General Care Discussion :: dirty tank

[missmichelesc]

hi i was wondering how often do you clean your turtles tank? i have to baby res and sometimes i clean it every week.. because it gets cloudy.. but i cleaned it about 3 days ago and it is cloudy again - i want to say its from the food... i feed them the pellet food... im going to go buy lots of new filters and just put new ones in everytime i clean... is there something else i can do?

[missibsu]

What kind of filter are you using? Sometimes the water gets cloudy because of the media...have you rinsed it good? What kind of pellets do you feed? I've never had a problem with the pellets making the water cloudy.

Also, what size is your tank? The smaller the tank, the more frequently it needs cleaned. I have a 75 gallon tank that gets a partial water change every week - week and a half. Once a month it gets cleaned completely, including the filter. I've had my filter a few months and haven't replaced any of the media, but I have given it a good rinse, I have a canister filter. My filter that has the cartridge to replace gets done about every other week.

[marisa]

If you think the food is contributing to the problem, try feeding your turtle in a separate container of water. The container doesn't have to be large, and the water only needs to be about as deep as the height of the shell so your turtle can grab the food and swallow it. Have the water temp in the container about the same as the tank water (you can use some of the tank water if it's clean).

How big is the tank, how much water is in it, and what type of filter are you using? The smaller the tank, the less water in it and a filter that's not adequate for the size of the tank will mean you'll have to do more frequent cleanings...

[jridge]

I take Sam out to feed.......I just set up a schedule, and I stick with it.....Every day when I come home from work I take him out and feed him in a separate container......I give him enough to eat for about 5 minutes, and lock him in the bathroom (so the cats don't get to him).....After 30 minutes or so, I put him back in his tank.......It stays MUCH cleaner this way, and it really isn't much of an inconvenience.......It also gives me time while he's eating to do routine maintenance in his tank......Once a week I do a 30% water change and rinse the filter, and once a month I do a complete cleaning......I have a 1 1/2" RES in a 20 gallon long tank.....I have a fluval plus 3 internal filter......

I used to have to change the water completely once a week until I started taking him out......It makes a BIG difference.......

[daredevilgirl013]

I just cleaned my tank aftera month and a half!!! I was so pleased! I don't feed my turtle separate either. Here's what I do

Tank-20 gallons
Snails-3 (though I think one died today which is fine by me..less snails less mess)
Ghost Shrimp-over 2 dozen
Fish- (had tons of guppies those are now all gone as of just a few minutes ago as I gave them away cause I am tired of them mulitplying like rabbits and the turtle not eating them) 1 odd fish, 1 minnow, 1 algae eater, 1 swordtail
Turtle-2.5 inches
plants-amazon sword (which now he doesn't like)

Filter-Tetra Whisper Power filter for 30-60 gallon tanks

My secret key to cleaning once every month or a month and a half!!

Ok here it is

You've got to have those Ghost Shrimp, they eat waste, which is why I have a lot of them in there (cause the turtle also likes to munch on them)

I change my filter media about every other week.

I have two chemicals that I put into my tank
Aquatize and Biotize everytime I add water to the tank when some evaporates I add at least four drops of each.

Algae Eater-he does a good job at keeping things down

Also Scottbrite pads are a God send. Those things are wonderful for cleaning tanks and algae. They do a great job because algae was making my water cloudy and it was hard to get it clean because it was microscopic and my algae eater wasn't getting it. So get a scottbrite pad, and use it to scrub everything down good.

For feeding, I only feed him what he can eat. That way there is no mess and if there is...the ghostshrip take care of it!

That's what I do!