This is a very common problem for new turtle owners. I also had this problem when I got my first turtle, but over time as I got more experience with turtles, I learned how to get rid of the cloudy water, and how to prevent it. So I decided to write this short guide to help other people faced with this problem.
The water in a turtle tank can get cloudy due to imbalances in the water, food particles, algae, turtle waste, or inadequate water filtering. Additionally not cleaning the tank often enough can make the water cloudy.
While there are quite a few things that can make the water cloudy, most of them are very easy to fix and should have an immediate effect. So, let’s take a look at each cause and see how to fix it.
Water Imbalances
Water will only be clear when everything is in balance, this means that the beneficial bacteria that live in the water have settled and reached an adequate number.
This usually takes one or two days, but if the water has a pH that is too high, or there is too much ammonia in the water, it will take forever for things to balance out. And the only thing that you can do is to treat the water.
In order to find out if the water is your problem, you have to test it, and you can do so using those strips: Aquarium Test Strips 6 in 1, this kit contains 100 strips, so it should last you for a couple of years. Or you can use whatever kit that you like, as long as it measures all the levels that you need.
And speaking of, here are the levels that you want to have in your turtles’ tank:
- pH between 6 and 9
- Chlorine and ammonia level of 0
- Nitrite level of < .5 ppm
- Nitrate level of < 40 ppm
If one of those levels is too high, you can either get a bottle of water treatment, or you can change the water source.
And you will most likely notice that most water treatments are marketed toward fish, not turtles, but you can still use them. It doesn’t matter what it’s marketed toward as fish and turtles have similar requirements when it comes to water.
As for what products to use, it depends on what you need, if you need to lower the pH get treatment for that, if the chlorine is too high get a chlorine treatment. For the past few years, I’ve been using API products, and the results have been great, so I would recommend you to check out their Amazon Store Page if you need any treatment for your water.
Bacteria
A few more things that you should know about the good bacteria in the tank.
When you change the water in the tank you don’t want to throw out all of the water. If you do so you will lose all the good bacteria that live in it and it will need time to grow back, and during this time your water will be cloudy. When changing the water, you usually want to throw out 3 quarters, and keep the rest.
If you just got your turtle, you should expect the water to be cloudy for a few days, maybe even weeks, as the bacteria has to start from 0. The only thing that you can do is to be patient.
Water can get cloudy when you change or clean the filter. This is because the water filter is usually filled with good bacteria since all the water in the tank passes through it. So, until the bacteria repopulate it, the water will stay cloudy.
Food Particles
When turtles eat, they don’t use their “hands” to hold onto the food. Instead, they charge at the food and take a big bite out of it, and then they break it into little pieces that they can swallow. While they do this, small particles that are invisible to the naked eye, will break off from the food and start moving through the water.
This will happen with pellets, fruits, vegetables, meat, and fish. So regardless of the food you are giving your turtle, it’s inevitable to have those small particles in the water.
As those particles continue to build up, the water in the tank will start getting cloudier and will start to smell bad.
Solving this problem is very simple. You just have to fill a different container with water and then place your turtle inside of it, and then place the food there. After the turtle eats you should let it stay there for another 10 minutes, and then put it back in the tank. After that, you can just throw the water from the container away and you are done. It’s that simple.
This method is very simple and 100% effective. Just make sure that you don’t use the container for anything else, like placing food that you want to eat in it. Turtles carry bacterias that can be harmful to us.
You will have to clean the container after you are done, but just putting it in the shower and washing it quickly shouldn’t take more than a minute.
The whole process should take less than 5 minutes of your time since you don’t have to supervise your turtle while it’s eating. So you will spend 10 or 15 minutes a week doing this, but overall you will save several hours since you won’t have to clean the tank as often.
The Water Filter
Turtles are really messy and can make a clear watered thanks into a cloudy mess in just a couple of days. To prevent this from happening you need a water filter.
A good water filter will be able to keep your tank clean for days, even weeks. But a bad water filter won’t be able to keep up with your turtle and in just a couple of days, the tank will be a cloudy mess.
And surprisingly enough, most people choose to buy the wrong water filter for their tanks. And when I say wrong I don’t mean the wrong model or the wrong brand, no. The problem is that those filters don’t have enough power.
Filters are rated based on how much water they can cycle, so we have 20-gallon water filters and 60-gallon water filters. The problem is that most of those filters are rated for fish tanks, not for turtle tanks. And the amount of mess a fish mess doesn’t even compare to the mess a turtle makes.
For a turtle tank, you should get double the power that the tank needs. So if you have a 40 gallons tank you should get a filter that is rated for 80 gallons, not for 40. If you have a 60 gallons tank then you should get a 120 gallons water filter, not 60.
You can always go higher, this will only keep the tank clean for longer. But going lower will usually mean that you will have to clean the tank a lot more often, and the water will start to smell bad really soon.
You can also find my recommendations for the best water filter on the Recommended Gear page.
The Size of the Tank
The final item on this list is the size of the tank.
As you can imagine the bigger the tank, the longer it will take to get messy and for the water to turn cloudy, so the bigger the better.
If you got your turtle when it was a juvenile, then it grew a lot in the last months, as most juvenile turtles do. So now the tank that you got for your turtle, in the beginning, is probably too small. As a general rule of thumb, there should be 10 gallons of water in the tank for every inch of shell your turtle has. So if your turtle was 4 inches when you got it, then a 40-gallon tank should have been enough. But now that your turtle has 6 inches in shell length, that 40-gallon tank is too small. You have to get at least a 60-gallon tank.
The 10 gallons per inch of the shell is a rule of thumb, so it’s not exact, but you can’t go wrong with it. If this is your problem I would suggest you get the biggest tank that you can afford, and you can fit in your home. As turtles grow older they will grow at a smaller rate, but they will still grow. So instead of changing the tank every 2 or 3 years, it’s cheaper to just buy a big one from the start.
On the Recommended Gear page you can also find my recommendations on the best tanks on the market right now, the recommendations are based on the personal experience of the turtleowner.com team and a lot of research.
Final Thoughts
Those are the most common reasons why the water in a turtle tank gets cloudy.
My advice is to first let the water as it is for one or two days and see if things solve on their own. In a lot of cases, the problem is a small imbalance in the water that will solve itself shortly.
If you notice that after two days the water is still cloudy you should take a closer look at the water and see if it has any bad smell, if you notice a bad smell the water could be cloudy due to food particles or algae.
If the water doesn’t have any bad smell you should get a testing kit and see if the values of the water are OK if they aren’t you should get a bottle of water treatment, of your problem, after applying the treatment, the water should get clear in one or two days.
If the test says that the water is fine then your problem is most likely caused by the lack of adequate water filtering, in which case you need to get a better, and more powerful filter.
If the water stays clear for just a few days then it turns cloudy, the most likely cause is the tank, it’s too small. And you need to get a bigger one. In which case I would recommend you to follow the 10 gallons per inch of shell rule, it never fails.
Common Questions
How often do you have to clean out a turtle tank? A good practice is to clean the tank once a week. But if you want to be more precise you can always buy a water ph test that will tell you exactly if the tank needs to be cleaned or not.
Why does my turtle tank get dirty so fast? Usually, turtle tanks get dirty too fast because the tank is too small or the water filter is not powerful enough.
Can you clean a turtle with soap? No, you should avoid using any kind of cleaning product when you clean your turtle. The chemicals inside them can harm the turtle.
Hello,
If you enjoy the content that we create, please consider saying a "Thank You!" by leaving a tip.
Every little bit can help us tremendously in continuing to create quality content that helps turtle and tortoise owners around the world.
We really appreciate the kindness and support that you show us!
Thank you for your article. I hope after reading your expert advice I will be able to clear my turtle tank. I’ve had turtles over the years and this is the first time I am having problems with clear water.