General Care Discussion :: Any experiences with corner/seam guards?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2024 4:04 pm   Any experiences with corner/seam guards?

I have a 20 year old RES. And my dumb jerk of a turtle likes aquarium silicone... He really likes to eat, claw, or try to burrow into aquarium silicone. And I've had 2 aquariums leak on me. The next time will be the last and my room mate and landlord will declare no more turtle. With the latest Aquarium I made sure it was super level with wooden shims. But I'm not satisfied.

I read enough to avoid gravel. Sand and substrates can get really dirty with turtles (although I am open to this idea if there's any recommendations). At one point I was using filter ceramic rings as a form of substrate for him to dig around in.

What I was thinking about now is some sort of plastic (or whatever) guard to just block him from getting at the silicone. I found this but was a little concerned about it having something toxic in it.

https://www.americanfloormats.com/clear ... bkQAvD_BwE

Does anybody have any experience with something along these lines? Protecting the seams from a destructive turtle?
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 31, 2024 11:04 pm   Re: Any experiences with corner/seam guards?

How big are your aquariums? I've noticed that if the silicone application is not smooth, they will have something to bite onto. Algae on the silicone both weakens it and makes it more appetizing.

I'm not sure how you would attach those clean corner guards. I like the idea but would be hard to secure. If you only want to protect the bottom of the tank, I would consider egg crate (light diffuser) and weigh it down with tile. It won't look great and will trap some waste too.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 10, 2024 12:13 pm   Re: Any experiences with corner/seam guards?

steve wrote:How big are your aquariums? I've noticed that if the silicone application is not smooth, they will have something to bite onto. Algae on the silicone both weakens it and makes it more appetizing.

I'm not sure how you would attach those clean corner guards. I like the idea but would be hard to secure. If you only want to protect the bottom of the tank, I would consider egg crate (light diffuser) and weigh it down with tile. It won't look great and will trap some waste too.

It was a 50 gallon that first leaked. It had algae on it like you were saying. The second was a 75 gallon and it seemed fine, but I'd be lying if I said I examined it that closely, it didn't have a ton of algae on it The new one looks really smooth, but I see him clawing and digging at it consistently.
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 11, 2024 11:51 pm   Re: Any experiences with corner/seam guards?

I would try the egg crate (though that would trap a lot debris without regular cleaning) but sand is usually a nice option.
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