I think I have a yellowbelly turtle or a peninsula cooter.. but questions with water quality and basictreatmnt
yeah i read a great deal about the reptile i just bought and would like to know more.. the only thing im concerned about is water quality. before i put him in the tank i put in clor out (chorline out) and obviously all the chorline is gone. i have a aquaclear 20gl and it takes out ammonia and nitrites.. is there anything else i would need. i know a lil about PH but is it a big time issue?
Dont worry so much about water chemistry - its a turtle, not a fish. Chlorine is not an issue with turtles and often water conditioners do more harm than good. And yes, Ammonia and nitrates are a problem, but with turtles you should be changing the tank water enough that they arent an issue. Ammonia/nitrate/whatever removers in a turtle tank does not mean you should go longer between changes. Now, if you have a 20g filter Im assuming you have a 20g tank which is not going to be large enough in the long run (if your turtle isnt already large). Minimum is going to wind up being about 55 gallons and either way, the filtration for your tank should be atleast 3 times as strong as it would be for a fish tank of the same size. I hope that helps with your question, Id recommend more focus on proper temperature and especialy lighing (both UVA and UVB basking) than water chemistry.
Dont worry so much about water chemistry - its a turtle, not a fish. Chlorine is not an issue with turtles and often water conditioners do more harm than good. And yes, Ammonia and nitrates are a problem, but with turtles you should be changing the tank water enough that they arent an issue. Ammonia/nitrate/whatever removers in a turtle tank does not mean you should go longer between changes. Now, if you have a 20g filter Im assuming you have a 20g tank which is not going to be large enough in the long run (if your turtle isnt already large). Minimum is going to wind up being about 55 gallons and either way, the filtration for your tank should be atleast 3 times as strong as it would be for a fish tank of the same size. I hope that helps with your question, Id recommend more focus on proper temperature and especialy lighing (both UVA and UVB basking) than water chemistry.
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