Habitat - Indoor :: Tanks smells/Cloudy water problem. now 3 time

[drtweak]

Ok so ever since i started feeding my baby girl the jello shots I've been having this problem. At first the tank would stay clean. for a long time acually. like two weeks. Then then one day i put a little bit more than usual just to get rid of what was left.

Now the day after that the tank got really cloudly and started to smell really bad. So i figured it clogged my filter. I cleaned it and put it back. Still nothing. Did a partial water change. Stayed the same. Then it got really bad had to do an entire water change. Then it came back Again! this time i'm not feeding the jello shots in the main tank anymore. Do a partial water change...gets even worse...then do another full water change and also the filter media (it all needed to be changed). Well the water stayed clean for like 3-4 days. Then out of no where gets all smelly and cloudy again. Now it doesnt smell as bad and isnt as cloudy before but still.

I have an Rean XP4 filter for a 29 gallon tank. I have an air pump that i just got (upgraded) that is made for a 60 gallon tank. I have all the filter media (Mechinical, bio, chem, Fine filter)

I had a similar prob a loooong time ago when i first put her in a 10 gal tank and had to pump in an air pump but i got a better one thinging this one is going out. improved very little...

I dont know what is going on exactly or why it is doing this all the time. but everyone complains about the smell and dont want it to get to the point where my parents make me get rid of her. Gotten really attached to her lol.


but any help would be great!

[steve]

I'm surprised there's a smell. Can you describe it?

[mikee]

The filter you have is marginal. It meets the 5x rule but you may need to up your filter size. For some reason it appears that your bacteria filter is not peforming. Are you using the media properly? m.

[drtweak]

yea have all the media...

and it first started out of no where.

and the smell...oh god...it just...smells...ummm...like when you go to a duck pond...just worse...

[CB]

what kind of substrate do you have? the reason i ask is with sand i get gunk build up under it and it does smell when i stir it up. other than that i have no smell. running an xp3 with nothing but sponges, bio-balls, ceramic rings and a glob of floss. i was using the carbon and zeolite stuff and it didn't smell any better.
cb

[thegrandpoohbah]

The smell is ammonia. It's not a problem with your filter per se, a Rena XP4 is MORE than sufficient for a 29G. I'm guessing that it has to do with all the recent filter cleanings and water changes. When you changed out the filter media you basically threw away your biological filtration (i.e. the "good" nitrifying bacteria). You should NEVER change all the media in a filter all at once. For that matter, the course sponges should never need to be replaced. They can be rinsed using a bucket of the old tank water and then re-used. Do not rinse them with tap water as the chlorine will also kill the nitrifying bacteria. For now, keep up with partial (25-50%) water changes to help reduce the smell. The frequency of the water changes will depend on how bad the water gets. Also reduce the amount you feed the turtle to help prevent leftover food from polluting the water. There is not much else you can do right now. You just need to let the bacteria re-establish itself in your filter and when it does, it will break down the ammonia and nitrite being produced.

[muderbear]

thegrandpoohbah answered a problem I've been dealing with for YEARS!! Thanks- you may have just saved my son's turtles.