How do I keep my turtles tank clean?

Question

It has a submersable filter and I clean it regularlly but it seems to get dirty very quickly any ideas

Answer 1

What size is your tank?

I have one RES and one painted, and we went through 3 filters before I found one that did the trick in our 15 gallon. I believe its called a ReptoFilter. It's about 7(?) inches high, and works in as little as 2" of water. The cartridges are nice too, no messy carbon or sponges to deal with. I love this thing, and it was only about $20 at my local pet store. (Cartridges are cheap, too. about $6 for 3.)

The turtles like it too.. LOL.. it's like a waterfall, and my RES will swim under it like it's a shower. :)

Whatever you decide on, make sure it's made for reptiles, and will support the amount of water you have in your tank.

Good Luck!!!
♥

Answer 2

It depends on what kind of turtle you have and how big your tank is. Turtles need ten gallons of tank per inch of turtle. Yes, that means large tanks.

Also, they need a very powerful filter. Turtles are not fish. Regular fish filters are not going to keep your turtle's tank clean and free from bacteria.

You need a powerful canister. If you can't afford such a filter, buy the largest fish tank filter you can find. For example, if you have a 40 gallon tank, buy a filter designed for a 100 gallon tank.

Also, turtle water should be changed often.

Turtles make wonderful pets but frankly, most people have no idea how to properly care for them.

I suggest joining a turtle forum where you can speak to other owners and share ideas for turtle care.

I love this forum!
www.turtletimes.com
They are wonderful and you will learn quite a bit!

Answer 3

I've got a canister filter that is made by Tetra. It's about the size of a soda can and sits in the corner of the water end of my land/water tank that my fire belly toads are in. It only needs about 3 inches of water to work properly and has kept the tank clean for weeks. It probably won't work that long for turtles, tho. You can also help keep the tank clean by feeding the turtles in a seperate tank.

Answer 4

Try this article on good filters: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm

Wrong filters don't help a lot. This article has a lot of real-life research to find good filters for our needs.

The biggest thing is that turtles are a LOT dirtier than fish. You need about 2-3 times more filtration than a fish would.

Answer 5

Get another one.
Really, turtles are dirty animals.
Two is better than one.