summer 2022

mark1

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our summer doesn't start until june 21 , but it's summer , wednesday they say we may get 100 F ...........

this guy barely survived a dog . i actually thought he wouldn't , thought it may affect his hibernation , he can't really close his shell anymore , first winter after his injuries he did suffer some freeze injuries , but he has had no problems since ....
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the gravel on the bottom of this small pond is an under gravel filter . it's been running undisturbed for at least 5 yrs , the pond has never been cleaned beyon removing leaves and sticks in the spring , it has a 55 gallon diy filter that has never been cleaned since the pond was made , around 8yrs , i plan on cleaning it thoroughly this summer .... i tested the water today .........

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mark1

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the outside diy filter is filled with layers of matala filter mat , the gray and blue i believe , and home depot volcanic rock ....... i'm sure i threw whatever i had in the way of ceramic media , bio-balls , bags of zeolite , probably some bags of activated carbon ...... the carbon and zeolite i doubt work anymore , but they provide more surface for nitrifying bacteria ........... the water dumping into the diy filter is extremely turbulant , the top is open so it picks up a lot of oxygen at that point too .....

when i say i'm gonna clean it , it's not that clean after i'm done .....i just remove some of the mulm using the pond water ......

the reason the diy outside filter (55 gal garbage can) doesn't get clogged is because the water is pre filtered through the gravel ....... the gravel does become clogged (packed)... in the spring when i clear out the leaves and sticks , i use the vaccuum to unclog (break it loose)the gravel ....... i also believe all the moss , all the rocks all the aeriation from the water running over all the rocks in thin sheets and falling , everything in this system is filtering the water , nitrifying bacteria live everywhere throughout the entire system ....... the water stays crystal clear , but i think the appearance of the pond is not what some folks would find a pleasing look for their pond , i'm sure some folks would find them "dirty" ....... i'm pretty sure that "dirty" is why the system works .......

this is a filter , you can see a piece of matala in the back , the stainless bands are what it's hanging from ....... the bag is just something i put there around mid winter , it's zeolite and carbon , just use it mid winter to clean up the water a bit .
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these are few of the filters , the weeds growing in them i try not to disturb when i clean them , i think the weeds are a part of the filter .... they are rooted in the matala filter media ....
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i think this is a filter

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and this

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wellington

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I had a huge pond at my old place. It was a lot cleaner and easier then the small one I have now.
The one now was basically a throw it together so I could take my dads fish when he passed.
The biggest problem is the full sun which loves to grow green algae. Plus it's a bit over stocked. The darn fish had babies last year.
I figure if it's got clear water where you can see the fish/turtles and they live and thrive, it's a good pond.
 

mark1

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tested this today , i've never tested it before , was the water for 7 baby box turtles for about 4-5 yrs , i opened it up to the larger pen now that they're big enough to spot , so 14-15 box turtles now use it .... it's a 20 gallon cement mixing tub , and a bucket that holds maybe a gallon of water ..... it is an under gravel filter and the diy bucket external filter ..... it's ran undisturbed since the summer of 2019 .......

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it appears there is no problem getting it to nitrate but then there is no place for the nitrate to go ........ i cleared out the leaf debris added a lot of fresh water and am going to try and root some plants ,possibly the two rose of sharon i put in there will take , i just yanked them out the ground , but they're pretty invasive , they may take ........ if the plants take this 20 gallons of water may be pretty much self sustaining ......

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mark1

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poured rain this morning , this guy definitely got himself a spot to get out the rain ..... he appears to have grown quite a bit in 10 days ....

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these look to get in the rain

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mark1

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pouring rain again , the owl was back ...he kinda matches the osb walls , he scared the hell out of me first time i seen him , i turned and he was sitting there staring at me about 5 feet away ... i'm gonna hate evicting him , hopefully he leaves on his own before the end of summer .........

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the extension cord is for a heat lamp for a turtle that doesn't appear to be feeling well found her stuck upside down in the sun on a hot day , don't know how long , but she was acting really wierd for quite awhile after ...... been sitting in a dish under the heat lamp since , she's looking better ....

this one came really close to getting killed by a dog , he got lucky ......
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mark1

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lots of turtle predators active at night at this time of year ....... i've seen one wood turtle in the past 2 weeks........ always concerns me a bit , usually takes a week or two to know i seen all 4 in this pen , pretty rare they make it this easy .....

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mark1

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i cleaned 3 filters this weekend , none of the 3 had been cleaned in 3yrs ..........
the 25 gallon tub the box turtles use had nitrates, 10ppm , nitrite 0ppm , ammonia 0ppm, the filter and the gravel were pretty clogged with sludge ......... the sludge is completely odorless , it smells like nothing ...... if the sludge in your under gravel or filter has an odor , imo your filter isn't working .....
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some turtles were active , lots of them are not moving around ....

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Cathie G

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i cleaned 3 filters this weekend , none of the 3 had been cleaned in 3yrs ..........
the 25 gallon tub the box turtles use had nitrates, 10ppm , nitrite 0ppm , ammonia 0ppm, the filter and the gravel were pretty clogged with sludge ......... the sludge is completely odorless , it smells like nothing ...... if the sludge in your under gravel or filter has an odor , imo your filter isn't working .....
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some turtles were active , lots of them are not moving around ....

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I absolutely love pic no. 6!😊 and all the rest too. But number 6 says it all.😁 too cute 🥰
 

Cathie G

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I absolutely love pic no. 6!😊 and all the rest too. But number 6 says it all.😁 too cute 🥰
No!!! It was number 7😁 with the tort putting her foot down 🦵 and number 6 too. Okay whatever 😅
 

mark1

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No!!! It was number 7😁 with the tort putting her foot down 🦵 and number 6 too. Okay whatever 😅
they are extremely curious animals , curious without an obvious reward, how that correlates to intelligence is probably arguable ........ my box turtles and the four wood turtles in the bigger pen do not associate me with food , when they see me they run and hide ...they seldom see me feed them...... i opened up a new section of the box turtles pen a couple years ago, it involved a couple hours work , all the turtles were hiding , when i was done and left , within 5-10 minutes three or four box turtles were out wandering around the area i just opened up.....
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Cathie G

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they are extremely curious animals , curious without an obvious reward, how that correlates to intelligence is probably arguable ........ my box turtles and the four wood turtles in the bigger pen do not associate me with food , when they see me they run and hide ...they seldom see me feed them...... i opened up a new section of the box turtles pen a couple years ago, it involved a couple hours work , all the turtles were hiding , when i was done and left , within 5-10 minutes three or four box turtles were out wandering around the area i just opened up.....
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I once read somewhere (I can't remember whether it was here on TFO or not) that box turtles are timid and stay that way. I know the little one that I took care of did. She was such a sweet little lady. I always tried to keep that in mind with her to minimize her stress being in captivity. Sapphire is the total opposite.🤗
 

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