Water Quality

[crazy_sailor]

I have been looking for the best water quality specs for my Musk turtles. Wherever I read everyone just says 'Good' quality so would I be correct in just keeping it to standard tropical aquarium standards?

The levels I'm keeping to are from the back of a test kit I have of-
NO3 0-10 Ideal, but below 25
NO2 0, but definately below 5
Ca around 400
KH around 10, but not below 3
ph 8.2-8.6, not below 7.8

Now where Musks might live in water which might have some driftwood, moss, peat (only a guess from them living in temperate littoral environment) would they then benefit from a slightly lower PH level or are they really not bothered.

Also I supplement their diet with calcium etc by sprinkling a bit on their defrosting food which is in a small sample of their tank water prior to putting in their tank. Not sure if this is the best way so open to ideas. Anyway has anybody had any problem with water hardness or PH by doing this?

Cheers

[wigwamman]

as a fishkeeper also i will say this,
no3=ok
no2=ok
ca= it shouldn't really matter but as your feeding calcium on the food this will increase the reading.
kh= a little on the high side.
ph= as above.
regular water changing should bring the figures down and keep them stable.

[crazy_sailor]

Wigwammam

Cheers. Those are not my readings but the standards I was working to. My NO2/3 were high but are coming down very nicely.

So you reckon a KH of about 8 and PH of 7.8-8 then?

Thank you

[ClareandCo]

What sort of filter has the tank got?

[crazy_sailor]

An Interpet PF1 Internal one

[wigwamman]

Originally Posted by crazy_sailor

Wigwammam

Cheers. Those are not my readings but the standards I was working to. My NO2/3 were high but are coming down very nicely.

So you reckon a KH of about 8 and PH of 7.8-8 then?

Thank you

i wouldn't have thought turtles would be too fussy regards water parameters,unlike fish where you need soft/hard,low ph/high ph to suit their needs.
i think your first sentence is the place to aim for!
i would not worry about ph,kh etc,as long as no nitrite,low nitrate,a mature filter with water changes all should be ok.

[crazy_sailor]

Thank you very much. I wasnt sure if there was a gold standard I was aiming at but I chose Musks because they are meant to be quite hardy anyway.

Cheers

[ClareandCo]

As they get bigger you are going to need an external cannister filter. Eheims - 2213, 2215 or 2217 are highly regarded. Amazon were doing them for about £35 but often sell out. We have several and use Alfagrog as the media.

Did the tank and filter come as "one package"? What size is the tank? (Apologies if you have said already!)

As they mature you may well find that they need separating. We have had to separate ours - not just the adult male and female, but we then found she was being aggressive towards to two other younger females.

[crazy_sailor]

Whats the advantage of an external filter?

Yeah the filter came with the tank, its a 48. We know its only for use when they are small and are looking into bigger tanks.

Surprised the female didn't get on with a younger one! - LOL

Is the aggression between turtles quite common then?