I still haven't bought the new 55 gallon glass aquarium (that's the biggest we can fit in our apartment) and accompanying filter (XP2 or 3) for my 4" turtle. But renovation is immanent!
As I plan for the bigger tank, I'm confused about cleaning.
Up to now, we have been cleaning Oliver's tank every two weeks or so, doing a complete water change, changing filter media (power filter that only has activated carbon), scrubbing down the sides (usually just with water...every few months with vinegar). The filter is not very powerful and the tank is too small, so we figure we ought to be doing a complete change often. We just haul the thing over to the bathtub and clean it out.
I can't haul a 55 gallon aquarium to the bathtub! How do you clean that thing?
I'm confused because I hear that once I have bio media in my new filter, I should not do a 100% change very often. Instead, I should be doing lots of partial water changes. How often should I expect to do a 100% water change and clean the sides? And how do I do that with a big tank?
Thanks for your help!
