Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, i have about 150 gallons of water housing my 3 ft. amer.gator.Its filtered with a fluval 403 and kept at 85F.The smell is killing us. I change water weekly but the smell comes right back.I added 1 cup clorox weekly but this doesnt seem to help,I dont want to add more fearing toxicity to gator.HELP!!!!!!!!!!

First - I'd stop with the clorox. Bleach is toxic to anything. Period.

Second - A Fluval 403 is designed for 125 gallons - in a FISH environment. It's going to get clogged up pretty quick.

We run a large Eheim filter and a Fluval 304 (different than a 403) on approx. 100 gallons of water, and they keep up pretty good with a 18" smooth fronted caiman and a 16" american alligator.

We do not ever have bad smelling water - and do about a half water change every week just to remove some excess junk.

So what do you suggest? What filter medium do you use? I have to rectify this situation quickly because the whole house smells like rotten fish.

Rotten fish... Stop putting fish in the water

As for a good filter medium - you can use straight foam (no charcoal or anything else), and just clean the foam every few days.

You mostly need to remove the big stuff - and all that bio filtration isn't going to do much good.

We've also used a large pond filter at times... These work good, and you just have to pull the foam off the top of the filter and rince it off outside under a garden hose.

thanks for helping us. more questions though. He hasnt had a fish in months,just mice,chicken,beef. His water area is a pre-formed pond liner,300 gallon filled halfway. We never had this smell before and nothing has changed in at least the past year. How about less water in pond,maybe 5 inches instead of 10? I use cotton,charcoal,and those ceramic things in filter now,maybe eliminate charcoal and ceramic and use foam and cotton mix instead? Also maybe a lower water temp?

Do you have gravel or anything like that in the bottom of the pond? I had the same problem as you do and the cause of it was my gator would only eat some of what I'd feed him and bury the rest under the gravel in his "den". After a day of having a rotting carcass in 86 degree water the house doesn't smell so nice. What I had to do was remove all the gravel and make sure he wasn't stashing any food anywhere. I also feed him smaller bits of food more frequently so that he can swallow the whole item and not have to rip it apart. Hope this helps.

you say cotton.do you mean aquarium filter floss?its good stuff,don't ditch it.its cheap enough that you can change it every day.also getting rid of the gravel is a good idea.if you just want something on the bottom to make it easier to see the critters use a very thin layer of sand.bio filtration is important.there is no reason to get rid of it.instead of charcoal try activated carbon with or without zeolite.this stuff removes chemicals in the water.also odors(espescially when it contains zeolite).also,you might consider getting rid of that dinky filter & stepping up to a larger cannister or pond filter.more water is more better.

ps 50% weekly water changes are always a good idea.