General Care Discussion :: White stuff floating on water?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 9:07 pm   White stuff floating on water?

I've never seen this before, but this white stuff is floating in our otherwise clear water, and I have no idea what it is, where it came from, or how to get rid of it. Any ideas?

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tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 10:16 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

Pictures little out of focus for my eyes. Maybe turn your FX off for less movement in picture.
It may be one of these two , your turtle is going through a heavy skin shed and or a protein build up. Protein starts as a film but in time collects like this. Either way just some extra cleaning and water changes will clear it up in time. Use a fine net to scoop out as much as you can or lay a paper towel on surface to remove , then do more frequent water changes for awhile. You will be alright.
As your turtle gets older you may want to adjust your maintenance schedule , it's not a baby anymore , say if 10% water changes may need to do 20% for the load on the tank if protein related .
Skin is a little more clear to whitish and a protein buildup is whitish when it collects , either way just adjust maintenance a little and observe will be ok.
Have you used a different food lately ?
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:33 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

If you look at that big white part that's definitely not skin shed. :)
White foam means your water quality isn't that great, Like litefoot said do at least 20% water change weekly until the foam goes away. If you are worried you can always buy a water test kit to see if everything is in order.
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PokePony
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 5:44 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

Pony , You must have some eyes on out of focus picture too much movement in photo for me and he said stuff. :) That's why I asked to turn off the "FX" in what looks like a 75 gallon tank with another photo. Just too much movement for clear photo to me. Either way same solution to correct. Foam would be climbing up the side glass a lot , I only see a few lite mineral deposits on side glass.
Tbirdie asked also about the food used , I can make out some excess food uneaten ?
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 8:31 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

No change in food. Sorry, I'll try to grab a new picture in a second. I didn't realize how blurry they were. It's definitely not foam. I had just tried to remove as much as I could and fed her when I took the pic.
tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:14 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

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tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 9:37 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

To me a buildup of protein/organic matter. No problem, your load on the tank as your turtle grows does change so will need to adjust water changes a little as described earlier. If you have a net but with big holes place a loose piece of filter media in it to catch as much as you can. Sure you are using carbon but that is for chemical waste. What will help greatly is something like purgein for organic waste. Yes cost up front but it can be regenerated several time's and still works great. The end cost is very cheap for what it does !
No filter picks up solid type of waste not even an FX. That's why we cycle a tank and use carbon , purgein to break all down so filter media can do its job and catch the dissolved waste. You will be OK , just adjust maintenance to get things back to normal and maybe adjust the water changes some. Purgein helps a lot for this and on the carbon side make sure you change it every 4-5 weeks because it gets saturated with toxins and must be changed. Most ovens can not heat enough to regenerate the carbon to activate it again . It's cheap enough to just change. All going to be good again ! With the temp's and lighting we keep for turtles things like this can get going fast. That's why I do water changes even if it look clear this stuff starts out microscopic.

Are you Scooter's Mon ?
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:18 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

Thank you! I will get more aggressive with the water changes.

How did you know my turtle's name is Scooter? :)
tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 11:36 am   Re: White stuff floating on water?

I always review old post to get a full idea of what's going on.
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 12:25 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

Ahh. Gotcha! Yes, I'm her mom. She hasn't been a baby for a loooong time, but I haven't been changing water as often with the new filter (and our new baby), so I will step it up.
tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:00 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

Congratulations on the new baby !

You can change up your media configuration on the center baskets on the FX see what happens.

My FX 6 : This is just me and a little different than some but I find it works great ! The water comes up the outside through the course white pads , let them be. Now water flows to the center baskets down to pump then up the tube to outlet. In those three center baskets: very "top" place a pad the black one works good , under that pad I have bag of carbon. Some use a blue fine pad on the "top" basket which yes will catch more and protect media better but it will get clogged up faster being a finer pad. The middle basket all bio rings , no pads at all. The very bottom basket is my purgein where the water is the cleanest and directly under it another black pad ( or a blue /fine pad ) to catch any small particles that may get loose that may get into impeller. Really just safety to protect impeller but still another pad . Bottom line pad on top all media in middle and pad on bottom.
I use this configuration on 125 gallons of water and only have to clean filter once every three weeks, also have gone 4 weeks with no problem. Now you still must do weekly water changes no way out of that .
I myself hate polishing pads they only clog very fast making more maintenance , that's the white ones. I have a few videos around and my water is crystal clear , also stays cycled ! This was the latest short update : https://youtu.be/Ca7w2FCMSyI

Just a note Never wash your lite brownish junk off the rings , that's your Good bacteria ! Also never use tap water to rinse them Only tank water so not to kill the good bacteria !
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:08 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

This makes me think mold... any organic decorations in the tank?
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 1:33 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

The tank is pretty much undecorated by Scooter's diligent insistence. There are the same rocks we started with, a piece of wood, and a couple of holey rocks for fish etc.
tbirdie
 
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 3:38 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

How big is the wood? Is this stuff only on the surface?
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steve
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Post Posted: Tue Oct 24, 2017 6:10 pm   Re: White stuff floating on water?

It's about a foot, maybe? Yeah, it's on the surface only. No signs of it anywhere else.
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