Cleaning a Turtle Tank Question

Does anyone know about cleaning aquariums for an aquatic turtle? I know the rules are "don't use anything to clean it". I got that part. But I scrub and scrub and scrub with damn near boiling water and a scotch brite pad and there is still this foggy film that won't come off the inside of the glass. I even tried using a widget (one of those razor blades for cleaning stickers off of glass)...with little luck. I also read that you can use some products like baking soda or salt with really good rinsing, I tried this...and still the film.

i dont know about you but i spend a day cleaning my turtle tank. i have to put him out in the garden on a sunny day while i do it. i do tend to use cleaning products on the tank other wise i would never get it clean. i use a bleach based spray with a wire brush & lots of elbow grease. i then spend the rest of the time cleaning it with a steam cleaner so there is no trace of the bleach. the other decerative things i boil clean in a big pan.

OK, I never thought of putting my turtle outside... I have a hard enough time now cause my cat wants to play batting practice with the turtle. How do you keep it contained? My turtle is an immigrant or refugee I guess, she is illegal... I didn't know this when I purchased her. She was smaller than a quarter...which is way against the law in the US. They have to be 4inches across the shell to sell them cause of salmonella etc. Either way...everyone says don't use bleach, don't use chemicals... And I don't have a steam cleaner. My cleaning experience is about 2-3 hours in between hollering at the cat to get off the top of the tank, going back and forth to see the cats eyeball pressed against the crack in the temporary container, and every once in awhile she gets a paw in there...

I use salt to scrub my glass aquariums.
If the film build up is tough, give it a vinegar soak for an hour or so.

I have the same question! Also, do you have stones/gravel in the bottom that you have to scrub? What is the best way to do that? Our tank is large, about 55 gallons, and we haven't figured out how to clean the gravel yet.

Really no safe way to clean the gravel without removing it.

You can leave it in the tank and do the vinegar soak, but you have to be able to rinse it very thoroughly.

When I had my 55gal, I removed the gravel twice a year and boiled it, then rinsed in under high pressure water.
I used larger river rock as I kept oscars, even still, it took many batches to get all of the gravel cleaned.

For large aquariums, I recommend the python for gravel maint. and water changes. It vacuums the gravel and acts as a siphon as well as making it easier to refill the tank.

oh, my kitty is ok with the turtle, never has pisces gone for him, he just sniffs at his shell then follows him around. i think pisces is more scared of the turtle than the turtle is off him, i think that is because when pisces was little we let tattoo out of the tank & he bit pisces' tail. yeah so when he is outside i have him in a pen. my other half put a simple wooden frame together & covered it in chicken wire & we just place him in that, very cheep to make & very effective.

the reason i use bleach is because when i first got my turtle i asked how i should clean his tank out. the shop owner said a part bleach & water solution (10% bleach 90% water) is ok to use aslong as you wash it completely out of the tank. but not to use soap based solutions as they are hard to get rid of & wash completely out of the tank. i didnt always have a steam cleaner either, it just used to use boiling water & keep washing it with until i though it was bleach free.

i have just bought a cleaning item tho that i thought may help keep the cleaning ritual down. this mag float magnet. its a two part magnet, the magnet you put in the tank have scrubbers on & the magnet on the outside has cloth on. as you move the outside part over the glass the inside bit moves & cleans the inside of the tank. i do this everyday so hopefully the algae & limeskale (we live in a hard water area) wont stick to the tank & i wont have to use bleach when i come to clean him out next time. they are only cheap things too, i payed £5 for mine which is nowt really considering the amount of time its going to save.

i know little about the turtle laws in the US, infact i dont know if there even is any here in the UK, they are not a very popular pet here, when ever i say to anyone that i have a pet turtle they are always fasinated & want to see. tattoo was very small when i got him,



this is the only picture i have of him as a baby, i found it very hard to photograph him (still do) as i couldnt get the light right. but i say he was about an inch long shell length (from head to tail). but he's grown at an alarming rate, he'll be two years old in august & i'd say he is about 5 inch long shell lenght (head to tail) now. i think mine was imported too.

how long have you had your turtle & what type is he? tattoo is a florida yellow bellied slider. he is male (thank god) as he has these awsome claws that are really long & a long tail & he loves meat, he will only eat a bit of the water plant i put in the tank every now & again. do you know the sex of yours yet?

Ok, so MaryKate is just what we call her. We really don't know if it's a girl. I think you have to get them sexed at the vet. Not really sure though. Is there another way to tell? She is a slider also, but a red-eared slider. I can't see the pics here @ work. I'll have to check them out over the weekend @ home. When I got her she was probably the same size as yours...about an inch, the size of our US quarter. Now she is about 3 1/2 inches in length, and we just got her in October, so she is not yet 1 yr. She has small red stripes at each ear, hence the name. And is aquatic, but needs a floating dock & heat lamp in which to bake on. (I wish I had the life of this turtle, swimming, sunning itself, 82 degree water ) I don't use rocks or anything at the bottom. Too much work to clean, and it wouldn't make a difference anyway, she doesn't really walk on the bottom too much.

When I had a fish tank I had gravel, and I put it in a collander and then put the collander in a just boiled (not on the stove) pot of water for a good soak. Then I'd swish them around and let them soak in there some more. After I'd rinse them real good. That's it.

I use bleach to clean my coffee pot every so often, so I guess I could try it with the tank... I'll try it in a few weeks and let you know...

PS....you said you don't have a female "thank God" is there something wrong with the girls? Just curious...

I'll keep you posted with my results in a few weeks...thanks everyone for the suggestions... I thought about trying vinegar...but that would make me want french fries! And I'm trying to stay away from those!!!

She won't eat anything but turtle food. Not lettuce, not anything. Should I try to feed her raw meat... is that what you do? Or do you cook it 1st? I tried to give her veggies but she just climbs over it. Completely not interested. She does love those micro shrimps though...

My fiancee came across this thread (she's an avid cat-lover), and passed it along to me. (The forum name just happens to be common to all the forums i post to online.) I have a pair of red eared sliders that are about 4 years old. They came to me as 2 one-inch long gifts and I believe they're around 6-7 inches now. Cleaning their 55 gallon tank has been a massive undertaking and I'm definitely going to use some of the suggestions in this thread.

Now, what I can help with:

Originally Posted by LuckyGirl

She won't eat anything but turtle food. Not lettuce, not anything. Should I try to feed her raw meat... is that what you do? Or do you cook it 1st? I tried to give her veggies but she just climbs over it. Completely not interested. She does love those micro shrimps though...

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My sliders enjoy their turtle food and shrimp treats, but really like lean cooked beef and chicken. Sliders should also be given a variety of vegetables (most leafy lettuces and diced squashes are good - iceberg lettuce is bad) and fruits. Depending on your source, It's recommended that an adult have no more than 25-80% of it's diet be from packaged food. I don't give my turtles nearly enough of the non-prepackaged foods, but they seem to be doing fine. If your little one starts getting fat, you can try to get her some exercise by feeding her live feederfish. (My turtles get there exercise chasing each other around.) You should also give your turtle a cuttlebone to chew on. Sliders need the calcium to properly process vitamin D from the sun/sunlamp for their shells. I strongly suggest searching for care instructions online.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

i know little about the turtle laws in the US, infact i dont know if there even is any here in the UK, they are not a very popular pet here,

Click to expand...

I can't speak be sure about Yellow bellied sliders, but red-eared sliders (a close cousin) cannot be legally imported into the UK (or anywhere in Europe. There was a story on the BBC online about a year ago about some red-eared sliders that had been let out in a UK pond. Reportedly, they were terrorizing kids by attacking baby ducks. They are classified as an invasive predator. The laws in the U.S. (where I live) are considerably more relaxed. Both Red Ears and Yellowed Bellies are native to the the U.S.'s Southern Eastern Seaboard. They are not native to the U.K. and are not known to have bred there in the wild.

Originally Posted by SheffieldLass

oh, my kitty is ok with the turtle, never has pisces gone for him, he just sniffs at his shell then follows him around. i think pisces is more scared of the turtle than the turtle is off him, i think that is because when pisces was little we let tattoo out of the tank & he bit pisces' tail. yeah so when he is outside i have him in a pen. my other half put a simple wooden frame together & covered it in chicken wire & we just place him in that, very cheep to make & very effective.

the reason i use bleach is because when i first got my turtle i asked how i should clean his tank out. the shop owner said a part bleach & water solution (10% bleach 90% water) is ok to use aslong as you wash it completely out of the tank. but not to use soap based solutions as they are hard to get rid of & wash completely out of the tank. i didnt always have a steam cleaner either, it just used to use boiling water & keep washing it with until i though it was bleach free.

i have just bought a cleaning item tho that i thought may help keep the cleaning ritual down. this mag float magnet. its a two part magnet, the magnet you put in the tank have scrubbers on & the magnet on the outside has cloth on. as you move the outside part over the glass the inside bit moves & cleans the inside of the tank. i do this everyday so hopefully the algae & limeskale (we live in a hard water area) wont stick to the tank & i wont have to use bleach when i come to clean him out next time. they are only cheap things too, i payed £5 for mine which is nowt really considering the amount of time its going to save.

i know little about the turtle laws in the US, infact i dont know if there even is any here in the UK, they are not a very popular pet here, when ever i say to anyone that i have a pet turtle they are always fasinated & want to see. tattoo was very small when i got him,



this is the only picture i have of him as a baby, i found it very hard to photograph him (still do) as i couldnt get the light right. but i say he was about an inch long shell length (from head to tail). but he's grown at an alarming rate, he'll be two years old in august & i'd say he is about 5 inch long shell lenght (head to tail) now. i think mine was imported too.

how long have you had your turtle & what type is he? tattoo is a florida yellow bellied slider. he is male (thank god) as he has these awsome claws that are really long & a long tail & he loves meat, he will only eat a bit of the water plant i put in the tank every now & again. do you know the sex of yours yet?

Click to expand...

I had a turtle like yours also. His name was Franklin. They are actually Red Eared Sliders. They are allowed to be sold here in Florida but for "Educational Purposes Only"
I think yours also is a red-eared slider. Different people call them different things

Originally Posted by LuckyGirl

Ok, so MaryKate is just what we call her. We really don't know if it's a girl. I think you have to get them sexed at the vet. Not really sure though. Is there another way to tell? She is a slider also, but a red-eared slider. I can't see the pics here @ work. I'll have to check them out over the weekend @ home. When I got her she was probably the same size as yours...about an inch, the size of our US quarter. Now she is about 3 1/2 inches in length, and we just got her in October, so she is not yet 1 yr. She has small red stripes at each ear, hence the name. And is aquatic, but needs a floating dock & heat lamp in which to bake on. (I wish I had the life of this turtle, swimming, sunning itself, 82 degree water

) I don't use rocks or anything at the bottom. Too much work to clean, and it wouldn't make a difference anyway, she doesn't really walk on the bottom too much.

When I had a fish tank I had gravel, and I put it in a collander and then put the collander in a just boiled (not on the stove) pot of water for a good soak. Then I'd swish them around and let them soak in there some more. After I'd rinse them real good. That's it.

I use bleach to clean my coffee pot every so often, so I guess I could try it with the tank... I'll try it in a few weeks and let you know...

PS....you said you don't have a female "thank God" is there something wrong with the girls? Just curious...

I'll keep you posted with my results in a few weeks...thanks everyone for the suggestions... I thought about trying vinegar...but that would make me want french fries!

And I'm trying to stay away from those!!!

Click to expand...

Yes it would be a great life been a turtle wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t it. I do the same with the gravel at the bottom of the tank, rinse it in a colander. Sliders like to dig in gravel so I bet she would love some on the bottom of her tank.

I said "thank god" about female turtles because slider turtles tend to grow a bigger than the males. Altho I would care for it what ever sex it is itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just the males are a little easier. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have a very big garden & if it were female I would probably have to build a pond & shed for it. Hopefully I might be moving soon any way that has a much bigger garden.

I found a great site when I first got my turtle, it has care sheets that will help you find the sex of her, how to care for her, what type of environment they like to live in etc

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Car...ear_slider.htm

Also there is a forum which I found helpful with lots of people to ask questions about keeping turtles.

http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/

Originally Posted by LuckyGirl

She won't eat anything but turtle food. Not lettuce, not anything. Should I try to feed her raw meat... is that what you do? Or do you cook it 1st? I tried to give her veggies but she just climbs over it. Completely not interested. She does love those micro shrimps though...

Click to expand...

Yes, young turtles are much more carnivorous, they like more meat. I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get tattoo to eat much plant matter when he was young but now I buy these water plants from the aquatic centre that are cheapish & he eats them pretty fast. He wonâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t eat fruit or veg tho, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve tried him with carrot & tomato but he just isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t interested.

I tend to give him cooked meat, donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve ever given it him raw. I try & give him lean meat, he likes mince & while Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m cooking it I squeeze all the fat out.

Originally Posted by thegiantturtle

If your little one starts getting fat, you can try to get her some exercise by feeding her live feederfish. (My turtles get there exercise chasing each other around.) You should also give your turtle a cuttlebone to chew on. Sliders need the calcium to properly process vitamin D from the sun/sunlamp for their shells. I strongly suggest searching for care instructions online.

Click to expand...

Yeah my turtle loves cuttlebone to chew on. I read that on the net somewhere & I went to a pet show & asked for some for my turtle & they wouldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t give it me. They said it was just for birds. I went somewhere else & bought some instead. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m glad I did because he loves it.

Ha, I have thought about giving my turtle fish in the tank but its illegal her in the UK to feed any animal living food. Here youâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]re not allowed to feed snakes live mice, they have to be dead. I have been tempted to buy him some tropical fish but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m a bit unsure.

Originally Posted by thegiantturtle

I can't speak be sure about Yellow bellied sliders, but red-eared sliders (a close cousin) cannot be legally imported into the UK (or anywhere in Europe. There was a story on the BBC online about a year ago about some red-eared sliders that had been let out in a UK pond. Reportedly, they were terrorizing kids by attacking baby ducks. They are classified as an invasive predator. The laws in the U.S. (where I live) are considerably more relaxed. Both Red Ears and Yellowed Bellies are native to the the U.S.'s Southern Eastern Seaboard. They are not native to the U.K. and are not known to have bred there in the wild.

Click to expand...

mine is definatly a yellow bellied slider, when I bought him I was told thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what he was & all the care sheets & books Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve bought seem to indicated thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what he is.

Yeah I saw that story too. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s illegal to release any animal not native to this country in to the wild here. Parents in the 80's bought turtles for there kids when the teenage mutant ninger turtles were on the TV. Then once they got big & couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t care for them & realised how much hard work they are to look after they started realising them in to the wild. They say many didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t survive because itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s too cold here for them & the ponds freeze over in the winter & they died, but there are exceptions & animals do change & acclimatise. But I doubt that they could have bread here as itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s just too cold & the eggs would die. the one's that have been seen are probably about 20 years old now, & considering how long they live they could be around many more year from now.

Originally Posted by DixieDarlin256

I had a turtle like yours also. His name was Franklin. They are actually Red Eared Sliders. They are allowed to be sold here in Florida but for "Educational Purposes Only"

I think yours also is a red-eared slider. Different people call them different things

Click to expand...

No Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sure he is an YBS. The guy at the shop told me he was & everything I have read says he is. The RES has the red ears on the side of the head where as mine has the yellow blotch behind the eye & no red. He started off with a fantastic yellow & green colour shell but now itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s more of a brown colour.

I always just used vinegar and hot water, let it soak, then scrub it with a nylon scrubbie thing (like the mr.clean magic eraser)

I have a western painted turtle "Drifty" and he is two years old. I have him in a long 33 gallon tank. I hand feed him, he is so nosey and we just love him to peices. I've noticed that because he is in front of a window, although he is not in direct sunlight, and he has a heater and a heat lamp, his tank and his shell stay green from algae. He doesn't mind getting a shell toothbrushing and I also apply some shell vitamins afterword; I think he enjoys the attention and chin rubs.  I've used peroxide (which is safe for the turtle) to treat the water, to help prevent some growth, as well as, I've used vinegar to clean the scum. The vinegar in moderation isn't bad for the turtle either, but if you're concerned remove him from the tank first.  For the bad scum I've scraped with a razor and it dusted right off. Yo can actually type in the search engine box and get the info on both peroxide and vinegar to clean your turtles tank. Good luck.

I use my shop vac. I have two large tanks and when we first go them it took all day to clean them. With the shop vac I and do both in two hours. I also run a hoes to refill them. As far as getting the glass clean I use paper towels to clean the glass. I also will use vinegar to get ride of the hard water stains on the glass. I don't use much and rinse well. My Slider is 9 years old and my long neck is 8. They are both females and large, my sliders is bigger then the one in our zoo.