Cloudy Turtle Tank

By

Kinni05

I have had my Red Ear Slider for about 9 years. I have 125 gallon tank for him. I also worked at a pet store for a few years. Cloudiness is usually caused by a build up of ammonia in the water. You might have spent a lot of money on a filter but it could be a crap filter if it doesn't have the right media in it. For turtles you need a carbon zeolite mix (it is black and white).

Keeping rocks in your tank can help but makes sure you don't buy aquarium gravel that your turtle can swallow. Also there is a product called Zoo Med ReptiSafe Conditioner it is blue; I would use this as a water conditioner.
Let me know if you have any other questions about your turtle or filter

By

lggroen

I have two Red Eared slider turtles, and I had to learn the hard way too, but now my tank stays clear. Here's what works for me: I bought a very large tank (55 gallon) and I use two filters; I use "Prime" (purchased from Pet Smart for about $6) to remove the chlorine and keep water clear. It is safe for fresh and salt water, and it only takes about 1/2 a cap full every time I change the water (about once every other week); Don't overfeed, this creates unnecessary waste; to keep the white buildup off the inside glass, I use a 50/50 mixture of water/white vinegar in a spray bottle every few days. The vinegar smell goes away as soon as it dries; You will have to remove the rocks about once every couple of weeks as well and clean them with bleach and water. Make sure you rinse the bleach off really well before returning to tank. If you can commit to spending about an hour every two weeks to thoroughly clean the tank, you will be amazed at the difference. Good luck!

By

fatboyslimsmom

Are there rocks, pebbles, etc on the floor of the tank? Turtle tanks do tend to get much smellier than regular fish tanks. We used to keep alligator snapping turtles that the kids would find, until they got too big for me to clean the tanks out safely, then we would return them to the creek behind our house.
Check out the site below:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/category_home.cfm?acatid=160&c=6016
This is what I consulted while we had the turtles, and it was a lot of help.

We were given a fresh water turtle a few weeks ago. The day after I set up his tank it began getting cloudy. Then it turned nasty and green.