Hello! My name is Jaclyn, and I'm a new RES turtle owner of about 2 months, and I need help with a perpetually cloudy tank. I feel like I've tried everything that I can think of to clear up his tank, and nothing has worked.
He lives in a 40 gallon tank with a Cascade 610 internal filter that says it's fine for up to 50 gallons. The tank is full to about 3.5 inches high (he's only 2 inches even though he's 3 years old--my sister didn't take good care of him and I got him about 2 months ago). I have a heat lamp, a UVA/UVB lamp, a basking area, rocks, and I recently put in an internal heater because I noticed the water temp would get below 75 degrees F.
I do weekly water changes of about 25% of the water and yesterday I changed 50% of the water hoping that would help with the cloudiness. I also scoop out waste almost everyday. I also changed the sponge and the charcoal from the filter yesterday and cleaned the filter out hoping that would help with the cloudiness. It didn't. I also use Fluker's Eco Clean Natural Waste Remover and AquaSafe drops in his tank to make the water safe.
I noticed that even though the filter is strong, it doesn't circulate all the way to the other side of the tank (if I put food in the water, it obviously will circulate to the filter but it doesn't look like the water is moving at all at first glance). Should I get a second smaller filter to help circulate the water better? The only reservation I have with that is that my little buddy is so small I don't want the current to be too strong for him to swim.
I'm willing to spend money as needed to make sure he has a good life.
Thanks!!
(I also included pics as files)