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how do i keep my turtle tank from smelling​

While taking care of a turtle is usually not a lot of work, it can be frustrating when your turtle tank smells. You probably want to know what is causing the smelly turtle tank, and what you can do to fix it. In today’s article, I will review the main reasons why your turtle tank smells, and what you can do to make it smell better.

Why does my turtle tank smell?

The main causes of a smelly turtle tank are filters, overfeeding, low water level, plants/decorations, temperature, room, substrate, and the nitrogen cycle.

If you are more of a visual learner, you can watch my video below on how to keep a turtle tank from smelling.

Now let’s talk about how you can address these problems to help keep your turtle tank from smelling.

Filters

turtle tank filter

One of the main reasons why a turtle tank smells is because the filter is not strong enough. You need a filter that is strong enough to adequately dispose of the leftover waste in your tank. All filter have a gph rating which indicates how many gallons of water per hour it cycles.

You want a gph that is at least 2-3 times the size of your tank. So, for example, if you have a 50 gallon tank, you will need a filter that has a gph of at least 100-150. You also need to make sure that you regularly clean the sponges in your filter to ensure that your filter is working at full capacity.

If your filter is too weak or has too much build, it cannot adequately clean the tank. This will lead to more waste building up in your tank, which will eventually lead to a smelly turtle tank.

Overfeeding

feeding your turtle

Another common reason why turtle tanks smell is because the owner gives their turtle too much food. This is bad for two reasons. Number one, the more you feed your turtle, the more they will poop. That means if you overfeed them, there will eventually be an excess of poop in your tank. Overfeeding can also cause your turtle to have diarrhea.

Secondly, if you give your turtle more food than they can eat, that leftover food will eventually start to attract bacteria. Over time, this bacteria buildup can cause a bad odor, which is why it’s important to only feed your turtle as much as they can eat in one sitting and nothing leftover.

It’s also important to note that some types of turtle food smell worse than others. For example, there are some pellets that are seafood flavored, which can give off a strong aroma. Additionally, live food such as worms or freeze dried shrimp can also smell bad. Therefore, if you are feeding this to your turtle and suspect it might be the cause of the bad smell, you should consider switching to a new food.

Low water level

Another reason your turtle tank could smell like rotten eggs is because you don’t have a big enough tank or enough water in your tank. The bigger your tank and more water there is, the easier it is for bacteria and waste to be diluted into the water.

Also, a smelly tank might cause your turtle to stay out of the water, which could eventually lead to health problems.

In smaller tanks with not enough water, the waste will build up quicker, which can cause the entire tank to smell bad. Therefore, it is important to abide by the rule that states your tank should have around 10 gallons of water for each inch of your turtle’s shell.

Plants/Decorations

plants in turtle tank

Another culprit of your smelly turtle tank could be the plants or decorations that you have in it. While live plants are great because they help filter the water, there are some species of plants that can give off a bad smell. Additionally, fake plants or other decorations provide a surface area for algae to grow. While it depends on the type of algae, there are a couple kinds that smell very bad.

For this reason, it is important to regularly clean any objects in your tank to make sure there is not algae or excess bacteria growing on it.

I used to have a large piece of driftwood in my tank, but unfortunately after a while I realized it smelled horrible. I tried cleaning it, but eventually I ended up just throwing it out. You may also have to do this if you find an object in your tank that constantly smells.

Temperature

The temperature of your tank can also play a role in a stinky tank. Warmer temperatures typically cause smells to travel further and faster. Therefore, you might want to consider taking the water temperature down a degree or two.

Ideally, you don’t want the water to be less than 75 degrees fahrenheight.

Room

The room that you keep you tank might also be the cause of your smelly tank. If you keep your tank in a small room with little ventilation, over time your tank/room will likely start to smell. Therefore, you should try to keep your tank in a room that is pretty big and has a lot of air circulation.

If you don’t have any other options but to keep your tank in a small room, you can try to open up the windows to increase air circulation and improve smell.

Substrate

Your substrate can also be the cause of a smelly turtle tank. While substates are great because they create a naturalistic environment for your turtle, it is easy for waste to get stuck inside it. While some of the waste might naturally decompose, some of it might linger in the substrate for a while and eventually cause a bad smell.

For this reason, I recommend that you clean your substrate at least every month or two to help keep it clean and smelling good. If your substrate continues to smell bad, you should consider getting a different type of substrate.

Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle could also be the reason why your turtle tank smells bad. This is very common in new turtle tanks. Essentially, the nitrogen cycle occurs in a new tank when your turtle releases waste. At first, this waste is converted to ammonium, which can make your turtle tank smell like rotten eggs.

Eventually the ammonium is converted to nitrates, which still might have a bad smell. Finally, the nitrates are converted to nitrates, which rarely smell bad.

It can take days or even weeks for the smelly ammonium to be converted to nitrates. During this period, it is very possible that your turtle tank will smell bad. Luckily, after the nitrogen cycle is complete, your tank should stop smelling. If the nitrogen cycle takes more than a couple weeks and your tank still smells, I recommend that you start doing a 50% water change every week until the tank smells better.

I hope this article helped you find out what is causing your smelly turtle tank, as well as how to keep your turtle tank from smelling. If none of these methods work, I suggest that you do a 100% water change and get a new, powerful filter.

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