Urgent Care :: Milky water, smelly tank...please help

[bradmeisel]

great deal on the tank. good luck

[KevinG]

Hey all, we need to buy some supplies and equipment so I thought it would be best to post here and get your suggestions. We need the following:

-Water heater for 75 gallon tank
-Thermometer to monitor water temps
-Filter material for the Rena XP3 filter (all three types of media are needed)

And any suggestions concerning the best places online to purchase this stuff. Thanks for any suggestions, this will get us headed in the right direction and started for now. Thanks!

[KevinG]

Are cuttlebone and calcium blocks the same thing?

[steve]

No, the calcium or sulfa blocks are a bit gimmicky.

[LaurL55]

I have the same problem with my turtle right now with the milky water. My turtle is shedding a lot! I left it with a bad pet sitter for a week that fed it a whole bottle of pellets! I am so upset.

There was skin floating and it was milky water and a horrible smell. I just cleaned the tank yesterday and the filter and it smells again and is starting to look milky already.
I really can't afford a bigger tank. My turtle has grown huge. Is there any other solution except upgrading? Help.

I have a tank- 30 long and 19 tall
My turtle is now 7 inches
I have a fluval 405 filter
Temperature 78

[devilduck]

Sounds like your filter is going through the cycling process again. When you cleaned it did you clean out everything in tap water? You may have to keep doing daily partial water changes until your filter completes it's cycle.

For a 7 inch turtle you are in dire need of a larger tank. Petco has their $1/gallon sale on now in my area, you can get a 50 or 55 gallon tank. Or else you can also use large 40/50 gallon rubbermaid bin from the hardware store. With the Petco sale, the tank will be cheaper than the plastic bin.

[LaurL55]

Yes, I cleaned everything out with tap water and put in new media for the filter. I will do a partial water change later and see what happens.

So you think I need a bigger tank now?

[devilduck]

I think if you have the resources, it's a good time to buy with the PetCo sale on now, otherwise you can try your luck on craigslist etc..

For the filter the only thing that really needs to be replaced are carbon and purigen (if you use them) the sponges and biomedia can be reused pretty much indefinitely. Just squeeze them out a bucket of tank water. Washing them in tap water will kill the beneficial bacteria that actually cleans the water. If you are going to replace media, replace half of it at a time, so you always have bacteria laden media to populate the new media.

[KevinG]

Really the only long term solution as your turtle grows is having a larger volume of water (bigger tank, large plastic tub, etc). If your turtle is 7 inches the minimum tank should be around 70 gallons and that's using it filled to the top with an above tank basking area. Go bigger to accommodate for growth. Get a 100 gallon or more. I found great deals on Craigslist when I purchased my tanks. On Craigslist you just need to be patient, check often, and respond to the great deals really quickly.