What is wrong with the water in my turtle tank?

[ScottRamsay]

Ok I come home today and find the water on the surface of my turtle tank has gone funny. It has this white "dead skin" kind of a look to it. I have no idea what it is and I only cleaned the tank a few days ago. If you have any questions which might lead to a result please post them and I will answere them.

Heres the pictures of it....

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt335/ScottyRamsay/P1020440.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt335/ScottyRamsay/P1020442.jpg

http://i625.photobucket.com/albums/tt335/ScottyRamsay/P1020443.jpg

Thanks

 

[JAS101]

well ill give it a shot ,
i say its from the water being stagnet [ no flowing water] the turtle/ food waste rising to the top of the water . do u have a water filter system ? if not then id get one . are u doing full water changes ?

 

[Serpentess]

You need a better filter!!

A nice strong filter with set on 'waterfall' or something will clean it up within a day.

 

[ScalyMung]

have you fed him/her since you cleaned it out if so what have you fed it ? & what type of water do you use and do you put any thing into it eg.declorineator. deano

 

[reptilefan95]

Ok so as was previously said you need a much more powerful filter. Also make sure your turtle is eating all the food you are giving him or her. It also could be in need of a protein skimmer, like many marine fish tanks where it is a piece of equipment that naturally skims the top of the water to ensure that there is no extra waste.

 

[ScottRamsay]

well ill give it a shot ,
i say its from the water being stagnet [ no flowing water] the turtle/ food waste rising to the top of the water . do u have a water filter system ? if not then id get one . are u doing full water changes ?

I have a very good Aqua One 1200 filter system and I usualy doe 3 quarter water changes, but this week I did a full water change.

 

[ScottRamsay]

You need a better filter!!

A nice strong filter with set on 'waterfall' or something will clean it up within a day.

My filter cycles the water pretty well and I have bubbles at the back corner too.

 

[ScottRamsay]

have you fed him/her since you cleaned it out if so what have you fed it ? & what type of water do you use and do you put any thing into it eg.declorineator. deano

I just use tap water because mine has the right PH and I add the recomended amount of declorinator. I have fed it about 7 times since I changed it with a so called "Fish/Turtle dinner."

 

[ScottRamsay]

Ok so as was previously said you need a much more powerful filter. Also make sure your turtle is eating all the food you are giving him or her. It also could be in need of a protein skimmer, like many marine fish tanks where it is a piece of equipment that naturally skims the top of the water to ensure that there is no extra waste.

The turtle is eating the food but next time I go to my local aquarium I will ask them about protein scimmers.

 

[ScottRamsay]

Thanks for the help. For no reason at all it seems the white surface has faded and there a little peices of white which look like dead skin. I am pretty certain it will happen again though as it has happened before. I am going to ask my local pet store what they know about it next time I am there.

 

[Stranger]

What did you clean it with? was it all the cleaner washed out? Keep an eye on the turtle as if its cleaner it may kill it if its toxic.

 

[JAS101]

I just use tap water because mine has the right PH and I add the recomended amount of declorinator. I have fed it about 7 times since I changed it with a so called "Fish/Turtle dinner."

are u giving the turtle other foods then just the turtle dinners ? id put some cheap [ bronze gold fish in there too] as they will help get rid of the left over food and the turtle should eat the fish . [ untill they get turtle smart]

 

[ScottRamsay]

What did you clean it with? was it all the cleaner washed out? Keep an eye on the turtle as if its cleaner it may kill it if its toxic.

I used one of the vacumes to clean the pebbles and a bit of meth spirit to clean the glass.

 

[ScottRamsay]

are u giving the turtle other foods then just the turtle dinners ? id put some cheap [ bronze gold fish in there too] as they will help get rid of the left over food and the turtle should eat the fish . [ untill they get turtle smart]

Nah I havn't been feeding it other foods although I have been meaning to, I will be sure to get some small fish this week.

 

[derekm]

Don't waste your money on a protein skimmer. They are really only effective in salt or brackish water.

As others have also recommended, I'm in favour of a 'waterfall' style filter, i.e. one that continuously breaks the surface tension of the water. For my two 2yo eastern longnecks in a 90cm aquarium with 80 litres of water, I have been getting good results with a Tetra Whisper 20i. I buy the replacement activated carbon granule packs and filter pouches in packs of 10 and change one carbon pack and filter pouch each month. Another useful feature of this filter is that, in the event of a power failure, it is self starting. Other filters, made for fish aquariums where the water level is near the top of the tank, often don't restart water circulation after a power failure.

 

[Beardieboy]

Did you stir up the gravel more than usual because you took all the water out? A fine sediment which had settled on the bottom may have redistributed through the water and formed the film. If that's the case then it should go away with time - but I don't know if it's good or bad for the turtle! It also could be something related to algae... there are many possibilities, the main things to focus on are:
-whether it's affecting the animals
-how to get rid of it and prevent it from forming again

I believe protein skimmers (which bubble air through the water to create foam which collects protien) only work in salt water - they imitate the action of waves making foam on the beach. So I wouldn't bother asking about that. However a surface skimmer could be of some use - as in something that pulls water from the surface then puts it through a filter to take out the filmy stuff.

Perhaps somehow rejig your filter (I think the Aqua One is a cannister on the floor with an inlet and outlet pipe, yes?) so that there is more water being moved at the surface, which will prevent a film from forming - either by sucking in from the top or by returning the water from a low height (like a shower). You could ask at the local pet shop to get you a spray bar that can connect to your existing filter, which would do the shower thing.

Make sure you check your filter too and make sure that the water is running through it properly (at the normal rate) and the pads are not clogged or blocked or too misshapen, and the other media is all looking alright.

Perhaps also you could feed in a bucket of water if you're giving frozen foods, which would reduce water pollution in the tank - I don't know whether the turtle would mind though?

 

[ScottRamsay]

Don't waste your money on a protein skimmer. They are really only effective in salt or brackish water.

As others have also recommended, I'm in favour of a 'waterfall' style filter, i.e. one that continuously breaks the surface tension of the water. For my two 2yo eastern longnecks in a 90cm aquarium with 80 litres of water, I have been getting good results with a Tetra Whisper 20i. I buy the replacement activated carbon granule packs and filter pouches in packs of 10 and change one carbon pack and filter pouch each month. Another useful feature of this filter is that, in the event of a power failure, it is self starting. Other filters, made for fish aquariums where the water level is near the top of the tank, often don't restart water circulation after a power failure.

The fountain idea is a good one but I am not willing to get one because of the fact the tank is right next to my bed and would make me want to go to the toilet all night lol. I try to move the water as much as possible with bubbles and the filter releasing water, but that's as far as I can go...

 

[ScottRamsay]

Did you stir up the gravel more than usual because you took all the water out? A fine sediment which had settled on the bottom may have redistributed through the water and formed the film. If that's the case then it should go away with time - but I don't know if it's good or bad for the turtle! It also could be something related to algae... there are many possibilities, the main things to focus on are:
-whether it's affecting the animals
-how to get rid of it and prevent it from forming again

I believe protein skimmers (which bubble air through the water to create foam which collects protien) only work in salt water - they imitate the action of waves making foam on the beach. So I wouldn't bother asking about that. However a surface skimmer could be of some use - as in something that pulls water from the surface then puts it through a filter to take out the filmy stuff.

Perhaps somehow rejig your filter (I think the Aqua One is a cannister on the floor with an inlet and outlet pipe, yes?) so that there is more water being moved at the surface, which will prevent a film from forming - either by sucking in from the top or by returning the water from a low height (like a shower). You could ask at the local pet shop to get you a spray bar that can connect to your existing filter, which would do the shower thing.

Make sure you check your filter too and make sure that the water is running through it properly (at the normal rate) and the pads are not clogged or blocked or too misshapen, and the other media is all looking alright.

Perhaps also you could feed in a bucket of water if you're giving frozen foods, which would reduce water pollution in the tank - I don't know whether the turtle would mind though?

I did stir up the pebbles buy maybe not enough, i'll do the full load and run the hose through them in a bucket next time.

 

[chrisso81]

Metho for galss cleaning? Just use elbow grease my friend...100% turtle safe!

 

[Stranger]

Waterfall Or Something that breaks the water would be More usefull than anything else. Try buying something like this. even if its small and run both the filters.