Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 3 year old RES in a 30 gallon tank. I have a floating rock on which he basks under a UBA and UVB light. The water is fills at least 75% of the tank. I do not have any live plants in the tank, but do feed him 10-12 pellets a day plus a small amount of greens on the rock as a snack, which he usually drags into the water. I generally change out the water once every 3 weeks, though I try to do it sooner (It takes me about 45 minutes). I add "turtle clean" once a week. The tank gets an algae near the light, so when I clean, I scrub everything down in the tank, including the tank. Any other suggestions on keeping the tank, the water, clean? Oh, the water temp is around 74, any suggestions on a water heater or leave the water at 74? Thx!

the easiest way to keep a clean tank is to feed the turtles in a different container... trust me, it makes a WORLD of difference!! and you should always feed your turtles in the water. they are not 'supposed' to eat on land, this is why your turtle drags everything into the water! and 10-12 pellets? that seems like a lot... u should only be feeding your turtle the amount of pellets that would fit into his head (and only about every 2 or 3 days, unless your turtle is under a year old - then u should feed it the pellets everday but still only enough to fit into his head)... you should be supplementing your turtle with greens whenever he doesnt have the pellets. they like everything from collard greens to dandelion greens. I got a great tip from one of these great turtle people and have now started to feed mine the 'mixed' salad bag... it gives them a great variety of veggies and is still healthy for them! but yes, back to the tank thing... feeding them in a separate container is MUCH easier, it cuts down on A LOT of the waste! hope this helps
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}

by the way... about the temperature of the water... 74 is a good temperature unless your turtle is a baby. if it's a baby, the water should probably be more around 80 degrees. but if its a larger turtle, the water temp should be in the mid 70s and the basking spot should be heated (by the light) to about 85 degrees. hope this ALSO helps
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}

keeping pond plants in the tank realy helps keep water clean, the plants use the waste for food. so thats one thing you can do. but the turtle will eat the plants which is good for the turtle but not the plants. you can use things like elodea and duckweed and water lettuce plants that float on the water and keep growing even if eaten. some of the ppl here told me about using a canister filter and hooking it up to a undergravel filter. its like some kind of miricle or something. you just wash out the spongy thing in the canister (mines a magnum floor model) every week or to, and uyou only need to clean the tank about every six months. no im not kidding. the water is the best. no algae. good filtering and plants in the tank makes all the difference. when you finaly get sick of cleaning, try a magnum with undergravel. youll love it a lot. i sure do

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