Using an old turtle tank as an aquarium?

irmuddled

irmuddled

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Jan 4, 2009
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I was given a 55 gallon tank, stand, canopy, a nice coralight fixture, and two red eared sliders. The tank is WAY too small for two large turtles, so I put them in bigger housing and now I'm left with a very pretty setup with a tank full of turtle bacteria, stench, and crap. :crazy: I'm really tempted to use it since it's just there taking space and I can use the light fixture to get a planted tank I've wanted for a while... but I don't think it's humane to put any sort of living specimen in there.

What, if any, is the best way to completely clean and disinfect this turtle tank so I can use it for fish? Or should I just not bother and get another glass tank for it and dump the messy one?
 
I would remove everything in the tank, clean it if you plan on re using it or give it away. As for the tank...fill with warm water and bleach. Let it soak for about an hour. Drain part way down and use elbow grease and a soft cloth to clean the interior.

Drain completely and let dry. Then inspect the interior silicone closely. It should be intact and not have evidence of being chewed on. It should also feel pliable, not hard and brittle. When in doubt, do an interior reseal by scraping out all existing silicone and apply new and let cure.
 
I use white vinegar and water and leave it for a day or two, but with turtles bleach is prolly better.

Also, measure the glass just in case. It should be 8-10mm
 
I've used vinegar but never bleach, but I've heard of people using it. How much bleach should I add? It should be diluted right? How do you guys make sure that you rinse off all that stuff once you're done cleaning it? o.O

I'm going to start emptying out all the stones and decorations it had tomorrow and the cleaning it... whoo boy. Thanks for the help! :)
 
Hi
I use bleach all of the time. I would drain all water out and leave any decor that you want cleaned (not gravel, I would dump that if there is any. Most turtle keepers do not use any substrait as it is hard to keep clean.) Fill tank about 10 gals and 1/2 gal bleach. let soak over night. remove all decor from tank, rinse well let air dry...good as new. With the bleach water in the tank scrub all sides of tank and empty. Rinse well air dry and you will have a nice 'clean' tank.
Good luck
 
you want to be careful. I bought a turtle tank and used it for fish and the sides started bowing. I agree, measure the glass.
 
How do I measure the glass? O.O It's a regular 55 gallon glass fish tank I think, is it because the turtles bump themselves against the glass and it makes thinner? Eek... very uneasy with this tank...

THANKS SO MUCH on the bleach instructions :) I feel so clueless, haha!
 
I think that tanks designed for reptiles are just designed with thinner glass. Don't know how to measure the glass, but perhaps you could just fill it up and check for bowing?
 
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