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The Culligan water guy just left. He did a service on the house's main filtration system and the Reverse Osmosis.

Before he left I asked him if he could test my facet, RO and tank water. Mainly I wanted a salinity test, but he didn't have that. So, my facet tested a 216 dissolved organic/sediment (iron) the reverse osmosis at 40, which will go down to about 20, which is like aquafina, and my tank at 413, to which he said "whoa" because I didn't tell him it was aquarium water.

Apparently city water, with chlorine and city pipes is around 350--400. So, that's not too shabby.

Cram -- I have an RO system also and my raw water is about 450 and my soft water is about 200 and the RO water is about 20, much like yours. I use the RO water for topping off and try and save some up when I am planning on doing a 50 percent water change. You are correct about the aquarium as soon as the turtle poos in the tank there is dissolved and undissolved solids in there. That is why you should start out as low as possible with the dissolved solids. The biggest culprit is calcium.

So do you use a salt softener? I'm worried that the evaporation concentrates the salinity in the tank.
I do top-offs with RO water, but major fills with the main facet. You know then, how long it would take to use RO exclusively.

Cram -- Salt is okay for turtles. In fact, I put some sea salt in with my turtles. Too much will harm your bacteria and has to be put in slowly. I have been working with some folks at Chelonian Trust and have the salinity where I want it. I don't advocate anyone putting salt in their tank unless they know what they are doing. If you don't, you can pickle them. A few years back I left a tank of turtles with my daughter and she put in salt when she added water. Little did she know that salt does not evaporate. When I returned the poor guys were about done for. It took a while for me to figure out what was what. There are turtles in brackish water in every estuary that is connected to seawater. There are sliders in the Chesapeake Bay, Houston Ship Channel, Lake Pontchartrain and the mouth of the Mississippi River. There are studies in the Baltic Sea, where there is all fresh water at the eastern end and 100 percent seawater at the western end. I have been crabbing in the Lake Pontchartrain and had turtles eating my crabs in and around the crab trap. Yep, I caught one in a crab trap.

Thanks! I used to use salt in my tanks and ponds before I moved here. Now I don't bother.

Cram -- It is a little of a pain but, it keeps my turtles healthier, in my opinion, and slows down the growth of algae. I use a hydrometer and make sure that it doesn't get out of whack. Again, don't anyone do this, unless you know what you are doing.

What are the obvious turtle symptoms of the water being too brackish?
I know with my koi, it's ridiculous how much salt you can put in if needed.

Lethargic would be the word that I would use. Their head hanging out and not doing very much. If someone goes down this road they must have a hydrometer and have a clear understanding how it effects your bacteria.

Baomb -- I use a little sea salt in my aquariums and it seems to do great. I have a hydrometer and only put in 1.1 ppt. What level of salt do you use in your tanks? I am very careful and raise the level of salt very slowly until get to that level. It seems to help the algae issues also.

Bascomb wrote:Cram -- Salt is okay for turtles. <<snip>>

We have two water options for our use here at our house. De-sal or "sweet" water. The sweet water has been processed more than the de-sal. Although the sweet water doesn't taste bad, we put an additional filter on the sweet water faucet on the advice of an Industrial Hygienist. Which should I be using in my tank? I have no idea of any of the levels of each of the waters. And really no way to have them tested. I have been using the sweet water.
Thanks!

ev-ck -- What ever you can afford. I use RO water which lowers the minerals that is left after the water softener does its thing. I am not familiar with "sweet water". It sounds like RO water. Ask the Culligan man if it is RO water. My soft water has a little salt, but not the RO water. If you get involved with salt, be careful.

mikee wrote:ev-ck -- What ever you can afford. I use RO water which lowers the minerals that is left after the water softener does its thing. I am not familiar with "sweet water". It sounds like RO water. Ask the Culligan man if it is RO water. My soft water has a little salt, but not the RO water. If you get involved with salt, be careful.

mikee, Thatnks for your reply, the sweet water is called that I think because it tastes less like sea water than the de-sal does. There is no such thing as a Culligan man here. I was just wondering...if the extra processing that the sweet water goes through removes more of the salts from the sea water, then maybe it wouldn't hurt to use some de-sal water mixed in...if salt is not inherently bad for turtles. I don't plan on adding any physical salt at all...neither the know how, nor the equipment.

That sounds fine. A little salt in the water won't hurt - it's good as a matter of fact as it is unfavorable to fungus and bacteria. (Note to anyone thinking of adding salt to their water - don't use table salt or salt made for salt water aquariums - the only appropriate type of salt is salt made for freshwater aquariums and then you use less than the directions on the box call for.)

I can't see how water that's safe for people to drink could be unsafe for a turtle.

If there is any question use a hydrometer. I max mine out at 1.1 ppt and do it very, very slowly. If you disrupt your bacteria it will cloud up and you will have to start over and may harm your turtles. They can stand a little brackish water but that is all.