Habitat

 

If you keep your turtle indoors, he will need a freshwater aquarium with a powerful filter and a dry area for basking. A full grown RES will need a tank size of at least 80 - 120 gallons (302 - 455 liters) of water, depending of his length (minimum of 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle plus 15 - 20% additional space for decor and basking area). Of course, the larger tank you can get, the happier your turtle will be.

The water should be 80 - 82 degrees (F) for hatchlings or a sick turtle, and 77 - 80 degrees (F) for a healthy turtle over a year old. The basking area (land area) should be 10 degrees (F) warmer than the water to entice basking.

FILTRATION

Good filtration is absolutely key to maintaining a healthy tank. There are many filtration options, but first you will need to understand your tank's ecology. Before reading this section, go read about the nitrification cycle.

Types of Filtration

There are three types of filtration: Physical (foam pads), chemical (carbon pads and zeolite), and biological (ceramic rings and bio-wheels).

Water Changes

Since the nitrates will build up in the tank, water changes are a must. However, a full water change will throw the tank parameters off and start the nitrification cycle all over again. Instead, do small water changes. 20% every other week or 10% every week are common amounts. If the tank is particularly dirty, do 10-20% every day, but don't take out all of the water.

To do the water changes, it's easiest to use a siphon. You can either purchase one or build it yourself.

Filters

How much filtration does a turtle need? Figure on twice that which an equivalently sized fish tank needs. Turtles are extremely dirty animals!

There are four main styles of filters: power filters (over-the-top), under gravel filters, canister filters, and wet/dry filters. Do not purchase filters labeled as "For Turtles". These are notoriously underpowered and overpriced!

Power Filters

Power filters are the common style of filters used for fish tanks. However, these filters are inefficient as the main filter unit in a large turtle tank. The advantage of Power Filters is easy access to the unit, so it's very quick to change carbon pads. Many turtle owners use these as a secondary or "polishing" filter for carbon and extra biological filtration. They are also useful for small feed tanks to raise snails and fish.

Under gravel Filters

These filters are pretty much useless for turtles. They are underpowered and expensive. Besides, turtle tanks shouldn't have gravel.

Canister Filters

These are the most popular filters for turtles. They are more efficient than power filters. The entire unit must sit below the tank (18 inches below the water line). The canister is a closed unit with intake and outtake tubes that go back into the tank. Inside the canister are trays for physical, biological, and chemical filtration. Many people use only physical and biological filtration in these units so they don't have to open the filter up very often (some people report not having to clean the filter for 9 months!) A good canister filter will run at least $100 online. The benefit of these filters is that they do a good job and are easy to use. The downside is that they are a little pricey.

Wet/Dry Filters

Wet/Dry systems are the most efficient filtration systems. They need to be below the water line, but they don't need to be 18 inches below. The water from the tank cascades over a pile of biological media, usually bio-balls. The extra oxygen from the balls being out of the water helps the bacteria to grow on the biological media. The water flows into a small holding tank before it is pumped back up to the main tank. Although a readymade system is quite expensive, these filters can be homemade very cheaply, and the sump (the small holding tank) can be used to grow food for your turtle. The downside is that they do require some knowledge to set up, so many first time aquarists are nervous to try these systems. They are more common with experienced aquarists.

CLEANING AND MAINTENANCE

As mentioned earlier, the importance of a clean habitat cannot be over-emphasized. In the absence of natural bio-cleaners, the responsibility of providing a clean and safe habitat rests with you - the turtle owner.

Partial Tank Cleanings

To reduce the tank's nitrate level, you must do regular partial water changes. To keep track of when to do water changes, purchase a water testing kit. There are several kinds of kits available, but the dip strip style is less expensive and easier to use. It is not as accurate as a chemical test kit, but it is safer around children.

We recommend changing either 15% every week or 30% every other week. It's easy to do this using a siphon. You can either purchase one (trademarked as a Python), or build it yourself with a garden hose and a waterbed fill kit.

Filter Cleanings

If you use chemical filtration, the carbon pads will need replacing every month. If they are not replaced, they will leach the toxins they absorbed back into the water. If you don't have chemical filtration, you can go for several months without cleaning your filter. Just clean it when the water flow is not as strong as it should be.

When cleaning biological media, be VERY careful. Rinsing in tap water can kill the beneficial bacteria. Instead, rinse them in the tank water. In a canister filter, you can rinse the biological trays in the water in the canister before you dump it. Just shake the trays around a few times.

Physical media should be scrubbed clean in hot water until it runs clear.

Full Tank Cleanings

Full tank cleanings are not necessary very often. In fact, in a well maintained tank, you may not need a full tank cleaning for a couple years! recommend that the full tank be cleaned:

• Every time the full tank water is replaced • If any of the turtles/other aquatic life gets diseased (due to a non-dietary cause) • If you observe too much algae growth in the habitat • If you have an infestation of physid snails

For cleaning the habitat effectively, remove all animals, remove all decorations/ equipment and empty out the water completely. Clean all decorations/equipment. Wash tank insides with hot water (don't use boiling water as it can crack the glass). Use a sponge or old newspaper to wipe all the inside surfaces and remove any algae. For corners/edges we recommend using an old toothbrush.

Do NOT use any detergent!

It's normal to follow up with a mild and safe disinfectant. NEVER use any containing phenol or phenolic compounds - and always rinse thoroughly before refilling. A 5% vinegar solution works well.

Rinse well, and fit in the cleaned decorations/equipment. Add clean water. You can also add 1 level teaspoon of freshwater aquarium salt for every 4-5 liters of water. This prevents the growth of 'bad' bacteria and helps prevent shell and skin diseases and excessive algae growth in the tank.

Run all equipment for at least 30-45 minutes, before returning the animals to the habitat.

Caution:

Don't clean any habitat decorations/equipment, in the kitchen or any food storage, preparation or consumption areas. Wash all utensils/containers used to clean the habitat with a mild bleach solution afterwards. Throw the old habitat water in the toilet and not the kitchen sink! You can also pour out old water in your flower garden; the flowers will love the nitrates!

THE NITRIFICATION CYCLE

 

The nitrification cycle is what occurs in your filter that actually "cleans" the water. Understanding this cycle is an important step in the care of any aquatic animal and will help you keep your water cleaner, filter it more efficiently, and also serve you well in case of a filtering emergency.

Start cycle: Ammonia

Now what is actually going on in your tank and filter is pretty interesting. We'll start from a new tank setup with only biological filtration (foam pads, ceramic rings, etc).

As your turtles, fish, etc. expel waste, it builds up in the water as ammonia. Initially there will be a pretty good spike in the ammonia level. 20% water changes every day or two should help keep that under control until your tank "cycles".

Ammonia to Nitrite

Aerobic bacteria are very little organisms. Just like us, they require oxygen and a "food source" for energy. In this case, the food source is ammonia.

As the ammonia rises, aerobic bacteria begin to colonize in the porous surfaces of the filter media where the water flowing through brings them more food (ammonia) and oxygen. Because of the plentiful food source (the spike in the ammonia levels) the bacteria population has a tendency to explode to the point of making the water cloudy. As the bacteria "eat" the ammonia, the ammonia levels drop and the bacteria expel waste. This waste is nitrite.

Nitrite to Nitrate

Now you will see a spike in the nitrites as the bacteria break the ammonia down into nitrites. It's now that the second type of aerobic bacteria takes hold in the filter alongside the first. These bacteria utilize the oxygen and nitrites in the water and produce nitrates. So now both your ammonia and nitrite levels will drop and should maintain at a nice low level. However, you will have a steady increase in the levels of nitrates.

Removing Nitrate

Nitrates are less toxic than either nitrites or ammonia, so we can let them build up a little more. However, no aerobic bacteria utilize the nitrates as food. That's where the water changes come into play. The water changes are actually to reduce the nitrate levels. An interesting note is nitrates are good fertilizers. So high nitrate levels will promote algae and pond scum growth. At the same time live plants could help control nitrate levels a little but no turtle can resist tearing up all the plants. The waste water is great for gardens though or for growing your own aquatic plants in a separate tank.

Just because water has evaporated does not mean you don't need water changes! While water does evaporate, the nitrates stay in the tank. Regardless of the amount of water that is normally in the tank, you need to remove 20% of the current level, and then add water back in. Because of evaporation between water changes, you will always end up adding back in more water than you took out.

There are also devices called denitrators that can remove a certain amount of nitrates. Basically they work the same as the regular biological filtration except its sealed and devoid of the oxygen that aerobic bacteria need. As a result, anaerobic bacteria take hold and use CO2 and nitrates from the water as food. They expel nitrogen and oxygen gas, and these gases escape into the air.

In the wild, nitrates are removed by plants and water flow. However, it is not possible to keep enough plants in a tank to control the nitrate levels produced by a turtle.