Turtle Thursday: Miscalculation Part 2

Silent Bob the Diamondback Terrapin basking on his floating log.

Miscalculation Part Two: Slash and Burn

Last week I described some miscalculations I made when setting up a new tank, here:

http://baxojayz.blogspot.com/2007/11/turtle-thursday-miscalculation.html#links

This past weekend I had to do a complete tank cleaning, or what I refer to as Slash And Burn. Sometimes you have tank quality drop to a low that you have to take drastic steps. Usually I can get away with only changing 25% - 33% of the water in my other tanks weekly to freshen them up, on major cleanings I change about 75% - 80% of the water. However, when water gets to the point that it's murky and swampy, you have to clean everything thoroughly and drain out every drop of water.

Here's how I slashed and burned Bob's tank last weekend:

I drained the tank to the bottom. I scrubbed the entire tank with bleach and let it sit with bleach in it. I took the Fluval 304 apart, rinsed the filter matter completely and soaked all of it's parts in bleach. I scrubbed the floating log.

Next, anything in contact with bleach has to be completely rinsed to remove as much bleach as possible. Allow all parts to dry.

At that point you can put everything back together as usual, I use more of the solvent that allows chlorine to leach out of water after a cleaning like this.

Bottom line? When setting up a new tank, you need to watch it very carefully to make sure everything works properly. It's a good idea to check the set-up frequently over the first week, especially. If you have recurring algae and / or murky water conditions, you might actually have too much light, or heat or both and may need to make an adjustment.