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SO i've only had my two turtles for about two months now (i'd say they are about a inch and half a piece, they are still very tiny for now) and I've been reading as much as I can about them so I can have the best care for them. Unfortunately everytime I read something then go somewhere else someone has a different view on certain things. So far right now I only have a 10 gallon tank. In a few weeks I'm going to upgrade to a 55 gallon once I get the money. Do you all think a 10 gallon will be okay for now? I also read that gravel is bad since they can consume it so when I read that I went out and bought some mini gem rocks in the craft section of Walmart to cover up the gravel until I can permantley remove the gravel ( I just cleaned their tank two days ago and they are still a little startled from being removed so much ).

Also I want to just use sand when I get the 55 gallon tank and I was reading a site and someone mentioned something about using sand and this person freaked out and said don't use sand because they will consume it, get sick, and possibly die. So should I use little gem rocks or sand? Thank you for reading, I know you all have great knowledge on all of this!

Some people on here have had good luck with sand and the opinion is that if it's fine enough it will pass through the turtle when eaten. Other people find sand very difficult to clean. Personally I wouldn't do it because I feel that over time it would trap waste and crud, even if you kept the surface clean.

I prefer minimal objects on the bottom of the tank because it's easier to keep clean. Turtles are pretty messy - not only do they poop..a lot..but they tend to rip up their food and aquatic plants. If the bottom is covered with rocks then "stuff" will get underneath and between the cracks. On the other hand, a bottom with only a few larger rocks is easy to clean and still the tank looks interesting and the turtle has something to play around with.

The one thing you don't want is something small enough for a turtle to eat - gravel or small rocks. Turtles can swallow things about the size of their heads. But then, you already know that.

sand.

check out the sand FAQ a few posts up in the stickies, it should tell you all you need to know when you wanna switch.

I have my two 1.5 inch turtles in a 10 gallon with sand. It's fairly easy to keep clean, even though I don't have a very good filter. It also seems to be source of great amusement for my turtles, because they love to dig around in it. Also, 10 gallons is fine for your small turtles for the time being. Mine are going to have to make do with theirs until spring!

Ten gallons is enough until you can get your bigger tank. It would help though if you take out all the rocks, big and small. Right now they're going to be a little cramped because the rocks are taking up so much room. So, you can wait about a week to let them settle a little then remove them. Also, when you get your bigger tank (or now if you can afford it) look into getting one of the floating docks. It will allow you to fill up the tank a lot more.

I have sand in my tank and I just clean it out every two weeks or so. Bare bottomed tanks are definitely the easiest to maintain, a rock bed is the hardest. But I think sand is pretty easy. I've had all three and I don't mind sand. It adds a better look and like I said isn't hard to maintain. It takes me about 15-20 minutes to clean, but that's because I have a 125 gallon tank. A 55 gallon should only take 10 minutes max.

Yes I'm definately planning on taking out all the rocks once I can get one of those floating docks you said. What is the best type of sand to use and where? Sorry for all the questions I just want to do the best I can for them

You can check the sand FAQ for all your questions. But play sand is good and cheap. I got mine from Wal-Mart, 25 lbs for $3.

i definitely love sand over river rocks. well if you get river rocks i suggest not to cover the entire bottom of the tank. it does trap loads of waste and scutes.

sand has proven worthy so far, and checking out the sand FAQ that chrisbarnett made makes the process easier by far.

It was weird though, like 4 people on the forum had sand at first, then everyone started wanting it and that is now the best! Some people on this other forum I check out sometimes said sand was the worst thing you could use! It made the water dirtier then rocks, and I told them about needing to wash it out first and they said that that doesn't make a bit of difference! And they also said that sand can kill a turtle more often than gravel?!?!?!?

Yeah. A lot of people haven't even tried it yet make all these claims that sand will kill your turtle. Obviously they are misinformed.

Before the sand FAQ, most people had mixed results. TheBeast had some spectacular success with his setup early on... and on the main site, it says "Optional Substrate -- Sand poses no serious health risks to RES and will not harm a turtle's shell. However, it is the most difficult to clean and it will impact the efficiency of your filter as well."

haha. but it wont necessarily affect the efficiencc of your filter if you have your filter intake high enough.

When I first did sand, it was an ineteresting process in squirts 30 gal. I just used common sense and washed really well, then dumped it in, figuring it would be a good experiment since very few people had done it. Then I figured I should raise up my old filter.. that worked. Basically all trial and error for a while, but I got it down.