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How often should I clean my 20 gallon tank? How often do you all clean your tanks?

it depends on how much water you have in there, your filter, if you feed your turtles in there, if its nearby a window, ect.

if the water stays clear for more than 2 weeks, then i would do a partial water change, like 25-50%. if its clear, but there is an odor, then i would change 50-75%. if it starts to turn green, i'd do a complete change and clean the filter very soon. if it starts to turn brown, i would change everything ASAP. i'm sure other people have different schedules for cleaning and u should check what they have to say.

For me, cleaning would depend on:

--the size of the tank (you did say you have a 20-gallon one)
--how much water was in it
--how many turtles in it and how big they were
--if they were being fed in the tank (as opposed to a separate container)
--what else was in the tank with them ( live fish,etc.)
--the kind of filter being used.

I have one 7-month-old painted hatchling in a 20G long tank with a Fluval2+ and about 12+ gallons of water in it. The filter is not adequate for the tank, so I try to clean the tank weekly and do one partial water change between cleanings.

oh okay i have a
-20 gallon tank
-two inch RES
-two feeder fish in it right now
-whisper filter
-approximately eight gallons of water in the tank
-and i do not feed the turtle in a separate container...

also, should the water usually have no smell? because my water smells, so should i change it? (the filter has been running for like 4 days now)

thanks!

The water shouldn't smell. Do you put carbon in the filter? Adding carbon in the filter will cut down on the smell. I'd add more water to that tank, it would help too (also feed your turtle out of the tank if you can).

yeah, the "bio bag" in my filter has "ultra activated carbon"

so should clean water have absolutely no smell? should i change the water frequently then if it smells?

If your water smells and it has only been five days that is a key sign that your filter is not working adequitly. If you have the money try to upgrade your filter. I have a cannister filter and it works great, ans saves a ton of tank space!! If money is short you are probibly going to have to do water changes very often.

How big is your Whisper? I have found that on a 20 gallon tank you have to use no less than a Whisper 6 (60). This is the Whisper that has the 2 biobags and bio pads.

oh really? oh because i'm using the whisper 20i which is for 20 gallon tanks....what upgrade filter would you recommend then?

You want a filter that's rated for 3X the size of the tank. If the Whisper 20 is for 20-gallons tanks, I'm assuming that Soopermum's 60 is for 60 gallons tanks (i.e., 3X that 20-gallon tank). (But if you got a bigger tank, you could upgrade to a good canister, which would do you for quite a while and make life easier for you).

I've got a stupid question too... I just got my turtle this friday... and the pet store guy said it was ok to feed him hotdogs so i did... now my tank is all foggy... whats the easiest way to clear that up??

Pzthao, I would not recommend on feeding hot dogs. They are not good for them. Take a look at the "stickys" in feeding section, it gives a bunch of ideas on what to feed and what to not feed. You water is probibly cloudy looking from all the fat and junk left over from the hot dog. Why don't you do a partial water change or a full one if needed. Also, try feeding in a seperate container it will cut back on the mess in the tank. It will take sevral days for him to get used to eating in a seperate container, so you have to be patient.

I clean my tank once a week whether it needs it or not.
Hot dogs are really not a good idea since they have alot of fat.

Hot dogs aren't good for turtles (or even humans).

That's exactly what I was thinking marissa! Hot dogs are a crappy diet for people, let alone turtles!!