Reptile & Amphibian Forums

How often does everyone do partial/full water changes? How often do you replace the filter cartridge? And if I wanted to make a 3% bleach solution in a gallon of water, how much bleach would I have to put in?

Right now I do full water changes every week and clean the tank and replace the filter at the same time as well. But I'm just worried the water quality isn't good enough.

Also, how does one maintain the ambient air temperature? Is that simply done with a heat lamp? What are the best types of bulbs.

air temp is best dealt with using reptile heat bulbs. water temp can be kept right with an aquarium heater (stealth heaters seem to be the best in my opinion and experience). water changes are determined by tank size, number of turtles and their size, and your filtration. i use a whisper 5 (takes 2 XL Bio-bags) on a 40 breeder with 3 4" turtles and 4 4" goldfish. i only have to top of water, but i try to do water changes using a gravel cleaner (python hose that connects to sink usually used for aquariums) to help keep waste in the gravel from building up, that gets done every couple months (most people have to do it more frequently). i probably have to clean the filter cartridges once a week and replace them every 3-4 weeks. with proper filtration you shouldnt have to be cleaning them as much as you are, at least not have to do a complete water change.

I have 1, 1" RES in a temporary 10 gallon tank with a whisper 10i filter. Does that mean that I only need to clean the filter once a week and change it out every month or so? The reason I have been cleaning the tank so much is because the walls of the tank get a light white build-up and there's a clear slime (although not very much) on the rocks. Would continuous cleaning help this or is the problem from something else?

i just wipe anything like that off. IF your filter can handle less cleanings thats fine, if not, than dont take my schedule as a guide. i rinse off the cartridges under a really hard current to get the gunk off, after a few good rinses it doesnt get clean enough and has to be replaced. you should be able to go longer between cleanings, at least while it is still so small. try maintaining the filter and see how bad the tank gets, if you have to clean it, you have to clean it. hopefully you wont.

ok thanks. What is that white stuff though?

im not sure, i just wipe it off with the algae scraper (magfloat). its not beneficial, im not sure what causes it, or if it is alive or just a build up of some specific type of waste.

sounds like the beginnings of some type of algae? pictures would help identify it.. but sometimes algae begins as an opaque slime film... eventually if left alone it will usually turn green or brown as it builds up... this is usually just caused by excess nutrients in the water..
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my pets: clown treefrogs, reed frogs, big eyed treefrogs, tiger leg monkey frogs, gray treefrogs, milk frogs, cuban treefrogs, whites tree frog, green treefrogs, squirrel treefrogs, blue webbed gliding treefrog, chameleon treefrogs?, mossy treefrogs, dusky salamanders, tiger salamander, veiled chameleon, box turtles, mud turtle, map turtle, yellowbelly slider, florida softshell, two saltwater tanks, four cats, two chinchillas, and a boyfriend.

I don't have the means to get a picture online. All I can say about it is that it's hardly noticable and simply feels like slime on all everything that touches the water. Would a bleach solution help to destroy the algae?

It is just a plaque build up. Simply wiping it off will do the trick.