Best Fluval media placement for an aquatic turtle?

T

tommcb99

AC Members
Jun 27, 2009
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Hi All,

I have a Painted Aquatic Turtle, about 7 inches in length, in a 70 gallon aquarium, in which I keep the water level about 60% full (the recommended depth for a turtle this size).

I'm having a terrible problem keeping the water clear. I've went through several filters, both canister and hang-on, with limited results. The water always starts clouding up after a day or so (turtles are very messy).

So now, I've just purchased a Fluval 405, which is the biggest Fluval canister filter carried in my pet store. Fluval makes a bigger one, the "5" series, but it's hard to find and very expensive.

Anyway, I just installed the Fluval three days ago and it kept the water clear for two days but now the water is starting to cloud up again. I placed the media per the recommendation in the directions: The carbon packs in the first and second baskets, and the ceramic rings in the third and fourth (highest) baskets.

But I'm thinking that while this may be the right media combination and placement for fish, it may not not necessarily be the best for a water turtle.

Does anyone out there have any advice as to different media or different placement for the Fluval 405, to get more intensive filtration for my admittedly messy turtle?

Thanks in advance,

Tom
 
:welcome: to AC!


Kinda sorta, trying to read between the lines. But one of my first thoughts was it might be getting cloudy because of bacteria.

Not knowing anything about your experience. I gotta ask if you know about the "Cycle" going on in aquariums?
 
I have my fluval 404's set up with filter floss in the bottom two trays and bio media in the top two. I dont run carbon because of my planted tank.

What you can do to test if you have a bacterial bloom or suspended particles is to get a white styrofoam cup and fill it with tank water. If its green, you have a green water algae problem, if its foggy you have a bacterial bloom, if you can see particulate matter settling on the bottom, you need to polish your water more.
 
SMinNC: I don't have much experience with aquariums, so I'm not familiar with the "Cycle". If my problem is bacteria, how do I prevent the bacteria?

247Plants: Thanks for the styrofoam cup tip. Using it, as near as I can tell the water is cloudy, so perhaps a bacterial bloom? Your media set-up for your Fluval 404 is interesting, with fiber floss on the bottom and bio media on the top two. I've read elsewhere that the fiber floss should be on the top, to polish the water, and that more coarse filter media should be on the bottom to catch the big particles (of which there are lots with a turtle!). On a turtle forum, one person said they had good luck with putting the ceramic media on the bottom tray, then two layers of ammonia neutralizing crystals, then carbon in the top layer. It sure seems there are wildly different approaches.

Any other water turtle owners out there who have had good luck with another combination of media in a Fluval?

Thanks again, everyone.

Tom
 
On the fluvals, they are bottom draw canisters. Which means that the water comes in over the foam prefilter wall and gets sucked up from the bottom.

I use filter floss on the bottom so the particulate matter doesnt clog my bio media.
 
Here's a thread about cycling... http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=84598

Its a sticky thread at the top of the Freshwater Newbie Forum
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=20

We can't prevent the bacteria. Actually, its just the opposite. We want this bacteria.
Once we introduce fish, shrimp, turtles, etc. We get ammonia in the water. Then bacteria that converts ammonia to nitrite. Then more bacteria that convert nitrite to nitrate, the lesser of the evils that kill our inhabitants.

Plants and or water changes keep the nitrate in check in the established aquarium.

Read the stuff in the links. And let us know how things are going.
 
Hey all,

Well, here's my update and I'm still pretty frustrated by the results.

Based on a turtle forum post, I put the filter in my Fluval 405 as follows: ceramic pre-filter in the bottom layer; then bio-media, then ammonia crystals, and finally carbon in the top layer. Changed 1/3 of the water and after a full day my water is still cloudy. The person in the post used this set up and said his aquarium - with two turtles, both larger than mine - stayed clear for days at a time.

Can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. My next step I think will be to remove the bio-max media in the second layer, move the ammonia crystals and carbon down one layer, and then load up the top layer with filter floss, hoping that will polish the water clear.

247 Plants: I know you put the filter floss in the lower level, but the turtle guy said that when he tried that, the turtle poop (turtles poop a lot!) quickly overcame the floss and that's why he put the ceramic pre-filter in the lower level - to catch the large particles.

I do have to say that I'm not seeing any large particulate matter in my water - it's just cloudy grey and I can't seem to get it to clear and stay clear.

I'm open to any further suggestions. How about it - any other water turtle owners out there with a Fluval 405?

Thanks, all.

Tom
 
I would use something else to catch the large particles then. You dont want your ceramic rings to get clogged with detritus, it will render them useless. The way fluvals are set up is that there is a wall of foam that the water has to pass through before it even reaches the baskets of media, so any large pieces of detritus should get caught there, not in the baskets. You want the cleanest water to run over your bio and chemical media.

I have to admit, the way this guy told you to set up your media is setting up a nitrate time bomb and a really good way to crash a tank.
 
The other guys set-up could/would work. If, you were to clean the filter once a week or two.

The other guy probably has his tank cycled too.

----

Yea, I'm still thinking its an 8.0 ammonia reading causing the bacteria bloom.
 
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