Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I have a Fluval 204 that I got used from a pet shop. I made sure to clean out all the hoses beforehand, (the hoses were new, most of the motor was new too). The base, however, is a 104 base, and had sponges and the Bio thingies (white little speghetti-os looking things that I guy there said were for bacteria)...

I rinsed out the two new carbon filters (sealed in their plastic bags) and made sure all the dust was out.

My filter's been running for 48 hours, my RES has been in there for a little more than 24. The water is getting really murky, and I don't know if this is unhealthy for the RES or what it is....

I'm kind of worried that this guy's health is at risk because I'm keeping him in the setup.

I also rinsed really well the stones (most of which can't fit in his mouth...), and it seems like the filter is really doing a crappy job circulating the water. I have the intake tube and output right next to each other, but even in that area, the water is really murkey.

I also have a floating basking dock...

What could be causing the cloudiness and how do I clear it up? It's really kinda freaking me out haha

TIA
Brian

Oh - I forgot

I also fed him yesterday and this morning each a few slices of apple, most of which he ate, and a large leaf of romaine.

Could it be from the apples sitting in there?

Also, as he walks around, the poop and chewed lettuce fragments float to the top, and now I'm getting a ring around the waterline. Why isn't the filter doing its job??? Is there some way to keep a cleaner tank with such a powerful canister?

It could just be you have a cruddy filter. Most fluvals I see are $200. If your RES is full grown then the apple should be taken out within ten minutes, if there is any left. If it is a baby make sure that you break it up a little before feeding it to him. If it's been 24 hours since you put the apple and lettuce in you should definitly take it out.

sounds like new tank syndrome. just give it some time for the bacteria to grow and it should clear up.

Did you say let the bacteria grow? Are there good kinds of bacteria?

yeah, apparently that's what the little white round rocky tube things are at the bottom layer of the filter, to colonize bacteria to get rid of ammonia levels.

How long will it take, shocker, to get rid of the cloudiness and is it unsafe for my turtle??

Thanks again

Brian

Its the simple science of a fish tank Do an internet search on some fish websites for the nitrite cycle, also known as the nitrogen cycle. Any book on fishkeeping will have it....

Basically...

when you set up a new tank the water is sterile (in the sense that it doesn't contain anything living) there are certain kinds of bacteria that you DO want in your tank. They are bacteria that will convert harmful waste (ammonia and nitrite) into less warmless waste (nitrate). These bacteria need time to grow....the cloud you see when you set up a new tank is the bacteria cycle starting. It starts as your turtle poops and introduces organic waste into the tank, the beneficial bacteria will build up slowly and the tank should clear within a week or so, sometimes it takes as little as only a few days. This beneficial bacteria is the same reason why you never want to do 100% water changes, but rather more frequent smaller changes (10-30% at a time). Doing 100% water change, or even a water change that is too large will deplete your source of beneifical bacteria and the cycle will need to start again, in these cases the tank usually gets cloudy again for a few days.

That is a very rough idea of what its all about...i used to be much better at explaining it when i worked at the Tropical fish store, but its been awhile so im kinda rusty. Seriously though, do a little reading in a good fish care book or website and it should explain it all to you
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Haha, thanks a lot - I feel much more relieved now...

One more question - the waste is now floating and leaving a ring around the water level...

Should I just use a fish net to skim the stuff off the top, or will the "beneficial" bacteria break them down?

Again, thanks a lot - I'm much more informed.

Yes, remove the floating stuff with a net. What size tank do you have?