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i saw really big and nice tanks for your turtles in the photo gallery, ( 10 gallons and up ). are they hard to clean? the tanks seem like it would take forever to clean, even when you have a filter. algae will build up over time right? do you guys have a special technique for keeping a big tank clean? and do you need to take the whole tank somewhere and rinse and wash off everything manually (gravel, plastic plants, turtle dock, etc ) ? and how often would you need to clean it?

Most people do partial water changes every week or so. I've got a 50 gal and have to change it about every 2 weeks because my filter is below par. A lot of people here use the Python to empty/fill their tanks. It's a long hose that fits to your kitchen tap and drains and fills the tank with no spills. It's expensive, but I know I couldn't live without it. I don't rinse off all the plants and rocks and stuff either. I'll scrub the algae off the dock but that's about it. For algae on the glass, I just use a dishcloth and wipe it off. When I do a complete water change it takes me about an hour.

what do you consider a gigantic tank?? What sort of setup do you have because it seems to me that you have none of the things you mentioned.

I have a 75 gallon tank with 2 turtles ... a filter, a submersible heater and a dock. I have river rocks on the bottom. A whole tank cleaning MAY get done once a month. I clean the filter at least weekly, depending on what they've been fed... (what greens that have been shredded and made a mess).. the dock gets cleaned when i can't stand the algae growing in it.. everything is done as I said about once a month. I have a Python Clean and Fill which makes the need to have to move the tank around unnecessary. I also have a siphon and a battery operated vacuum for the partial cleanings and water changes I do weekly/biweekly depending. I have no algae problem whatseover.. I don't find them to be near as much work as the dogs I use to have..

once you get the swing of things it's not as bad as you think. and until you get a proper environment, there isn't a need to clean so thoroughly. The proper habitat.. Good feeding, regular maintenance, and it goes smooth.

and you also have to want the turtle and should find the responsibility rewarding. cleaning shouldn't be something you moan and groan about. you gotta do it.

it's a lot of work until you get into a routine.. and if your not ready for it.. your not ready for a turtle.

It's not that hard to clean, you will get used to it after a while. It just becomes like clock work.

Plus to add to all of this, if you spend the money to get a good filter, you hardly have any dirt, and its more so just changing the water so it doesnt go stagnant and such. I have a 29gallon right now with an XP3 and there isnt any dirt on the bottom of my tank cause I have the water current set up so that it takes it all right back to the intake of the filter. In about 3 weeks I will be switching over to a 75 gallon long and we will see how well I can get the current moving in that to keep it clean.

So just get a good filter and set it up so the current is moving in the right direction and you hardly have to do any cleaning at all. Plus if you have some snails or algae eating fish in there, they help to keep the algae growth way down. Right now I have 6 snails, once I switch to my 75 I will probably have to get some more, maybe like 6-10 more so that they can keep up with all the algae that can grow in a tank that size.

Mike

once you figure out a routine, water changes are easy. the filter is what takes me time, since i clean it very thoroughly about every 6 weeks.

rizman.. keep in mind that RES prefer slow moving water...
the XP3 in a 30g must make the water flow like a toilet flushing!

I bet your turt has failry strong legs!!! :]

That is odd. My turtle's tank, half has alot of current and the other half is slow moving. He always migrates to the current side. He'll swim under the filter flow so the bubbles are going down over his shell.

I've used the XP3 in a 40-gallon with about 30 gallons of water in it. With the spray bar there didn't really seem to be a current at all. Therefore, the XP3 could be used in a tank without being too concerned about a current.

the spray bar is good for that.. it disperses the output into many holes as opposed to the single output attachment.

i have a big 60 gallon tank i want to use for my turtle, would it be ok if the water is 85 degrees? oo, and, does your turtles poop ever float around everywhere? its a big tank and i want to make sure it can be presentable and clean without having to clean the whole thing myself often

85 is too warm. keep it around 76-78. when you see turt poop, you can just scoop it out I don't find it's that big, nor is there often that much. An adequate filter should keep teh tank 'presentable'. If you have an algae problem, throw a few pennies into the filter.

pkneeyahx wrote:the spray bar is good for that.. it disperses the output into many holes as opposed to the single output attachment.

Hmmm I'm going to have to try the spray bar out. I just got my xp3 yesterday. Exciting stuff. Wasn't sure how well the spray bar would work out.

Does anyone else with an XP3 using a spray bar think its rather noisy? I use the regular single outlet cause the spraybar had this high pitched whine - much too noisy! My turtles are not affected by the current but then they are 4 years old.