Hello, I am new to this forum. Well, new to joining. I've read over this website for years. It actually supplied me with all of the information I needed in keeping a Red Eared Slider. I research... a lot. Maybe too much, but I want my turtle to be happy and healthy. So far, he is doing very well and has been for the last 6 years.
As of recently, Chamberlain was in a tank that was way too small for him. My husband and I saved some money and decided to finally give him a much needed new setup. We went all out for it. My husband made a tank stand (which took forever) and an above tank basking area for a 75 gallon aquarium. Chamberlain is 6 inches, at the moment. He is loving his new tank. He climbs up the decor piece we have in there. He enjoys his cork tile basking platform and sleeps in his hammock like a pro. We put him in his new setup on June 2nd.
Now, here are my issues...
I know how the nitrogen cycle works, but I am confused on a couple readings I have been getting as of lately. The ammonia is 0 and has always been 0. I don't know if this is a problem. We use ReptiSafe because we have extremely hard water. I know that ReptiSafe also removes ammonia, so I was not surprised when the readings stayed there. But a week ago, I tested the water using my API Water Test Kit and his Nitrites were between 2.0 and 5.0 ppm (Dark purple). His Nitrates were around 20 ppm (Orange). I know that ammonia is converted into nitrites, so I'm just wondering why they are so high if there isn't any ammonia. I also know the Nitrites spike and then lower, so is this a normal spike? Also, the tank took much longer to set up than I had hoped. Work schedules got in the way. We set up his tank and had already and water in it. Chamberlain was in his old setup for a few weeks before we put him in the new tank. Maybe a couple weeks in, his new tank (without turtle) got really foggy... like a bacterial bloom, but all readings were at 0. pH was normal. But everything in his tank was new and there was no waste, so I didn't understand it. We waited for it to clear before putting him in. I don't want to leave him in there with toxic Nitrites for too long. I have read over and over again that you should NOT do a water change until the cycle completes, so I haven't. I have also heard stories of how people did water changes and the Nitrites were still too high.
I'm just looking for suggestions on what to do. Water change or no? Is having zero ammonia throughout the whole process a concern? And how long can turtles be in a tank with high Nitrites? Should I just wait it out and see if it ever cycles? And if so, how long should I wait? I loathe new tank syndrome.
Oh... and he has a canister filter good for 150 gallons. And yes, even that is brand new *sigh*
Thanks, guys!
