Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just noticed that the water in my turtles tank kinda has a film over it in some places. If the light hits it right you can see a rainbow. I'm going to try and change some of the water today because it's starting to smell turtley. Is this film bad? Is it some kind of alge like thing? I have a fluval 404 and I'm going to rinse some of the media today. Just wondering if anyone else had this problem and knows what it is. I don't put anything in my tank (special chemicals) that would cause this. Thanks for reading.

It is the residue from the pellets. It isn't harmful to the turtles. If you adjust the filter output so it splashes down into the water it will help break it up.
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Is it coming from the reptomin pellets? They don't last very long in the water because the turtles eat them so fast. How do I make the water output change? It can only come out across the top of the tank.

You can just change where the spout points, or add a bubbler to the tank. My guys used to have a bubbler and they loved to play in it. Yes, the film is the reptomin pellets, they start to dissolve the second they hit the water.
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Would this bubbler happen to be one of those fairly small plastic things that go into the water and blows air out? I've been thinking about getting one, I saw it for about $20-$30 at a local Superpet store.

They are a air pump, with plastic tube that runs to an air stone. At least, thats what I used. It cost maybe 6 dollars for everything.
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