Скачать или смотреть Buiding a turtle pond on a budget part 2

Part 2 of our big pond project! This step is all about SAND. Sand is actually my least favorite substrate for a pond or tank, but there’s a reason we HAD to use it. It has a couple of perks as well. We had to put sand at the bottom of this turtle pond because the turtles being housed in the stock tank are Eastern Spiny Softshell Turtles. All softshell turtles burrow in the sand. They use this tactic to stay safe from predators because they do have a soft shell and it keeps them hidden. They spend most of their time in the sand, occasionally poking their head out. This is such an important aspect of their habitat, so sand was non-negotiable. I personally don’t like to use sand because it takes forever to wash and it’s known to mess up or clog your filters, making things difficult. I will say that sand does not need to be cleaned like a pebble substrate, just mixed, and it does look clean overall for the bottom of a tank or pond. So, we bought 1 1/2 tons of sand for only $35 and we filled the pond up with the amount of sand needed for four softshell turtles. We did not use all the sand we bought!! We used the extra sand for our child’s sandbox, filling holes in the yard, and replacing the pine shavings in our chicken coop.After filling, we started to mix the sand with the water hose. The water and hose was stirring up the sand which was washing away dirt and debris found in it. As it was being filled and mixed, we placed a pump in the water to flush out the dirty water. We also mixed with the rake net to make sure all of the sand was washed. This is continued until the water is clear! Then we fill it up! We already had the net and pump, so all we had to do for part two was buy the sand. Here is the updated spending list: Spending:Stock Tank- $300 Pavers- $40Wood- freeLeveling Sand- free1 1/2 tons of sand- $35#homesteading #outdoorpond #turtlepond #turtleponds #naturelovers #pondlife #gardenlandscaping #gardenponds #gardenpond #landscaping #yardwork #turtle #turtles #softshellturtle #buildingponds #pondbuilder #softshell #sand #outdoorproject #ponds #reptile #aquaticlife #aquaticturtle #pondturtle #project