All Turtles Message Board

Ronnie0881 · Guest Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

I've had my two turtles for about 2 - 3 months. I was just told the extent of the living conditions they needed so I went and got it for them, needless to say you can see the difference in thier behavior. Now I've become a fanatic. I have a 20 gallon tank. The tutrles are extermly happy the only thing is i can't seem to keep the water from turning green or from getting cloudy. I tried using Turtle clean and some other items but nothing seems to work. I have an undergravel filtration system that keeps up well but the water still stays cloudy. Can someone help me please...

hoover05 · Level 3 Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 137

My cousin had this problem with his 3 turtles. You need a really strong filter, like one for at least a 40 gal. tank... Most filters go by how much the typical fish would need filtered... however, turtles create a lot more waste.

What's the length of their shells?
_________________
I love my turtle....

My wonderful sister payed out the wazoo to get me her so I guess I better love her Smile

Ronnie0881 · Guest Joined: 30 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

I'm not sure of thier length but I will defenitly try a bigger filter. I was told that turtles like calm water so I didn't want to get something to powerful that will create much movement. But I do agree with what you are saying. Thank you. =)

krissytool · Level 1 Joined: 27 Aug 2006 Posts: 6

that cloudy water is caused by ammonia, more regular water changes and gravel cleans are required.

hoover05 · Level 3 Joined: 26 Oct 2005 Posts: 137

I'm wondering... Do you have gravel? Gravel can kill your turtles if they eat it (and they will!)... They don't need anything on the bottom of their tanks, but if you want something to make it look fancier, you can get rocks that are larger than their head to put on the bottom.

That might help with the filtering too.

I actually only use a 20 to 30 gal filter for my 55 gallon tank, 3/4 full. But I have hardly anything in it, just a couple rocks a little over the size of her head on the bottom. It seems to work really well, and I only have to dump it every week or two... My water has never been green. Maybe I should try to get the name of the filter for you. Do you want it?
_________________
I love my turtle....

My wonderful sister payed out the wazoo to get me her so I guess I better love her Smile

fishandcandy · Level 3 Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 200 Location: Indio, CA

An undergravel filtration system doesn't really work for turtles. They make too much waste.
I would suggest removing the gravel and undergravel filtration. You need something that will filter particles out of the water.
I have an Aquaclear 50 on my 20 gallon tank. It does create a strong current but turtles in the wild often live in rivers and this isn't really a problem for them. The only thing to be concerned about is if you have small/weak turtles, they can get stuck to the intake pipe and drown.
Even with this filter I still have to do water changes and vacuum debris from the bottom.