Recommended Turtle Tank Cleaning Gear

Every turtle owner has to clean the tank of the turtle at least once a couple of weeks. Turtles are really messy and as they grow up the messier they get. So if your turtle is big enough you are probably cleaning the tank at least once a week.

Here is the gear that I am using or have used to clean and maintain the tank clean:

The Siphon

I’ve tried multiple siphons over time I found that a lot of them are unreliable and get stuck or break really easy. A couple of years ago I’ve purchased a Tera Pump Genuine Aquarium Cleaner, and I am still using it today. It is long enough to fit medium and big aquariums and you won’t have to keep the water bucket ( or whatever you use ) too close to the tank. It also comes with an attachment that allows you to easily connect it to most faucets. Until now I had no problems with leaks or loss in suction. So if you want to get this pump here is a link to Amazon.

For a tank smaller than 10 gallons I would suggest you use the Genuine TERA PUMP, it’s a great fit for smaller aquariums. I used this pump when my turtles were smaller and I had a smaller tank for them. I had no leaks or any type of problems with this pump.

Magnetic Sponge

This single item completely changed my life, I might be exaggerating a bit but a magnetic sponge will most definitely make cleaning the tank a lot easier. You can use the sponge to clean the algae off the walls of the tank before taking the water out of it, and then you can use the siphon to remove the algae from the water. You can also use the sponge to occasionally clean the algae off the walls of the tank, this way you won’t have to clean the tank as often.

These sponges are really easy to use and you don’t even have to get your hands dirty or wet, because you only have to touch the part that is outside the tank. Here is a link to the sponge that I am using.

(You don’t have to be wary about the magnets that are in the water they won’t influence the water or your turtles in any bad way)

Algae Scrapers

The sponge can be really useful to get rid of the most algae, but if you want to completely get rid of them you will have to use a scraper. This is the scraper that I am using. It is really useful if you want to get rid of all that stubborn algae from the corners of the aquarium. The handle is very solid and you can apply as much pressure as you want to get rid of the algae. The blade is very good and will get the lid off the most algae in just one scrape. Here is a link to Amazon if you want to buy it.

And this is the brush that I am using to clean the rocks and decorations from the tank. If you only have rocks as decorations in the tank you can use any kind of brush, as long as it’s clean, but if you have more complex decorations in the aquarium I would suggest you use a brush like the one I am using otherwise you can damage them and they can break and hurt the turtles.

Filters

What to look for in a good filter

The first thing you should look for in a filter is power. When you choose a filter you have to make sure that is able to filter all the water in your tank. You can buy a filter that is built for a 50 gallons tank even if you have a 25 gallons tank, but you should never use a filter that is not able to filter all the water in the tank.

A good filter will also allow you to change the filtration medium. There are a lot of things that you can use in a filter to address certain needs, some of them are better at getting rid of the smell, others are better at getting rid of excessive ammonia ( you can identify your needs by using a kit that I will explain in the rest of this article ). So a good filter will allow you to easily change the filtration medium.

The noise done by a filter can sometimes be disturbing, so you can also take this into consideration when choosing a filter. The noise level of a filter is not necessarily equal to its performance, but most filters will usually make some noise.

One last thing that is essential to a good filter it’s to be clog proof. This one is mostly self-explanatory, if your filter gets clogged it won’t be able to filter.

The filters that I am using

I am personally a long-time fan of the Fluval Filters Series. I tried a lot of filters and I had mixed results with them but after I discovered these filters I’ve only used them. I’ve recently purchased a more powerful model for my new tank because the old one was too small for the new tank ( I changed my 45 gallons tank with an 80 gallons tank ). I had the previous one for almost 2 years and I had no problems with it. The noise levels are not that bad, don’t get me wrong you will definitely hear it if you are in the same room but it’s not as bad as other filters.

One great thing about those filters is that the producer also offers a great variety of filtration mediums so there won’t be any compatibility issues or anything like that.

While I used it never broke down or anything similar to that. But if you have any problem like that the seller also offers a 3-year warranty.

Overall the Fluval filters are the best filters I’ve used and I am very pleased with them. So I will recommend you to give them a try. If you want to get one here is a link to Amazon.

Note: In general try to stay away from undergravel filters they are usually not very efficient, not necessarily all of them, but the ones that I’ve tried were not very good.

Water test kits

If you own a turtle you should get one of those kits, even if the water seems clean it can still be full of ammonia which is very dangerous to turtles. But in general, a water test kit will tell you if you have to change the water or not if you are not sure if you have to change it.

There are two types of test kits: liquid and solid ( strips ). In general, the liquid ones are more complex and they are supposed to be more reliable, but in my opinion, the strips are just as good and they are a lot easier to use.

To use the liquid ones you have to take a sample of the water in the tank can combine it with the liquids provided by the kit and then see the results and then compare the colors with the ones from the chart, so they are not that complicated to use. If you are going to use the strips you just have to insert the strip in the water and then compare the color to the ones on the chart.

You can try both of them and see which is more to your liking. I used both methods and all of them are efficient and easy to use. Here are some links to the kits that I have used ( and still using ), this one is for the liquid test kit and this one is for the strips.

Conclusion

This should cover everything you need to maintain your turtle’s tank clean. I used all the products that I recommended and I was pleased with all of them. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to ask, I will reply to you as soon as possible.