Alright, thank you for the replies. I ended up getting a 26 gallon tank. In the future, I may get a bigger one, but this is as big as it's gonna be for a while. The turtle looks like he has a lot of swimming room, and seems quite content. I filled up the tank more than 2/3rd of the way. I got the tank for $40 flat, with a lid, and according to big al's canada's prices, that near an $80 value. I'm happy with it. However, I do feel quite sad because I messed up in a few ways. My turtle managed to climb out of the turtle tank, and fell out while I wasn't in my room. I came back to find him not in my tank, with the lid moved over to the side (note that I could not lock the lid, due to my basking area being supported by sticks that rest on the top of the aquarium. The lid was just lying on top, just to prevent splashes). I found him under a bookshelf. I hope he's okay, but he seems fine (happened yesterday). He's swimming around and enjoying life, I just have a few questions.
1. How do I clean up all the poop at the bottom. Ever since I've moved him here, I've noticed that his feces were solid chunks, not the powdery broken up poop that was in my old tank (Although my old rubbermaid was MUCH smaller, so he probably broke it apart by swimming in it). I have 2 filters, which I do admit are under powered, but I really don't want to throw in another one, it adds cost, and electricity, and takes up precious tank space. Any tips? My two filters are a Tetra Whisper 2 10i, rated for 10 gallons, and one of these
:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B013OS ... UTF8&psc=1A submersible filter, rated for 20 gallons. Considering I have a 26 gallon tank, shouldn't this be enough? A lot of the poop has been sucked up by the filters, but the solid chunks won't move. Even some of the powder won't move an inch, a bit of poop just rests at the bottom. I do not think that my filters are too weak, as in my old rubbermaid, I used the Tetra 2 10i filter alone, and it was more than capable of keeping the water crystal clear(although there was probably less than 10 gallons of water) Considering that the total gallons that my filters can handle is 30 gallons, shouldn't I be safe? Do I constantly need to siphon out the chunks of poop at the bottom? A separate feeding tank is not an option. My turtle is squirmy and I don't want to bother him.
2. Basking Area - I took out the basking area of my turtle tank for now. I can't close the lid if I use it, and he can climb out of the tank by climbing up the basking area, so I bought one on ebay, but it's gonna take 2-4 weeks to come. Is it fine if he doesn't have a basking area for this time (less than a month)?
3. ROCKS- I was planning to go bare bottom, but my turtle looked so bored doing nothing in his tank. I covered the bottom with nice rocks, polished river stones that I had lying around from a home decoration store. I washed them in hot water, and rinsed them 3 times with vinegar then water. There was no white bubbling. This should be safe for my aquarium right? I already tossed them in, as I spent a good 30 minutes cleaning them, and I think I did a good job. I'm worried that they might make the water too basic though, which might be an issue. Am I in the clear? My turtle really seems to enjoy them, and likes to toss them around
4. Loneliness - Admittedly, my turtle tank is quite empty, and I really want to add something to it, so he doesn't just float all day. I'm thinking of putting some feeder fish in there. Hopefully he doesn't eat them all at once, although he's never had quite the swimming space, nor the opportunity to chase, so he might be a slow swimmer (although I'm sure he's not because I've seen him dash around a lot before). Are Tetra's okay? I'm thinking of putting a few bleeding heart Tetra's, Bloodfin tetra's, and cardinal Tetra's. Can anyone tell me how many of each I should get? Do they make good playmates? I am fine with them getting eaten, and I want my turtle to experience hunting them, but I don't want them dead in 1 day. Are these fish fine. My water temperature is a bit low, so I don't know if they will survive (22 degrees Celsius/70 degrees Fahrenheit room temp, 21 degrees Celsius/72 degrees Fahrenheit tank temp)?
5. Ghost Shrimp - To solve the problem of the solid chunks of poop at the bottom, I was thinking of throwing in 2 ghost shrimp. I hear they clean poop well and feed off of it, but I have also heard that that is a lie, and that they do not only eat poop, and it is apparently unethical to not feed them and expect them to live off of poop. Can anyone confirm? Also, would they be fine for my turtle (if they do eat poop and are fine and all)? Would they get eaten in a day due to their small size. They don't seem very mobile and aside from the river stones at the bottom, my tank is empty.
6. Basking Light - I am planning to buy a uvb bulb soon (probably tomorrow). I'm looking at the Reptisun 10.0 or the 5.0. Which one would be the best for me? I really don't want uvb radiation, so I want something that can be put into a dome shaped lamp, that is weak enough to be put right against the screen cover (touching it), so all the uvb is directed into the tank, and any escaping light is filtered through the glass, thus not hurting me. I'm assuming that because I want the light practically touching the screen lid, it has to be weaker so it isn't harmful to the turtle right? There is roughly 15 centimeters of space from the lid to the surface of the water. My new basking area will be probably 2-3 cm above the water, so the uvb light would be roughly 12-13cm above the basking area (not taking in the height of the turtle). Would the reptisun 5.0 fit the bill, due to how close I would put it? Also, does the bulb offer any sort of heat? I'm currently using my lamp with an incandescent bulb for heat (at least I was, until he went all prison break on me), and I don't have any extra lamps to use as a heat lamp. If I'm putting it (reptisun 5.0 or 10.0)so close, will it produce any type of warmth?
7. Tank Location - I'm only allowed to have my tank in my room. Will my activities disturb the turtle. I pretty much only use my computer in my room, or lift weights. However, my main concern is that I work on my homework until late at night on the days that I go to work, (until 1-2am), and I'm wondering if the fact that I keep my lights on are bothering him. Also, when my computer is turned off it flashes a blue led for style, and I'm wondering if it would bother the turtle, I hope not. It could be 12:30 am, and I can hear my turtle splashing around really loudly, is it bothered by the light, or are turtles just naturally supposed to play and stuff at any time of the day.
8. This brings me to my last question. When I get my uvb bulb, I plan to turn it on for 12 hours. However, I can't leave it on all the time, so I want to do it during non peak hours. I'm thinking from 7pm to 7am. It's cheaper electricity costs, and my turtle can bask in peace when no one is moving (cause they're sleeping). I plan to do this because apparently turtles sleep at any time of the day, and can be active at night doing their own thing, so I am willing to turn their uvb bulb on during those hours. Can anyone tell me if this is true, or that turtles NEED darkness and to sleep during the night.
Thanks for the response
Posted: Fri Apr 08, 2016 7:38 pm Small Turtle Tank
. I'm also pretty sure that $1 per gallon sales are impossible here, as we use the metric system, so finding a sale that uses gallon's would be rare, and due to our limited stores its even rarer. I've been checking kijiji, but people are only willing to sell their whole tank as kits, and 20 gallons are being priced over $100, which is a huge rip off. People that do sell their old 20 gallon aquariums sell them for 40 dollars, the price of a new one from petsmart, which I trust a lot more than visiting a strangers house (I'm only a high school student, I don't trust myself to stay completely safe). I guess I'll keep looking around kijiji, thanks for the reply 
