# I need HELP



## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

I can't seem to get my water clear. I clean it regularly and it gets to almost clear but never improves from there. I attached a photo can someone tell me what I am doing wrong? 
Thanks


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## gonsouth (Dec 4, 2009)

I'd give the turtle it's own tank!


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## Sweet Tee (Nov 24, 2009)

Yeah, that's what I was just thinking. I bet that turtle creates a lot of waste and stirs up sediment in the tank, making the water cloudy. That's just the first thoughts that came to mind.


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

What kind of filter do you have and is that a sand substrate? How often/much water do you change and how long have you had the tank established. Do you notice any algae growth?


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## brimac40 (Jan 11, 2010)

The turtle does need it's own tank . I have had them before and they are messy critters .

Some more info is needed to answer this question properly . I have never used a sand substrate , so I do not know if that would have anything to do with it but it looks like you have an African cichlid in there . They like to redecorate there tanks , mine were always moving their gravel around piling it the corners and what not , so they may be stirring the sand up .


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

It's just not fair when I Youtube turtle aquariums and they come up crystal clear , why can't I be one of those people. I have never had to deal with this when I had fish years ago.


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

UPDATE!!!

I tested my water and here is what it came to be
Ammonia .25
Nitrate 200 mg/l
Nitrite above 10 mg/l
hardness 300 gh very hard
Alkalinity 80-120 kh
PH 7.8

How do I go about fixing these issues???


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

How long has your tank been set up? Either your turtle is creating a BIG MESS, or your tank isn't properly cycled. You are also in dire need of a water change..at least 50%.


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

2-3 weeks. What kind of water should I put in the tank? Should I buy like distilled water? Should I add something to the water before I put it in the tank?


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

Your tank is not cycled through. You can use tap water, but you need to buy conditioner (such as Seachem Prime) to treat it before putting it in the tank. I advise you do daily water changes to keep the ammonia levels down in order to save your fish from dying. You may also want to use some Tetra SafeStart to quicken your cycling process. 
At this point, do a 50% water change and test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates.


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## flyin-lowe (Oct 3, 2009)

Search this forum or Google "aquarium nitrogen cycle" Without spending to much time on the subject a new tank will begin to build ammonia in the water from the waste of fish and food etc. Your filter will begin to build up good bacteria that will convert the ammonia to nitrites. A short time later your nitrites will be converted to nitrates. Fish can live with nitrates (nitrites and ammonia are toxic). The best thing to do is to cycle the tank before adding fish. This takes several weeks to a couple months depending on how you do it. Since you already have fish and turtles in your tank you will need to do water changes daily to keep the ammonia levels down until the tank cycles. Tap water is fine but you have to add Prime or another water conditioner. If not the chlorine in the water will kill the good bacteria and it will never cycle. Another good thing about Prime is that it detoxifies the ammonia in your tank for 24 hours so it will not harm the fish but it is still available for the bacteria to feed on. You can consider your tank cycled when you can do a water change and test the water 24 hours later and the ammonia and nitrites are 0 and the nitrates are between 10-20.
One last thing, is there any type of driftwood in the tank. Some woods will release tannins into the water which will turn it a yellow color. It shouldn't harm the fish, some people like this look.
Good luck.


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

Ok I have one more question I have a submersible filter should I get another filter and clean one at a time to keep the good bacteria because right now with only that one filter everytime I clean it it's like starting over withthe bacteria buildup what should I do?


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## MrsFish (Jun 6, 2008)

Hi...Just a bit of info I was told from my expert aquarium guy, dangerous nitrates/nitrites can get trapped under the sand (picture a bubble of gas under the sand) and releases all at once sometimes causing the gas to fill the water and can cause a very dangerous enviornment for your fish. I would think that to keep that from happening you would need a different substrate. Pebbles or rocks would b ideal. Also, about the filter: If you have 2 then I would put a new 1 in every month alternating them and periodically rinse them just to keep the levels down. A good 50% water change would help and I would continue to change it 25% once a week. If you keep the sand then you might need to change it every other day...stir the sand a little to make sure you dont have those gas pockets that I was referring to earlier. I hope this helps! P.S. They make this stuff called Crystal Clear and it works great! cheap too..


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

Just an update!!!

I did a 30-40% water change, but this time I did not clean the filter. I think that may have been my problem every time I did a water change I cleaned the filter losing all of the good bacteria. When should I test the water again? I was going to wait till tomorrow. Is that too soon???


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

You can go ahead and do a test now. If the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are still high, you may want to do a 5% or 10% water change again in order to dilute them.


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

They are dropping but are still high should I clean the tank and start from scratch or just keep doing water changes everyday?


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

Just keep doing water changes everyday. As long as you keep the three levels under control, you should be fine.


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## MrsFish (Jun 6, 2008)

IMO....Honestly If I were you I would start completely from scratch....from the looks of your tank you really dont have alot of money invested in it yet...(fish wise)...every one talks to cycle it...I've started over plenty of times in my life and have never lost any fish from not cycling...sure they may stress a little but just make sure you add the needed chemicals and you should do fine.I use Start Right...and stress coat every time I change or start over. The sand needs to go, and so does the turtle...I have good reasons to believe that if you do what I tell you...everything will be A OKAY....


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Plenty of people use sand without issue, so I don't see why it needs to go. Also the sand does not look that deep. Now if the turtle is messing around on the bottom kicking up lots of sand, then ya I could see replacing it. If it isn't sand making the water cloudy, then keep the sand


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## choylifutsoccer (Jan 2, 2010)

Sand is not an issue. If it's thoroughly cleaned, it shouldn't cause any problems.


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## jaybee337 (Jan 11, 2010)

The sand is not making it cloudy. I think it's the nitrites and I'm trying to reduce the level I will do another 50% water change today and wait a couple of days and do another if that does not work I don't know what I am going to do. I thought about buying a new tank and let that tank cycle and slowly add the fish into that tank while getting rid of the turtles


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## flyin-lowe (Oct 3, 2009)

Early on cleaning the filter can cause problems if the bacteria is not fully established. However once it has cycled and is do to be cleaned just drain some of the water from your tank and clean your filter media in there and the bacteria will be fine. It is chlorine that will kill the bacteria, so just swish your filter media in the old tank water and be done. If you have activated carbon it is only good for 2-3 weeks. I usually rinse mine good in tap water and then put it in a bucket of tank water and soak it for a while before I put it in the filter.


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