Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there, I'm a beginner for RES and tropical fish. It's the first time I handle a 30 gallon tank. The first 1-2 days the water was crystal clear but then it got a little bit cloudy (obvious with background light). I guess this is normal, but how "cloudy" can be considered OK for water quality? Any other indication of water quality? For such a tank how often do you change the water? Right now I have a Proquatic filter and a heater, and I only feed the fish and RES some flakes and Reptomin. Thanks a lot!

Well, if your filter is a good one, cloudy water is part of the cycling process. The water will be cloudy for a few days and then clear up when the good bacteria takes ahold. If you filter is simply overrun with waste, then the water will stay cloudy and start to smell very bad.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

Hmmmm, I see...I don't have a biofilter now. I saw the nice setup of your tank in another thread. Do you have biofilter there? When did you change water before you took that pic? You mean once the beneficial bacteria takes a hold, you won't get cloudy water under normal conditions? (even couple of days after changing water?) What else I can do to help establish these bacteria? coz I haven't found a biofilter to match the Proquatics canister.

I change my tank water about once a year, it was last changed about 4 months ago. I just have a canister filter, but it has a section of bio material in it, and the bacteria grows on the bio material. You can buy the bacteria culture at the petshop, but mine was able to grow naturally.
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A mans got to do what a mans got to do. A woman has to do what he can't.

Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 1999
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

How is your tank set up? Is their a basking area for the turtle with heat lamp and UVB lighting? It really is best not to have the the fish and turtle together unless you have an adequate setup for both.

The cloudy water is a natural part of your tank cycling. You can do 30% water changes once a week and eventually the tank should clear.

You still should do partial water changes weekly anyway just to maintain water quality. Again -- please let us know how you tank is setup -- This way we can give you pointers if anything needs to be fixed. The turtle must have a place to climb out, rest and bask on.

Steve

Thanks Steve and DsgnGrl! There is a basking area as well as UVB lighting. The tank is 30x12x18, with water filled about 3/4-4/5. I put some African root and lava rock inside, and some water plants, no sands/gravels now. 1 3-inch RES and 3 tetra (1 inch). It's not that terribly cloudy but I can tell immediately from newly added water. What does "The cloudy water is a natural part of your tank cycling" exactly mean? Is it always like that for a new tank setup, or for a new filter? Do you mean that because I don't have beneficial microbes colonized yet so I get water cloudy? How long does it take to get crystal clear water back? Should I get a bio-filter to speed up this process? Should I change water more frequently for this initial setup? Thanks again

Sounds like a good setup. Yes it is exactly what you said. Waiting for the develop the necessary bacteria to ultimately convert the ammonia into nitrates.

Amazing! I pour some Cycle into the tank and it's no more cloudy within 1 day!