Habitat - Indoor :: help with a few things.... please help

[akaghettoraver]

yes and yes. Turtles are naturally messy eaters and they dueces in large quantities. So you are on the right track by removing the pebbles, and if you want river rocks they are fine but they require more maintenance. A good rule of thumb is atleast three times the amount of water when it comes to a filter rating. Say you have a 75 gallon tank with 3/4 of water in it, this would require a 150 gal filter at least. The bigger the filter the more water it will filter in an hour equaling a cleaner tank. A canister filter is the best way to do this. Yes they are a bit pricey but it is because they give you the flexability of using different media for different situations. You can also keep the water very clear this way. I have a 400 gal rated canister, it does a good job on my tank, which has 100 gals of water to filter. I will have to get another one to run in my Big tank when I move my female into it. This is needed to keep her tank clean. I still do A 25% water change once a week and filter media change once a month. It is required when your turtle eats and drink from their toilet.