Could Use Advice On My Turtle/tropical Fish Setup

[logic0010]

ok i built this setup for my girls neon multi color everything 20 gal carbon wallmart filter and under gravel 8in air stone, light at top stays on 24/7, temps stay at 82ish 24/7 heater is a pos turned all the way to bottom
im planning on movine it to a natural look using what i could find flat rocks big rocks pebles
is this a good idea?

also is it harmful for a water turtle "currently 2in" to be in a tropical tank ?
there is a turtle dock. petco 17.99

the good news is i know the turtle dosent eat fish

how do i keep the turtle from eating all ALL the food in the tank

would putting a live plant in the tank help? anything?

my fish include 1 palaco? bottom feeder
2 blind cave dwellers
4 blue neon
1 "long carp looking thing?"bottom feeder
8 ghost shrimp 0.26 wallmart "only bc my kid was screaming"

i empty my tank every month to clean crap builds up on everything fast
any advice would be nice

 

[dwarfgourami]

Hi!

Emptying the tank to clean the crap is not going to be the best idea- when you do that you are cleaning away the beneficial bacteria who eat the toxins produced by the fish's waste. Instead you should do a weekly water change (c. 25%) using a gravel vac and clean the substrate this way.

Eventually you will need to look into the current stocking of the tank. Plecos are heavy waste producers even when they're little, and he is certainly going to outgrow that tank (or end up sick or stunted). Do you know what the carplike thing is and how big it grows?

I would not introduce a turtle into this setup. Have you checked how big the one you saw grows? And are you sure it won't be eating fish when it matures? Those neons would be living dangerously. It may well get snappy and outmanoeuvre the others for food, and you would also (I think) have to accommodate it with a resting rock, which takes room from the other inhabitants. It will also add to the pollution in the tank.

The lights you want to keep on for a maximum of 12 hours a day. Fish are like us, they need quiet time to sleep. Also, keeping the lights on all the time is going to encourage algae growth. What I did was to buy a cheap timer from the hardware store, so I never have to worry about it anymore. The heater and the filter, of course, do want to stay on all the time.

82ish sounds quite a high temperature for the cave tetras and the neons, maybe it should go down into the upper seventies.

Natural rocks should be fine as long as you are sure they are stable (e.g. granite, geniss, and not chalk, limestone etc) and do not contain metal ore. You could try pouring a few drops of vinegar on them; if they fizz they are not suitable. You might want to boil them to make sure they are clean. You can buy rocks in shops as well, but make sure they are not going to alter your ph.

 

[Rick]

Turtles require a much different setup then fish do. All turtles eat fish by the way. Turtles are also very messy and will quickly pollute the tank. I doubt most filters disigned for fish can keep up with a turtles needs. I suggest you check out www.turtleforum.com to learn how to care for your turtle.

 

[logic0010]

Turtles require a much different setup then fish do. All turtles eat fish by the way. Turtles are also very messy and will quickly pollute the tank. I doubt most filters disigned for fish can keep up with a turtles needs. I suggest you check out www.turtleforum.com to learn how to care for your turtle.

dang lots of info there yeay i get that green algie slim all the time even 1 week after completely cleaning it

thanks for the info
also why is lime stone bad for a tank im only worried because i already have a chunck in there

anyone in the us want a 2in water turtle named j.r.? its very shy cause hes gonna be stuck with my tropical fish setup untill i can find a home for it he eats anything that floats thats small rip shrimp had 10 now all i have is 1 im assuming it was the turtle

any advice on how to control the green slime? im hoping using the light for 1/2 day will help

 

[dwarfgourami]

limestone is not poisonous but may alter ph
cutting down on light is one way of controlling algae; also, not overfeeding; also, plants can help as they compete with the algae