All Turtles Message Board

melsmom · Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2007 10:02 pm Post subject: smelly water

is there something i can add in between changes to get rid of smelly water ..? Rolling Eyes

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2turtles · Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:14 pm Post subject:

Smelly water could be the result of a new tank, which has not had time for the beneficial bacteria to reach an adequate level to break down all the ammonia building up.

Also, new activated charcoal helps keep down the smell. If it is a continuous problem, I'd focus on your filtration strategy, and possibly looking to upgrade your setup.

What do you currently use?
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0.0.2 Emydura subglobosa subglobosa----0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

melsmom · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:43 pm Post subject:

I have a 20 gal clearview tub and a fluval 3. for some reason, the tank gets murkier when i add the carbon filter to the foam pad (the 2 that come with it). Now, i have just the 2 foam pads. the water is okay, with a yellow tinge but its starting to smell and it's been 5 days.
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my lil preciosa .. to the left, cute, huh?

2turtles · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:52 pm Post subject:

Did you rinse the carbon before adding it?

Are the foam pads identical, or is one 'finer' than the other?

I believe this filter is using a coarse sponge for biological filtration and the finer one for mechanical filtration.

So it is sucking water from the bottom, and this water must penetrate through the sponge to get to the center where it is discharged up and out the top.

You want your water to initiall encounter the fine sponge material to strain out the floaties. it should then pass on to the coarse sponge, where you would want the bacteria to grow and break down the ammonia and nitrite. I usually have my charcoal between the two stages because it 'fits' better there, but would probably be more beneficial (for the tank and the bacteria) after the biological filtration stage.

If your tank is smelly it is because something isn't working properly. Either the mechanical filtration isn't catching everything and you have decaying organic material in your tank (food, waste product) or the bacteria colony isn't growing and capable of keeping up with the rising levels of ammonia and nitrite.

I would rinse the charcoal in the sink until it the water is clear and then put it back in the filter. MAKE SURE you DO NOT rinse out the coarse sponge... you want it somewhat gooey with bacteria...
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1.0.0 Trachemys scripta scripta----1.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta
0.0.2 Emydura subglobosa subglobosa----0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

melsmom · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:58 pm Post subject:

so if i'm not in need of replacing my foam pads, I should NOT rinse them? whoops ... could that be part of the problem? but they look disgusting and i thought rinsing them was a good thing Embarassed

So ... maybe if i take the filter out and apart to check it all, don't rinse the foam pads before i put them back in, rinse the charcoal pad until water funs clean, put it all back in and ... hopefully ... success? There are other pads that are optional but i can't recall what they are. they are not foam or carbon, they are a white pad that i think can be used so u could actually have 3 kinds in there but it seems a bit much for everything to be able to filter through
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my lil preciosa .. to the left, cute, huh?

2turtles · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:13 pm Post subject:

It's likely you are killing and removing your beneficial bacteria colony when you clean your filter - You are actually cleaning it too much, which is making it smelly!
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1.0.0 Trachemys scripta scripta----1.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta
0.0.2 Emydura subglobosa subglobosa----0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

melsmom · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:49 pm Post subject:

wow ... the fluval 3 supposedly has a yellow indicator which i guess will pop up when the filter needs changing. IMO, even tho it never popped, i assumed the filter needed cleaning and rinsed it. So now I will just let it go i guess. the real test will be when we go on vacation for 10days. i won't be there to mess with it. the turt will be turt-sat by a neighbor who has 2 RES so it will be interesting to see the condition of the water when we return. final ?? ... how often should the filter be rinsed if i change the water (all the water) every week or so?
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my lil preciosa .. to the left, cute, huh?

2turtles · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:58 pm Post subject:

Reduce your water changes to 50% every other week, and rinse out your filter of large floaty junk every 2 months.

That should help things a bit
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1.0.0 Trachemys scripta scripta----1.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta
0.0.2 Emydura subglobosa subglobosa----0.0.1 Testudo hermanni boettgeri

melsmom · Posted: Tue Jun 05, 2007 4:54 pm Post subject:

WOW .... seriously every 2 months? well.. i do just have one RES in a 20 gal with a fluval 3 so maybe i am being over cleanly ... so ok. i'll keep ya posted. i really appreciate all your info!
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my lil preciosa .. to the left, cute, huh?