Habitat - Indoor :: tank cleaning

[mreyeball]

i am new to turtle keeping, and have realised that i have been cleaning my tank wrong,once a week i used to completely empty it then refill it with new water and add a little tapsafe (removes chlorine) wait for the temp to hit 76F and put my turts back in
i have a 180 litre (50 gallon) tank with 1 100 litre internal filter and 1 200 litre external filter, the tank houses a false map and a cumberland slider with 2 female guppies, 2 corys and i just added a small (4 cm) gibbicep pleco, also on the weekend i added playsand afor substrate as i was using no substarte at all.
the tank looks great, water is stopping clear i just want to know the proper way for maintaining and cleaning my tank
i have no syphon or pump for emptying the tank,i use a bucket.
my turts are not fed in the tank either
i know the internal filter may get damaged due to the sand but i have another 200 litre external on the way so when it arrives the internal filter will be removed
basically i want to know when and what to do including cleaning the sand that is in the tank

thanks

[blulite]

hi, first of all, you have inadequate filtration. due the the high production level of waste, it is recommended you have filtration enough to cycle the entire tank contents min 5 times per hour, so your going to need to be shitting 1000l/h your only, even with the new filter coming, cycling 2.5 times per hour if you use all 3 filters. you will find that the water will eventually not stay lcear and become murky. algee bursts are also to be expected.

your tank will never ever become established if you continue to change the water as you have been. you need to have your tank in a fully established state for it to be as clean as it should be. changing the water all the time is actually dirtyer than if your were filtering properly.

when changing the water, never change the entire tank unless absolutly necessary. only a partial water change should be done once a week or in my case hardly ever due to the 10 times per hour cycle rate and the uv steralisation. but thats by the by.

the water change should be 2/4 to 1/3 depending again on your filtration. there is no need to use tapsafe either, its not really recomended you use any water conditioneers with you turtles.

keeping your water clean is not about changing it, its about having the correct amount of filtration to cope with the waste.

[mreyeball]

hi, first of all, you have inadequate filtration. due the the high production level of waste, it is recommended you have filtration enough to cycle the entire tank contents min 5 times per hour, so your going to need to be shitting 1000l/h your only, even with the new filter coming, cycling 2.5 times per hour if you use all 3 filters. you will find that the water will eventually not stay lcear and become murky. algee bursts are also to be expected.

your tank will never ever become established if you continue to change the water as you have been. you need to have your tank in a fully established state for it to be as clean as it should be. changing the water all the time is actually dirtyer than if your were filtering properly.

when changing the water, never change the entire tank unless absolutly necessary. only a partial water change should be done once a week or in my case hardly ever due to the 10 times per hour cycle rate and the uv steralisation. but thats by the by.

the water change should be 2/4 to 1/3 depending again on your filtration. there is no need to use tapsafe either, its not really recomended you use any water conditioneers with you turtles.

keeping your water clean is not about changing it, its about having the correct amount of filtration to cope with the waste.

current cycling with the internal and the external is 770 litres an hour, when i get the new external my cycling will be 1340 litres an hour which works out to about 7.5 times an hour
i need to use tapsafe as stated in original post i have fish in the tank too
so what about cleaning waste products from the sand?

[Love of Animals]

Since you have fish with your turtles use the tap safe. If you didn't have fish with them then you don't have to. With a fully cycled tank a 55 gallon filled all the way I use an XP3 filter. I do 20% weekly water changes with a siphon and 5 gallon buckets. You will need a siphon to get the debris on the bottom of the tank. They are inexpensive. A python is a little pricey but a simple siphon isn't. It'll make your water changes easier. While your tank is cycling change 10 - 20% of the water every 2 to 3 days. Don't touch your filters at this time unless they are getting clogged. If so rinse in tank water. Always clean your filters in tank water not tap water. With the XP3 I only open my filter once every 4 to 6 weeks and I rinse the sponges and bio media in already siphoned tank water. Once your fully cycled water changes once a week are still necessary to remove nitates. Turtles can handle higher nitrate levels but the fish can't.

[mreyeball]

Since you have fish with your turtles use the tap safe. If you didn't have fish with them then you don't have to. With a fully cycled tank a 55 gallon filled all the way I use an XP3 filter. I do 20% weekly water changes with a siphon and 5 gallon buckets. You will need a siphon to get the debris on the bottom of the tank. They are inexpensive. A python is a little pricey but a simple siphon isn't. It'll make your water changes easier. While your tank is cycling change 10 - 20% of the water every 2 to 3 days. Don't touch your filters at this time unless they are getting clogged. If so rinse in tank water. Always clean your filters in tank water not tap water. With the XP3 I only open my filter once every 4 to 6 weeks and I rinse the sponges and bio media in already siphoned tank water. Once your fully cycled water changes once a week are still necessary to remove nitates. Turtles can handle higher nitrate levels but the fish can't.

thanks for the info, my internal filter is to be honest poor, hence why i am buying another external, which has a cartridge that slides in and is easy to clean too, i have just bought a reptile sand sifter to help clean the sand,
i was looking at the siphons today at my pet shop, would this be ok?
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/water-si ... home-30364
or this one
http://www.petsathome.com/shop/syphon-s ... -one-25625

so all i should do is 20% water change every week using a siphon and maybe a little spot cleaning throughout the week with the sand sifter, and am i right in thinking when siphoning push the end of the siphon so it is under the sand?

[Love of Animals]

Either one would be fine. I don't think you even need the reptile sifter, I don't know what that is. Just siphon ON TOP of the sand once a week to pick up debris. Every once in a while sift through the sand with the filters off. Wait for sand to settle then turn filters back on. When I say once in a while I mean once every couple of months. Do you have a test kit to tell when your tank is cycled? It's not necessary with turtles but fish get a little more complicated. And yes 20% with all of your filters running once a week is fine for water changes on a fully cycled tank. If you need to know the cycling process let me know.

[sflemin2]

I will tell you.. the siphon with the hand pump (the second link) is great. I used to have a siphon without a hand pump..did the good ol fashioned blow then suck.. and got a mouth full of turtle water once or twice. Not pleasant hahaha. Also, I find the really long siphons arent good for cleaning the top of sand. I have one similar to this..I HATE it. http://www.amazon.com/TopDawg-Pet-Suppl ... B000NKB3US. The debris falls back down before it can get sucked out. The second one you posted seems better. I need one lol

[Love of Animals]

That's funny. I wouldn't want to taste turtle water. When I first got my siphon I was pumping the siphon part up and down in the water till my arm felt like it was falling off. This was according to the directions. I then realized I could take the siphon put it in the water fill it up, take it part way out of the water till the siphon drained into the tube half way and over the lip of the tank then stick it back in and it worked without pumping my arm off. This is with it draining into a 5 gallon bucket on the floor. Works great every time.

[sflemin2]

LOL I did that too!! I was like "My arm is tired! This doesnt work! If I drink turtle water, so be it!". There was no YouTube back then lol.

I always throw the other end of the hose out the window once its going so I don't have to dump buckets.

FYI-the turtle water didnt taste bad..yay Fluval! But the thought of it almost made me puke hahaha

[blulite]

current cycling with the internal and the external is 770 litres an hour, when i get the new external my cycling will be 1340 litres an hour which works out to about 7.5 times an hour
i need to use tapsafe as stated in original post i have fish in the tank too
so what about cleaning waste products from the sand?

sorry, but how do you come up with the 770 and 7.5 time per hour?

you specifically state in your post, you have a 100l/h internal plus a 200l/h external. which equals 300l/h

and you have another 200l/h external on the way

i dont know about anyone else but 100 + 200 + 200 = 500???? not 770, and by no means anywhere near to 1340l/h.

so 500l/h in 180 litre tank cycles 2.7 times an hour.

if however you dont have your tank full to the brim, then your cycle rate will increase. but the only way your going to get 7.5 times per hour is if you use less than 1/3 of a full tank with the full 500l/h filtration rate.

it is impossible to cycle your entire tank 7.5 times per hour with only 500l/h max cycle rate.

[blulite]

That's funny. I wouldn't want to taste turtle water. When I first got my siphon I was pumping the siphon part up and down in the water till my arm felt like it was falling off. This was according to the directions. I then realized I could take the siphon put it in the water fill it up, take it part way out of the water till the siphon drained into the tube half way and over the lip of the tank then stick it back in and it worked without pumping my arm off. This is with it draining into a 5 gallon bucket on the floor. Works great every time.

PMSL, when i had to syphon, i used a powerhead connected to a hose pipe with a jubilee clip.

just stick it in the water, plug it in and direct it where you want it to go using the hose pipe.

now i have a pond pump and filter that cycles my tank almost 10 times per hour and a bare bottom tank so syphoning is no longer needed

[Love of Animals]

Sounds like a nice set up Blulite. I can dream, one day I'll have the most beautiful setup. One day.

[mreyeball]

current cycling with the internal and the external is 770 litres an hour, when i get the new external my cycling will be 1340 litres an hour which works out to about 7.5 times an hour
i need to use tapsafe as stated in original post i have fish in the tank too
so what about cleaning waste products from the sand?

sorry, but how do you come up with the 770 and 7.5 time per hour?

you specifically state in your post, you have a 100l/h internal plus a 200l/h external. which equals 300l/h

and you have another 200l/h external on the way

i dont know about anyone else but 100 + 200 + 200 = 500???? not 770, and by no means anywhere near to 1340l/h.

so 500l/h in 180 litre tank cycles 2.7 times an hour.

if however you dont have your tank full to the brim, then your cycle rate will increase. but the only way your going to get 7.5 times per hour is if you use less than 1/3 of a full tank with the full 500l/h filtration rate.

it is impossible to cycle your entire tank 7.5 times per hour with only 500l/h max cycle rate.

think i am a little confused!tank is full to the top, the external can be used in an aquarium upto 230 litres and has an output of 570 litres an hour and the internal is for a 100 litre aquarium and has an output of 200 litres per hour. check the links below and please let me know whats what lol! it sayd on the product description thats whatthe filter flow rate or output is.

external filter (mines the hf2002)=http://www.aquariumsrus.com.au/filters/resun_hang.htm

internal filter=http://www.ketteringkoi.com/acatalog/Aqua-Flow_100.html

[blulite]

Sounds like a nice set up Blulite. I can dream, one day I'll have the most beautiful setup. One day.

here you go mate, take a peek....

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=26016

[blulite]

think i am a little confused!tank is full to the top, the external can be used in an aquarium upto 230 litres and has an output of 570 litres an hour and the internal is for a 100 litre aquarium and has an output of 200 litres per hour. check the links below and please let me know whats what lol! it sayd on the product description thats whatthe filter flow rate or output is.

external filter (mines the hf2002)=http://www.aquariumsrus.com.au/filters/resun_hang.htm

internal filter=http://www.ketteringkoi.com/acatalog/Aqua-Flow_100.html

ah i see, i thought you meant your flow rates were 100 and 200. now i see where you got your cycle rate from. you should be ok then with the 2 exernals since they equate to more than 1000l/h. you should get a good cycle rate.

with the tank full to the brim, you will get a cycle rate of 6.3 times per hour, using the 2 externals. so your gonna be getting a good amount of filtration.