Converting 50g turtle tub to 50g goldfish pond

I am relocating my native wild caught turtle back to the wild on Monday. I plan to use his 50 gallon rubbermaid tub as an indoor pond for my goldfish. I have been told I need to thoroughly scrub it with bleach, rinse it until the bleach smell is gone, and then soak it in water treated with prime or a like product. This is to help get rid of the ammonia that has soaked into the plastic.

How long should I let it soak. Will I have to do multiple soaks?

Once the ammonia issue is resolved, how can I go about filtering it? I don't have a lot of money to spend but I do need some way of filtering the water without going crazy. Should I do bare bottom or substrate if I plan on breeding these in the future?

This pond will be indoor.

 

You might want to double check local regulations but generally speaking you should not bring wild animals (especially reptiles and amphibians) into captivity and then re-release them.

 

First, it would be better for the turtle to return to the wild as I cannot provide an enclosure large enough for him at this time and therefore cannot provide proper care. I have had him in my care for a little over a month. Second, that is not what I was asking about. I've already been lectured on this forum about having him in the first place.

 

the turtle will die he will not know how to hunt anymore being fed in captivity

 

I have only had him for a month and he is a grown common snapping turtle. His shell alone is over 12" long. He has not forgotten how to hunt. He will be just fine. Please stick to the topic I actually asked about.

 

I don't see why you need to soak it to get rid of ammonia. I would think just a scrub with a diluted bleach solution, one with no fragrance and a good scrub with a soft cloth would take care of any possible parasite problem , then completely rinse with clean tap water till no more smell is left . You're going to refill with prime treated water to put the fish in. As far as filters go I like the Pennplax cascade 400 internal filter because it is simple, does a very good job, attaches to the inside with suction cups. With the goldfish I would do two of the fancy not the comets because of size.If one is not enough you could put two filters in there eventually. Alison

 

Thank you for actually answering my question!

When I first brought the turtle inside he was kept in a smaller rubbermaid tub overnight until we could get a larger tub for him. I later used that tub for guppies and ammonia kept leeching into the water so it was recommended to me to soak the tub in water with an ammonia neutralizing agent in it. I will try with just the bleach cleaning and test the water after and see if I have any ammonia problems. If I do, I'll try the soak. Thank you!

And I want to keep these comets. They are still little. Only about 2" or so. This tub is just temporary until I can get into a house where I can put a larger container pond or build one outside.

 

In that case you should be fine. Let me know how you make out with the water test after. Is there any ammonia in your tap water? Your welcome by the way. Alison

 

There is no ammonia in my tap water. That was the first thing I checked.

 

The turtle has been released and I will start scrubbing the tub. My co-worker mentioned using peroxide and vinegar instead of bleach. Would this be okay?

 

White vinegar and Hydrogen peroxide would be fine . Alison