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I have a 20 gallon tank,i kno i dont have pics up YET, and i have of those suck-on-wall filters and i want to put sand in? would it affect the filter???
or should i just wait to get a bigger tank?? Or should i use rocks??

And Ive noticed u guys have other fish and things in the tank??? Could I do that or is there a wait time??

Um, I'm not sure what you mean by suck-on-wall filter?

Do you mean internal filter?
Like a fluval 2+?

its a Whisper In-tank-filter.

If you use rock, use big ones, not gravel, but substrate is not a necessity. How log has the tank been set up? if it hasn't cycled yet, you might lose some fish, but most of the fish that most of us have in our tanks are feeder fish, so its not really that big a deal if they die! They will be eaten either way!

I want to use sand i think it would look a lot better...?
The tanks just basic with a dock and thats it... this Saturday im gonna buy A LOT more stuff... And I aslo have a 10 gallon tank that im thinking about using as a bigger basking area so i dont have to buy a new one.

I've got the rocks and it does trap alot of junk. people on there who have switched to sand all seem to really like it. it definately looks cool. What are you going to do with the 10 gal. to make it into a basking area??? You have my curiosity piqued!

Well, i saw how a lot of people have thier bigger tanks filled up almost all the way and they have ramps leading up to basking areas. i was gonna try and see if i can make my 10 gall into like almost a whole different are where they can bask and sit out...?

Is it a whisper reptofilter? I have one of those (pretty dinky filter...) and it specifically says not to use sand with it. I also have river rocks in the bottom of my 10 gallon, and they do indeed trap a LOT of gunk. It just slides right underneath them...they look so nice, though! If you do use sand, you need to position the filter so that the intake (on the bottom of the whisper) is a couple inches away from the sand so it won't be sucking it up all the time.

This one right?

Sand'll be fine with that filter. Just keep the bottom of the filter about 4" above the substrate so that sand will settle before being sucked up.

Be very careful with your filter. I had to get a new impeller and some intake filter sponges to keep the sand out of the filter.

I would say, due to the size of your tank that you should leave out the substrate and the fish. You're tank is bordering on too small as it is and adding substrate and fish will only take away from the turts swimming room. Also, fish will add to the amount of waste and your filter won't be powerful enough for that. Once you get a bigger tank these things won't be such an issue anymore.

ok.. thanks guys!!!
its 10 gallons for every inch right?

right.

i made my ten gallon into a basking area, if u want ill post some pics here tonight when i get home from work, i dunno what you have in mind, but mine came out pretty decent, i still have some improvements to make but its completely functional right now, i took a some what unorthodox route, i took one whole side out of the tank, and laid it on its side, the top is open so the glass doesnt filter out the rays from the lights, it was a bit of a pain, a few minor cuts, a blow torch, a pair of leather gloves, and a razor blade later and i was in business, let me know if you want me to post pics here, i do plan on posting pics of my new setup, sometime soon.

YEAH!! Post'em! cuz i kno wut i wanna do and it sounds like EXACTLY wut i want!(sorry i ddnt reply!)