Habitat - Outdoor :: Outdoor Pond Water Quality

[SpotsMama]

My RES, Spot, is a two-year old male. Until about 2 months ago he was strictly an indoor turtle. He lived in a 50 gallon tank without a filter. The filters I tried when he was a youngster just seemed dirty to me, so I got in the habit of completely changing his water and rinsing the tank clean twice a week. Never missed a change.

In June I decided he'd be happier outside. Until I can build him a "real" pond, he's living in a plastic, blow-up kiddie pool, diameter 5 1/2 feet. I keep the water around 15 inches deep. Spot has a basking platform in the middle of the pool built from cement pavers, stairstepped see he can get up easily. There are trees around the pond but part of it receives direct sun for several hours every day. Until 10 days ago I changed the water completely about every 5 days. He seems very happy to me.

I've got two questions. One - I've got a water quality testing kit and after 10 days, the tests say the water is amonia, nitrite and nitrate free. The ph is high - over 8. The water looks crystal clear and doesn't stink. There's dark green algae on the bottom. We're suffering a severe drought in Texas and I don't want to change water wastefully if I don't need to. Can I trust that the water quality is ok and I don't need to change it unless the quality tests give bad readings or the water starts looking dangerous?

The other question is this. When winter comes I'll have to bring him back inside to his "little" 50 gallon tank. Is this very traumatic for a turtle that's used to more freedom and the outdoor environment? Is there some way to make the transition easier for him?

[steve]

Are you using any filtration in the outdoor setup? How big is Spot?

[SpotsMama]

Spot's 5 inches long. No filtration in the pond. That's what I'm concerned about. I had been changing the water frequently in lieu of filtration but when I measure water quality it seems to be telling me a water change isn't necessary. I'm wondering if nature has provided a non-electronic bio-filter for us.

I see though from some of the other discussion that the ph is too high. I'll look for something at the pet store to lower that ph. Any recommendations?

[steve]

A good filtration setup would allow you to go much longer without water changes, though partial changes are still good. Without water changes, you will you get higher levels of ammonia. A good filtration and some bio media will break down ammonia into nitrites then into nitrates, however it may take a few weeks to get the nitrogen cycle going. The bacteria that break down ammonia need oxygen, and without a filter you will have none. Water cycling in the "pond" will also cut down on water borne flies. I have heard peat and bogwood reduce pH levels but you can also use water that has been through RO and add mix that with the pond water.

[SpotsMama]

Thank you so much. This site is absolutely wonderful! All the little turtles that are happier and healthier for it thank you too.

Shortly I'll be putting in a permanent in-ground pond for Spotty and I'll be sure to get a good filtration system for it.