Today, I did a 100% cleaning of my turtle's tank. I also found something to substitute the gravel, blue and white glass "pebbles". I washed every little pebble and inspected them to make sure there were no pointy, sharp, or broken ones. They are at least 2 times bigger than my turtles' heads. I also switched the background paper. I removed the big grey rock to add more swimming space to their habitat. I moved the tank to my kitchen, as my mom's friend will be staying in my room for the week. The tank looks beautiful, it looks like a beach!

I waited for the equipment (filter, lights, heater, etc.) to run for a few hours and put in the correct amount of water conditioner. I waited a few more minutes, then put the turtles back in. Soldier is the only turtle that I don't think has adjusted. He stays at the bottom of the tank and just stares into space. He has never done this after past tank cleanings. Will he be alright? Thanks in advance!

I will post pictures of the remodeled tank soon.

__________________
There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

I would think he will be fine, he's more than likely just "confused" about his new surroundings. In the future when you do a cleaning it is usually a good idea to NOT remove all of the water. There is beneficial bacteria in the water that helps break down waste. Whenever I do a cleaning I leave about 1/3 of the water and replace the rest with conditioned.

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

All right, thanks for the advice, I will be sure to do that next time!

__________________
There's no such thing as an aquarium that's too big!

~My Herps~

3 Red-Eared Sliders- Jimmy, Sky, and Soldier

~My Fish~
Betta-Peach
2 Mickey Mouse platys- Flower and Zaphod
And countless platy babies!

~My Wishlist~
All the herps in the world!

you can also get filter sponges that allow bacterial colonies to grow, I use a mesh bag to cover my filter cartridge so that the bacteria continue to grow, when I clean the filter, I just soak the bag in old aquarium water and put it back over the new cartridge, it works great to keep bacteria colonies up.

You might also want to put in a live culture of bacteria when you change something that drastically, it helps out a lot to get the biocycle started, most fish stores have it readily available. If not you can order it from seachem and a few other places.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



TKE:TT:118

Since my fire belly toads produce so much waste, i have to do a total water change and I scrub the rocks. I have one of those filter sponge things, that keep the bacteria in, inbetween water changes just for the "good bacteria" reason. I have to replace all 3 gallons of water, once every other weekend.

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My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.