Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I just bought a 75 gallon take and boy is it heay!! I thought I might pass out from bringing it inside. So this is my question...those of you that have big tanks, how on earth do you clean it? I had a 20 gallon long and I was able to take out the water and then take it outside and clean it thoroughly, however, there is no way I can do this! Please let me know how you all tackle this big job!

Well maybe once a year you'll have to take it out and really clean it thouroughly..

For the rest of the time you'll have to depend on water changes (half, 75%, or all) once a week (or maybe 2 50% changes a week). Depends on you...

A good filter is necessary as you know but I think you can do a really good cleaning job without taking the tank outside. I've done it with a 100 gallon tank since that thing weighs over 100 lbs I'm sure. You can take your turtles out and then treat the tank as if it was outside. You can always use really hot water (maybe not boiling) and put it in there after you scrub it. With debris or rocks you could easily take those outside and clean it. If you do you use soap for cleaning (maybe a really good thourough clean once 3 months?) make sure you get it all out since it is tougher when your not using a hose from outside.

Hope that helps

Remove the turtles and get a clean rag or sponge. Clean the internals of the tank. It's important not to use chlorinated water or chemicals to clean the tank or you will kill the good kinds of bacteria that help to keep the water clear.

Clean the tank. Throw away the filter's fine particle media and replace with new. With dechlorinated water only, very lightly rinse the biological media. Don't worry about getting it clean, just rinse most of the large goopy stuff away.

Get the garden hose and run it into the window and into the tank. Turn on the faucet just long enough that water starts into the tank. (it's not a lot of chlorine in a large tank so don't worry)

Turn off the water and unhook the hose from the faucet. What you have done is "primed" the hose and it will begin to siphon. Yeah, this works great and fast since hoses are big in diameter.

It's pretty easy overall. I have a 30 gallon and a 55 gallon tank, and only have to clean them about 2 times a year. I have no gravels and excellent water circulation, so all the waste gets to the filter. For the most part, all I have to do is water changes.

O.K.--I have 2 questions:

1. What do you use to dechlorinate the water? So you can't use regular tap water to clean the tank with?

2. Do you have rocks in your tank?

Thanks again for your help.

If you have only turtles and no fish, you can get by with tap water, as far as the turtles go...since they don't breathe it like fish.

However, the tap water will destroy the biological filtration and kill bacteria that is beneficial.

Any fish store will sell water dechlorinator that you put in the water. It's not much money at all.

I don't have rocks or anything in the bottom of the tank, so it stays clean. turtles have been known to eat small rocks, so if you like rocks, make sure they're big enough they can't eat them.

Okay- you really risk breaking an expensive tank every time you lift it ( not to mention your back)...
SO
get yourself a Python. Most pet/aquarium stores sell them.

These are great!. It attaches to a sink faucet and sucks the water out, down your drain. Reverse flow will fill the tank. All the while, I leave my RES in the tank and work around her. She likes to try to eat the "crap" flowing up and out the tube. I then scrub the sides down and rinse them off when the tank is filling. Then, I remove more water, refill and I am done.
Check them out!
Python Products