Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Folks,

How often do people do a complete water change for a 55 gal tank?
I currently have a 10 gal and I do it once a month.

Wow. What kind of filter do you use? When I had a container that size (with a very small filter) I used to clean it about every 3 days. A 20-gallon I would clean once a week. Wouldn`t it depend on things like turtle size, filtration and whether you fed your turtle in the tank?

Good question. I'd have two turts (2-3" each. Feed in the tank. I'd have a pretty powerful filter. At least a Fluval 404 or some equivalent. Maybe two lesser powered filters.

For now, I have a Fluval 104 on my 10 gal tank. I do a 50% water change about every 2 weeks. A full change once a month. But with a 55 gal tank, it becomes a pain in the butt do it do that often.

I have a 10gall for my turt too, i clean it about the sam as you dres. He's not to big, and he has plenty og room to swim and play and bask, the filter gets most of my dirt.

I'd do a partial change at least once a month if you have a good filtration system, more often if it starts to stink

You should really replace water once a week at minimum. I do it every time I feed them so sometimes 2-3 times a week. I don't take out all the water but at least half or 3/4. I do it with my turtles in the water and they don't mind too much since their used to it (and me). The water is always crystal clean since I also fish out the left over food and feces. My filter isn't very good so thats why I do it this way

But I do remember changing water is important and I'd say once a month in a 10 gallon is not enough.. unless you have a awesome filter heh. Depending on how clear your water to be would be your answer.. I still say once a week minimum

I agree with once week at least for a ten-gallon. And even if the water looks clean, there are things you can`t see (like urine) that are in it.

Once a week for a full cleaning? On a 10 gallon?
Isn't that a bit overboard?
With a powerful filter including carbon, ammonia and biological filtration (like I have), I would think that urine would not be an issue. Maybe I'd do a full cleaning once every 2 weeks at most.

My original question was on a 55 gal. Would a larger tank then require less cleaning because there is more water? Assuming that I have a filter rated for 3x the size, how often would I have to empty out the water. ianfaith wrote partial at least once a month....

Smaller tanks generally require more frequent cleaning (and if you don`t have an adequate filter this is definitely the case). Don`t know what kind of filter you`re using, but it would seem that cleaning would depend on the factors mentioned above.