Turtle Tank Maintenance - the sand

More on how I maintain my large turtle tank, specifically the sand, 24 sqft of it.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• mud
• musk
• turtle
• fish
• catfish
• tank
• aquarium
• maintenance
• sand
• siphon
• clean

[Tommytom8252]

were did you get the plants and what tipe of plants did you get.

[BauriBob]

@Tommytom8252 My tank is somewhat dimmly lit since I have mud turtles, so growing plants is difficult. I have mossballs which I buy from a local aquarium shop, they do pretty well though they grow very slowly. I have Bronze Wendtii which do pretty well. I bring string plants (like anacharis) from the river every couple weeks or so. That's about it.

[TurtlesToGo]

quick question the sand under my ornament is turning grey!! how do I care for that? should i remove all my fishes and stir it up? or just leave it? and get a better water movement?

[BauriBob]

@TurtlesToGo water movement, live plants would probably help. But if the sand is getting pretty gunky, you'll have to stir it up a bit and siphon the debris up.

[TheMysteryman334]

will a fluval U3 work with sand?

[BauriBob]

@TheMysteryman334 don't know anything about that pump. In general, you need to protect in filter intake from sand. If you use a wet/dry with overflows, there is no problem. If you use a canister filter, you need to keep the intake well above the sand, perhaps two inches. you can also place some sponge over the intake. Internal filters need to be placed in a tray to keep any sand from getting inside.

[1997xboxgamer]

U should get like 4 plecos

[BauriBob]

@TheDamschroder because turtles like sand, they dig in it, makes for a nice substrate to crawl through, especially for bottom walkers like muds, musks, and snappers. I use ordinary play sand from Lowes or Home Depot.

[TheDamschroder]

Why did you choose sand and what kind of sand is it? I am inspired by your tank and I am soon going to try to recreate I for my eastern painted turtle.

[ctafrank]

thanks for tip about the flat stone