Happy Turtles Pub

Cleaning and Maintenance

As mentioned earlier, the importance of a clean habitat can not be over-emphasized. In the absence of natural bio-cleaners, the responsibility of providing a clean and safe habitat rests with you - the turtle owner.

Partial Tank Cleanings

To reduce the tank's nitrate level, you must do regular partial water changes. To keep track of when to do water changes, purchase a water testing kit. There are several kinds of kits available, but the dip strip style is less expensive and easier to use. It is not as accurate as a chemical test kit, but it is safer around children.

Dip Strips

Solution Tests

We recommend changing either 15% every week or 30% every other week. It's easy to do this using a syphon. You can either purchase one (trademarked as a Python), or build it yourself with a garden hose and a waterbed fill kit.

Filter Cleanings

If you use chemical filtration, the carbon pads will need replacing every month. If they are not replaced, they will leach the toxins they absorbed back into the water.

If you don't have chemical filtration, you can go for several months without cleaning your filter. Just clean it when the water flow is not as strong as it should be.

When cleaning biological media, be VERY careful. Rinsing in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria. Instead, rinse them in the tank water. In a canister filter, you can rinse the biological trays in the water in the canister before you dump it. Just shake the trays around a few times.

Physical media should be scrubbed clean in hot water until it runs clear.

Full Tank Cleanings

Full tank cleanings are not necessary very often. In fact, in a well maintained tank, you may not need a full tank cleaning for a couple years!

We recommend that the full tank be cleaned:

Every time the full tank water is replaced
If any of the turtles/other aquatic life gets diseased (due to a non-dietary cause)
If you observe too much algae growth in the habitat
If you have an infestation of physid snails

For cleaning the habitat effectively, remove all animals, remove all decorations/ equipment and empty out the water completely. Clean all decorations/equipment. Wash tank insides with hot water (don't use boiling water as it can crack the glass). Use a sponge or old newspaper to wipe all the inside surfaces and remove any algae. For corners/edges we recommend using an old toothbrush.

Do NOT use any detergent!

It's normal to follow up with a mild and safe disinfectant. NEVER use any containing phenol or phenolic compounds - and always rinse thoroughly before refilling. A 5% vinegar solution works well.

Rinse well, and fit in the cleaned decorations/equipment. Add clean water. You can also add 1 level teaspoon of freshwater aquarium salt for every 4-5 liters of water. This prevents the growth of 'bad' bacteria and helps prevent shell and skin diseases and excessive algae growth in the tank.

Run all equipment for at least 30-45 minutes, before returning the animals to the habitat.

Caution: Don't clean any habitat decorations/equipment, in the kitchen or any food storage, preparation or consumption areas. Wash all utensils/containers used to clean the habitat with a mild bleach solution afterwards. Throw the old habitat water in the toilet and not the kitchen sink! You can also pour out old water in your flower garden; the flowers will love the nitrates!

*Some content from petturtle.htmlplanet.com