Well, according to our local pet store, the filter and pump should keep our pond crystal clear - and we compared it to theirs - five grown red-eared sliders, MUCH larger pond, and the same filter - and theirs was crystal clear. So, what gives, what's the secret, how often do you clean, did we just see it after a clean-up? Nope, the secret is soooooooo simple it evaded us.
Simply, and basically put, what goes in, goes out. We were overfeeding. No matter that one is almost adult and the other three are teenagers - the problem is the waste - yes, they did eat all that food, and no, they were not fat in any shape or form, (with all that swimming and attempting to still change their environment - remember, these are the same construction turtles as before - how could they gain weight - sigh - I long for their metabolism) - BUT they also voided that food, which was causing the problem.
Well, to be perfectly blunt, we were feeding them about 4 times what they can survive on - no wonder we had such a problem!
To get them back to what is considered a normal diet for them, we cut back on their food everyday, and watched to ensure all flippers and tails were still intact, until we were at a happy compromise for clean water, amount of food, and happy turtles. We also found two of them liked to be hand-fed, and did not want to eat until at least one piece was hand-fed to them! (Remember, Justin used to hand-fed them and pet them in his room). Scared at first - they do have very sharp teeth - I offered a pellet - and to my delight it was taken gently, but quickly. WARNING - do NOT do this without someone around, as you can lose a finger!
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