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How to keep turtle tank clean?

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October 06, 2018, 09:21 AM
Edmond
How to keep turtle tank clean?
I know they're just dirty but how can I keep the tank as clean as reasonably possible? Not looking for fish tank clean.

I have 4 turtles in there, mix between musk and Reeves. I know some of them will outgrow the tank but that's an issue for the future. These little guys are about the size between quarters and half dollars now. 29 gallon tank and I have one of those submerged filters. Tank is filled about 1/3 of the way.

Should I use an underground filter? Currently have no rocks at the bottom, they have a floating island to rest on.

Should I use chemicals?

What about food? I'm feeding them Tetra sticks now.


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October 06, 2018, 10:22 AM
arfmel
“I like turtles”

I believe you’ll need to regularly clean their tank and replace the water. They go number 2 poopy in it. And I don’t think chemicals, filters, or diet are gonna change that.
October 06, 2018, 10:25 AM
Krazeehorse
Did you try turtle wax?


_____________________

Be careful what you tolerate. You are teaching people how to treat you.
October 06, 2018, 02:32 PM
jimmy123x
An external canister filter/pump for a fish tank is probably your best bet at keeping it clean. Something that has both washable filter media and charcoal.
October 06, 2018, 03:41 PM
sigmonkey
Two tanks.

One clean habitat and one inhabited.

Move turtles from old to new when old needs cleaning.

Clean old.

Etc.

It is easier than anything else I ever tried.

They create more waste faster than a small environment can keep up with, and one not refreshing the whole thing.




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
October 06, 2018, 08:46 PM
satch
Turtle soup is good.
October 06, 2018, 10:20 PM
Sigfest
Are you a turtle?
October 06, 2018, 11:24 PM
DonDraper
Get a better filter, and some live plants.


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I like Sigs and HK's, and maybe Glocks
October 06, 2018, 11:24 PM
sigmonkey
quote:
Originally posted by Sigfest:
Are you a turtle?


YBYSAIM!




"the meaning of life, is to give life meaning" Ani Yehudi אני יהודי Le'olam lo shuv לעולם לא שוב!
October 07, 2018, 12:23 AM
Dallas239
I wouldn't do under gravel, it will become nasty quick, and you don't need it because turtles aren't fish. Stick the junk out regularly and put the turtles somewhere else once a month (other tank, bathtub, whatever) when you clean the whole thing. Turtles are much dirtier than fish, but you don't have the same concerns about stability and biological filtration as you do when cleaning a fish tank. You can just tear everything down and wash it out.




"I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace, a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity, and if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here." -- Ronald Reagan, Farewell Address, Jan. 11, 1989

Si vis pacem para bellum
There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
Feeding Trolls Since 1995
October 07, 2018, 05:15 AM
Gibb
I'm a fan of under gravel filters, but you need a good vacuum for the rocks or it will get overloaded fast.

I also like canister filters, you can create a waterfall with the return line, and set the pickup at any height you want. I'd go with an oversized unit, (and if you get one with multiple pickups you can attach one to the under gravel filter as well)




I shall respect you until you open your mouth, from that point on, you must earn it yourself.
October 07, 2018, 05:28 AM
kz1000
Ask B27.


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"Yidn, shreibt un fershreibt"

"The Nazis entered this war under the rather childish delusion that they were going to bomb everyone else, and nobody was going to bomb them. At Rotterdam, London, Warsaw and half a hundred other places, they put their rather naive theory into operation. They sowed the wind, and now they are going to reap the whirlwind."
-Bomber Harris
October 07, 2018, 06:23 AM
zingo
Clean - Good Luck!

Food - We'd occasionally buy a bag of the tiny little feeder guppies. That turtle was an absolute assassin. Even being small, he'd devour up to 16 in just a few minutes. Very fun to watch.
October 07, 2018, 04:25 PM
will347wax
We had a turtle when the kids were small. I ended up purchasing the largest filter system the pet store sold. Worked really well.