Habitat - Indoor :: water problems

[debbieci]

My red eared is 5 years old and once i got my xp3 i have not had many water issues if any. I had problems with my filter (would get air bubbles, stop working etc), and after trying many things for many months i just decided to pack in and purchase another witch i did. One of the problems was that the water was cloudy but not a bad cloudy almost like air bubble cloudy. I cannot describe it other than that way. I took out all the fake plants and it is still not clearing. I changed the media (all but one basket) and still, not helping. The water is reading fine....it is weird.

I tried carbon and the zorb stuff too. I am spending way too much money on this and am getting stressed over it....any ideas? I have had algae on the floor of the tank too-which i never ever had in all 5 years.

Can anyone help????? I would so appreciate it.

We do tend to leave the lights on more than 12 hours (830a-1120ish) since that is when we get up and go to sleep.
But-this has always been.

Thanks again.

[steve]

Cloudiness is probably the tank cycling. What kind of media are you using?

[debbieci]

I am at work so not sure of the names but it is recommended media for sure. I put in carbon when i use new media but still-i have done this before and has not been like this. I am at my wits end. Besides, I just changed the media-the problem has been ongoing for at least 4 mos now....i have tried everything.

do you have to change the media after so much use? i cannot find any info on this at all.....

[steve]

And it doesn't subside, or never has?

[debbieci]

i am sorry, does what subside?

[marisa]

I'm assuming you use the ceramic cylinders (forget their name) and/or stars for biomedia, the 20ppi and 30 ppi sponges for mechanical media and carbon packs (or BioChem Zorb) for chemical media, plus maybe the microfiltration pads.

You said you "put in carbon in when I use new media..." What new media are you putting in when you put in new carbon?

The biomedia can just be rinsed off in the tank water and kept wet until it's returned to the filter. Ditto for the sponges. The instructions say to replace the carbon monthly. I often stretched this to 5 - 6 weeks. Do you rinse the carbon before adding it to the filter? I stopped using the microfiltration pads because I thought they impeded the outflow too quickly and didn't really see any difference in water clarity without them.

Have you tried partial water changes to see if this helps with the cloudiness?

What's the water temp? The lighting time is rather long and is most likely contributing to the algae.