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Every time I clean the tank (2-3 weeks) I do a complete water change... my tank is only 20 gal rubber maid so it's a lot easier to just take the whole thing, clean, and dump out the water. Is there any harm to the turtle in doing that?

As far as I know, you want to only do a partial water change that way the water can balance itself.

i dont think it harms the turtle, but it hink it would be better for the turtle/water situation if you did partial, that way its more like how its done in real life,, a pond just doesnt totally empty out and fill back up when its dirty,, it creates a ecosystem of new water and old water going out etc.etc.

What kind of filtration system are you using? I used to use an Aquaclear 70 in a 20-gallon long and after about two weeks, I'd do a complete water change. I would, however, rinse the sponge and ceramic rings in the tank water and keep them in a bucket of the tank water until I was ready to assemble the filter again in order to preserve the beneficial bacteria. I suppose you could keep a little of the tank water and add it back it, but I never did.

To me, a small tank isn't the same as having a large one with a good filter and a lot of biomedia. I think they need cleaning eventually, especially with how messy turtles can be. My RES and painteds were never hurt by complete water changes when they were in small tanks.