Turtle Aquarium Care: Cleaning and Maintenance

For the maintenance of red-eared and other water turtles, it is necessary to equip a special terrarium with a rather complex device. But it is equally important to learn how to monitor its condition and clean the walls and replace the water in time. Proper care of a turtle aquarium ensures the comfort and health of your pet.

How often cleaning is required

If pollution is not removed in time, the water of the aquarium begins to quickly become cloudy, an unpleasant odor appears, and plaque forms on the walls. The use of filter devices helps to keep clean longer, but a thorough cleaning of the red-eared slider aquarium should be done regularly. To find out how many times a month you need to wash the terrarium and replace the water, you need to pay attention to the age and size of the pet:

• for keeping small turtles 3-5 cm in size, very small containers are usually used, which need to be washed several times a week;
• for young individuals with a shell diameter of 10-20 cm, medium-sized terrariums (50-80 l) are suitable, which should be cleaned at least once a week;
• adults (shell 25-30 cm) will need a dwelling of a much larger volume (about 150-170 l), which is necessarily equipped with a system of powerful filters – you will have to wash the aquarium for turtles of this size less often, usually once every 30-45 days.

The water is most quickly polluted with food debris and reptile excretions. In order to keep the water clean for longer, a special jig is recommended for feeding pets. A small container is more convenient for eating, and after feeding, you can immediately pour out the water and wash the walls.

Cleaning up a small aquarium

In small aquariums, it is better to clean with a complete water change. Firstly, with small volumes of the aquarium, the concentration of ammonia in the water is higher than in large ones, which can lead to pet diseases. Secondly, small aquariums are easy to transfer to the bathroom or outside (if you have a private house) and thoroughly washed and disinfected.

Prepare

Maintenance of turtle tanks includes several procedures, which must be performed in a specific order:

1. Move the pet to a separate container – for this, use a feeding jig, or buy a special plastic container with a ready-made island at the pet store. The animal will be forced to spend more than one hour there, so it is important that the jig is comfortable.
2. Turn off and carefully remove the filters and water heater from the water, put in a bowl or bucket to clean later.
3. Remove an island, large stones, plants and decorative items from the water.
4. Drain the water from the terrarium – it can be pumped out with a special hose, or the container itself can be taken to the bathroom.

Lastly, the soil is removed – the material of organic origin must be thrown away, later it is replaced with fresh one. But more often, the soil is a special durable granules or shell rock – they need to be washed separately.

Detergent

Proper care of a red-eared turtle aquarium requires thorough cleaning of the walls from plaque, all items and equipment also need to be washed and disinfected.

It is not recommended to use conventional household chemicals – their components can harm the health of reptiles. It is better to prepare safe disinfectants in advance – a solution of white vinegar (prepared in a ratio of 100 ml of white vinegar to 4 liters of water) and baking soda. A 1% solution of chloramine is used as the main disinfectant. Wash off the remnants of the funds from the walls with a soapy solution.

Cleaning and disinfection of the terrarium should be carried out when the turtle is sick, especially if it lives with other relatives. Reducing the number of bacteria can speed up the recovery of a sick pet and reduce the risk of infecting others. It is obligatory to sterilize the container in the event of the death of a turtle, and before settling a new pet there.

Cleaning sequence

It may take several hours to thoroughly wash the terrarium and all contents. To quickly carry out a full cleaning of the aquarium in turtles, the sequential execution of the steps will help:

1. Wipe the walls, the bottom of the terrarium with a sponge moistened with detergent. For corners, joints, use a cotton swab or a toothbrush. Plaque is often removed from flat walls with a plastic or rubberized scraper, dried dirt is soaked or gently scraped off with a knife.
2. Disassemble, then rinse all parts of the filter, replace the sponge with a new one. Rinse the surface of the water heater from plaque.
3. Wash the island with a soft sponge with a disinfectant, snags, large stones, hard-to-reach places are cleaned with a toothbrush.
4. Rinse the inside of the terrarium thoroughly to remove odors and traces of cleaning agents.
5. The soil is washed separately or in a terrarium with several rinses. As a result, clear water without cloudiness should remain. It is recommended to boil the stone soil for 20-30 minutes, and ignite the sand in the oven.
6. Lay the washed soil on the bottom, fill the terrarium with clean water.

When carrying the device, it is important to make sure that the outer walls are wiped dry from water drips – otherwise a heavy object may slip out of your hands. After installing the terrarium in place, you need to place decorative stones, an island in it, correctly position the filters and the heater.

IMPORTANT: It is better to place the interior of the terrarium in the usual places – this will make the environment more familiar to the pet and reduce stress from changes in the composition of the water.

Video: how to wash a small aquarium

Features of cleaning large aquariums

Heavy large aquariums are not recommended to be lifted and carried alone – there is a high risk of dropping the device or straining your back. If there is no one to help, it is better to drain the water and clean the large aquarium right on the spot, using a hose and a siphon.

Every day, be sure to carry out a small cleaning – you need to remove all visible dirt.

With a large tank, the waste and its by-products are diluted. Therefore, general cleaning in large aquariums is reduced to a partial water change, as this is more practical. Part of the water must be changed to fresh (previously settled or filtered). The volume of fluid to be replaced and the frequency of replacement depends on:

• the volume of the aquarium;
• the number of living individuals;
• pet size;
• filter power;
• where turtles are fed.

IMPORTANT: With a partial water change, you will have to abandon the use of disinfectants.

If washing a small terrarium is not difficult, then you need to prepare for working with large containers with a volume of 80-150 liters. First you need to purchase a gravel vacuum or a siphon to remove water from the pet store, which greatly simplifies the cleaning job. With this device, you can not only drain the required amount of water, but also remove dirt and debris from the bottom of the aquarium.

Cleaning procedure:

1. We transplant the pet into a separate container.
2. We turn off all devices, take out the maximum number of accessories, if possible, we wash everything separately.
3. The soil can be left at the bottom and washed with a siphon.
4. With a special scraper, we remove all the mucus from the glass.
5. We are waiting for the dirt to settle after glass processing.
6. We drain the necessary part of the water, collecting as much dirt as possible from the bottom of the aquarium.
7. Fill with fresh settled water.
8. We return all accessories, appliances and a pet to their place.

Video: how to clean in a large aquarium

How to prepare water

Before returning a turtle to the terrarium, it is necessary to make the water suitable for it. You can not use tap water that contains chlorine residues – you must first let it settle or filter it from impurities. You can purchase a special solution at the pet store that will destroy all traces of chlorine. After installing the heater, you need to wait until the water temperature in the terrarium reaches 22-26 degrees.

In order to make the turtle’s water area suitable for plants and reduce the level of daily pollution, it is recommended to use live bacteria to clean the aquarium. Acting as a biofilter, they destroy those food and waste residues that cannot be removed manually, so they keep the water clean longer. It is better to add ordinary edible salt to the water in a ratio of 1 tbsp. l. 4 liters of water – this will help protect the pet from infections.

After all the preparations are completed, we return the pet to the aquarium. To reduce stress from changing conditions, treat him with some kind of treat. Sometimes a change in the composition of the water leads to the fact that the turtle begins to molt – this process is natural and not dangerous.

To check the suitability of water, it is recommended to use a pH test – you can buy it at pet stores, veterinary pharmacies. Changes in the color of the test paper will give information about the composition of the water.