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so right now i have pond rocks to big for my turtle to eat. they cover the whole tank, im not sure if i should get rid of them or not, he is close to 2" and enjoys digging in them. idk if i should take most of them out, bc the support some live plants i have in the tank or just seitch to sand(which i dont rly want to spend money on) or just leave it how it is. i know when he is bigger ill take it out to add some space, i know they dont take up much but they take some.

soo input?
rsour24

I prefer bare bottom, makes the water cleaner longer. But that's just me.

It's personal preference. If you hate cleaning the rocks then take them out, if you don't mind it so much then it can't hurt to leave them.

its not like i hate it or anything and i think it looks really nice but i know the guppies like to hide in them and they hold up the plants, but i have the tank on a stand so i can see the bottom and the rocks block a lot of dirt from being picked up by the filter and i feel liek sand will cause problems with the filter

As long as you position the intake 2-3" above the sand surface, I doubt the filter
can suck the sand. People using sand as substrate can give you more info. Or,
you can read the sand as substrate sticky.

I have some large glass rocks. I like them too much to take them out, but the amount of waste they trap is frustrating sometimes. Search for some "sand" topics and see the pros and cons -- it might be better to stick with what you've got

I've got sand in three tanks. Two are RES tanks.

1 - 75 gallon RES
2 - 55 gallon RES
3 - 10 gallon aquascape

There are definitely pros and cons to sand. This is my opinion:

PROS:
-Cheap ($3/50lb bag at hardware store)
-Natural look
-Clean (it's so dense that debris and waste sits ON it, doesn't get stuck in it)
-Easy to anchor plants/decor

CONS:
-Dirty. Needs to be THOROUGHLY washed and sifted (If you use the pet store kind it may be easier but its extremely expensive)
-DIRTY. Seriously, the hardware store stuff really really takes a long time to get clean!
-Takes LONG to settle (depending on how much of the fine grains you wash away)
-Gets in filter. If your intake is a few inches above the surface of the sand, its a MUCH smaller problem. But the turtle will kick some up from time to time. Not a big deal with canister filters since it just gets into the filter floss and doesn't clog or grind. But those magnetic spinning type pumps don't play well with sand.