Hi everyone,
My name is Brandon. Nine years ago my younger sibling was given a RES turtle as a gift from one of her friends. I was 13 at the time, I believe, and my sibling was much younger. We had no clue what we got ourselves into, and since she just wanted it for how cute it looked I was the one who got "stuck" with it (as was how I felt at the time) and bought its food. Not having taken the whole thing seriously, it kind of grew up in rough shape. It was overfed, lived in a 10-gallon for some time with a toy I managed to turn into a floating "dock" that just moved around the tank freely. Luckily, thinking back, was able to get some UV since we did take it out to 'walk'.
At some point I made friends with someone who is a turtle owner and I decided to get more serious about the whole thing. I got it a 40 gallon for a while more, w/ some gravel (which now I know I shouldn't have) but it never ate any and its had it for years. It had a heat lamp but no UV. I still took it outside occasionally but that has stopped happening (so I am getting a UV bulb).
So now it is 6" and it has been that way for at least two years. I feel now it's a miracle he (male) is alive and I am trying to make sure I make his last years much happier, however long that may be. I am on quite a budget and would not have bought a turtle now if I didn't have one but oh well. I have it, his name is Lencho (joke name from a friend), and I want to improve his conditions
So now I have a new 60 gallon tank. It is not the best, and the apartment owners don't want me to fill it all the way but it is a huge improvement to what he's had. I have also bought a Sunsun canister filter. I have a clamp lamp w/ a basking/heat bulb and I will get another clamp lamp for my UVB bulb.
Right now I'm treating Lencho with some anti-bacterials as he seems to have 1 little spot of damage (white but not squishy nor smelly) and I want to avoid infection. First time it's happened in the 9 years I've had him.
So while he's on his treatment, this gives me time to work on the setup for his new home
That brings me to the question, and I'm sorry it's after so much text. See I'm interested in using sand, haven't decided on which yet. My question is, is it ever a requirement to remove all the sand from the tank for deep cleaning?
I don't mean for when we initially put the sand in the tank. I mean aside from the siphon-cleaning or sifting, do I also occasionally have to dump out all the sand and wash it and put it in all over again?
Thank you for reading.