2 months of good filtering is worth it to me, and he LOVES the filter. The incline side of his floating rock is right under the 'waterfall' filter output..and he's always under there, like he thinks it's a spa or something, lol.

Ok...sorry..got a little off subject, anyay..the water gets cloudy alot...and there are so many products out there..i don't know what to use!! Those red drops that sort of 'clump' any particulates in the water seem to work well....and I use water conditioner when I top off the levels every few days...and I just bought this stuff..its purple!! that is supposed to take care of cloudiness and that 'fishtank' smell....but please help me...im afraid Im putting too much stuff in there....or causing Crush stress of anykind. I've also just decided to cut his feeding stick in half...so that powdery residue doent occur when he eats, he can fit the whole thing in his mouth...that might help some. And yes...I love him enough to sit and cut a whole can of sticks in half. Will have a movie marathon or something while I do it..lol.

ANY advice..experiences...critisisms....would help me alot. I plan on having him a very long time...and ill get a monster tank when I am in my own place again. But for now...believe me,...he is a happy guy..tank's 1/2 in front of a very sunny window...he 'chats' with the cats...loves to see me, especially when I have food..haha...just want to keep him happy and healthy, and the tank aesthetically pleasing. thanks and sorry for the looonnnggg post.[/img]

dixieee · Posted: Sat Aug 05, 2006 5:11 am Post subject:

hello wb

why don't u try feeding him in another container and put him back after something like 30 min.? u'll save lots of cleaning that way Smile

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

The sticks aren't the problem, I give him pretty much exactly what he needs. Notice I said 'needs'..if I gave him what he wants..he'd be a boat, lol. When I feed him anything I else, I do put him in a small rubbermaid. I noticed there wasn't any excrement in the tank for a few days...and I baked salmon tonight, gave him a little chunk..cooked, of course..and the oil in the fish cleared the uh..problem within like, 20 minutes, lol. Anyway, so I don't know what the cloudiness is from, and my main concern is how do I know what is causing it....what is the right product to use?

dixieee · Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2006 3:54 am Post subject:

hmm..oh i forgot to mention in my previous post that too many conditioners and stuff in water isn't really good cz they don't have it in their environment. cloudiness might be a filter problem. did u try the algae eaters or something?
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

hehehe...I had a sucker named Bob forever..he got huge, and him and Crush would go at it...hard to believe...Bob would fight back...he'd 'launch' himself at Crush..and Crush would retreat!! But, sadly...Crush started nipping at Bob when Bob was sleeping, and once when I cleaned the tank, I found a part of Bob's fin or something beneath some large pebbles. So...Bob went to live with my best friend in Florida, lol. I got another when I got the larger tank, I thought it would hide behind some plants and stuff I have in there...but again...even more sadly...he became lunch. So...now I am wondering if I should fork over the dough and buy a much larger one? I loved having a sucker...they really do keep the tank alot cleaner..but I don't want them to become lunch.

dixieee · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:09 am Post subject:

yeah c'est la vie Laughing

ok u have to make a sacrifice in here, either have a clean tank and not get so attached to the algae eater or have a cloudy one and keep little fishie alive, lol
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

sunny41 · Posted: Mon Aug 07, 2006 1:04 pm Post subject:

omg poor thing get beat up now it at florida.i like sucker fish too they look pretty but they get really big that what i dont like.i got two turtles that are babies and i put a red tail shark in their with them cuz they are bottom eater and the shark eat anything like waste(yuck) but the shark wont even take the whole sinking pellets but one of my turtle eat the sinking pellets lol i gess they all would eat anything but i hope benz reach 2 inch soon benz just ned a couple more centemeters more to reach 2 inch then benz going to an new home ina rubber maid tub that will be 50 gallons or 55 gallons but i got no room.darn i need to think fast where to put them.(if only my closet was empty i wound put them their and keep the closet door open though.but it to bad i got a shelf in the closet. or if only the computer desk wasnt in my room i would put next to the tv then.)
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[IMG]http://i9.tinypic.com/2rdhmq.jpg[IMG]

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

thanks, dixie. I think I will get a larger sucker..older, I mean..maybe he'll adapt quicker and learn to hide, lol. Got another question for ya...little peices of shedding material keep coming off him...is it because it just takes a long time to get rid of all of it, or is he REALLY fixin' to grow AGAIN???? lol...will need a swimming pool soon... the pieces arent bothersome...but his shell looks a little funny suddenly, like someone took a white pencil and traced the 'scales'...almost like it's more vibrant..but the green color is the same

dixieee · Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2006 5:59 am Post subject:

is it soft? it coule be the scutes trying to shed. is there like trapped air under them? just don't peel them off and it'll be ok. for the skin, yes it is somehow normal but make sure the temps aren't getting too high cz this causes it to shed excessively
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

turtbert · Level 3 Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 272

I would say your filters too small, a 40G filter on a 29G turtle tank is a bit underpowered, I would upgrade to the biggest one you can afford at least one for a 60G. I used to have water problems when I used a smaller filter ie. a film on top, but have had no problems since Wink

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

you don't think that'd create too much of a current? what if I put the filter from the other tank in there, that'd be a combined 60g. what about the media? Im just using the charcoal that came with the bags, but I could get something else if it'll work better.

turtbert · Level 3 Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 272

I'm not sure what type of filter you have I've always used Fluvals. I use external filters now, more expensive I know but much better in the long run. No the current will be fine. I use to use internal ones but as my turtles grew they started playing with them and using them for basking!

I have always used filtration double the tank size which has kept the water nice. I started with a 10G filter in a 20G as was recommended by the shop, and had terrible water. Then I tried

fluval 4+ (for tanks upto 57G) on my 20G.
fluval 404 (106G) on my 50G
now I have a fluval 405 and a 304 on my 120G Very Happy

My turtles love playing in the outflow!

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

[quote="turtbert"]I use to use internal ones but as my turtles grew they started playing with them and using them for basking!
My turtles love playing in the outflow![/quote]

My turts have used them to kinda hold themselves up. And over 1 filter I have the basking light... Laughing

Little sneaks.

msjava · Level 2 Joined: 06 Nov 2005 Posts: 48

hehehe, ya..mine uses the outflow like his own personal spa...I have a floating dock, and the outflow is right above the incline of the dock, so he puts his front legs on the dock and lets the water run on his shell.

*sigh* I dream of having a 120g one day...what in the world do you put in it? I want to put live plants in mine, but I know Crush, and he'll eat them to nubs in two days.