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Since I hooked up my Fluval 405 in my tank, the water has become very clear. However, on the top layer of the water is a filmy looking slime like when you have a bucketful of water with dishsoap in it after the bubbles die down...and around the filter and thermometer and such are little white bubbles. what could be causing this?

1. i dumped some water conditioner in last week when i changed the water...could it be that?

2. the filter is working well but the intake and outtake cords are a bit loose, like there IS some slack. working on getting a hacksaw to cut the intake tube and stuff but it might be a while. but it works for now.

what could it be from?! i sometimes put my hands in the water to adjust things could it have been from something on my hands?

i just dont know. can take pics if needed. thanks.

New media that wasn't rinsed well enough? Not enough agitation on the surface?

okay, thanks. how do i agitate the surface? i have a bubblestone, should i plug that in...or get one of those filters that sit on the side and drop water down, just to agitate the surface a bit more...

perhaps. i thought i washed it well but perhaps not.

i will do a full water change next week cuz i have to empty the tank to move to my new apartment. i hope its nothing dangerous....

Doubt that it's harmful. Can you angle the output so that it moves the surface a little?

the output is WAY too long. the tubes are slack as it is, and the output is about 3 inches off the bottom of the tank. i need to cut both tubes, working on it.

some pics u can see the bubbles near the top...

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/gruntsgirl/AUG09042.jpg?t=1251740215

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/gruntsgirl/AUG09043.jpg?t=1251740244

http://i556.photobucket.com/albums/ss8/gruntsgirl/AUG09045.jpg?t=1251740277[/url]

Little bubbles like that should really be no problem.
I noticed a bunch of bubbles on both my tanks a week ago, because I hadn't done a partial water change for a long time. Have you checked your nitrate levels recently?

no. the pet shop here has PH test strips but none to test for nitrate/ammonia. ugh. i'm trying to find some somewhere. the ph is supposed to be 7-8 though, just so i know, right? i forget.

i will be doing a water change next week, i'll probly do a partial one tomorrow and see if it goes away. what causes nitrate build-up?

RES are pretty tolerant to PH, and I *think* they're OK in a PH from 6-8 (although I'm not 100% sure).

You could check Wal-mart for tests, I got my ammonia test from there (drop tests though, not test strips). I don't recall seeing nitrate tests last time I was there though, but they were out of half of the stuff

Ammonia is produced in the turtle waste. In a cycled tank, there will be colonies of good bacteria. One type of bacteria turns ammonia into nitrite, and another type that turns nitrite in to nitrate. So in a cycled tank, the ammonia and nitrate gets consumed quickly, but the nitrate does not. Nitrate will continue to increase, if there is nothing to consume it, until you do a partial water change. Plants can absorb nitrate, but we all know how much turtles love to "absorb" plants

I use test strips from jungle laboratories corp. They have a website www.junglelabs.com.

It's called Quick Dip: 6 tests in one strip. It's for fresh and salt water and it tests nitrate, nitrite, total hardness, total chlorine, total alkalinity, and pH. It doesn't test ammonia though. I got these at one of the petcosmarts.

thanks.

The film on the top you're talking about is oil, either from the skin of the turtles or the food you're giving him.I think we all have that.
I also have a fluval and i fixed that problem by buying an adapter piece on ebay that takes water from the surface and bottom.
Here it is and it works great.
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-HAGEN-FLUVAL-SU ... 286.c0.m14

I use API 5 in 1 Test Strips from www.petsolutions.com.

i use the API complete Freshwater test Kit. It has 4 vials that you fill up with aquarium water. It tests Ph, Ammonia, Nitrites, Nitrates, and high PH. It's very accurate and in my opinion i think it's better than the test strips because the amount of drops is different for each chemical to test for each level, so I would suggest getting one of these types of test kits... Also, you will go thru a lot more test strips than you will drops... The kit that i have costs $35.00, but It can test up to 2,000 tests. I got it at Petsmart.

Agreed. A proper test kit is a much better option. Ask any long time serious fish hobbiest - fresh or marine - and they will both tell you dip strips are inaccurate at best. Pinpoint also makes digital meters (the most accurate) for some of the measurements -if you have some extra $$$ to spend. The Hagen Master test kit is also very nice (I found mine for about $50 on ebay). The master test kit is a good option if you have both fish and turts.