Help with my turtle tank setup

A

akoni777

Off to the Sandbox
Sep 4, 2004
3
0
0
42
Iraq soon, maybe Afghanistan
Currently I have gotten 2 Red-earred sliders. They're very small right now probably 1.5 inches in diameter. I have been looking around lately to find them a new setup (Currently they're in a 2.5 gallon shallow plastic reptile container). I want to have enough space for the both of them (1 male 1 female) once they're all grown up. The things I am looking for and would need help with are:

Tank: Gallon Size, and Dimensions (I don't want anything to deep).

Filter: I was thinking an Emperor 400 setup, or possibly a Fluval. Don't know which is best for turtles.

Driftwood: Possibly something they can climb on for basking purposes I seen an okay one at Petsmart.

Any other essentials I missed please feel free to comment. Didn't have much time to write this post out....

Thanks,
Anthony Hidalgo
 
How did you obtain that 1.5 inches RES? Anyways.

If you want to keep them both in the same tank when they're old, you will need 240+ gallon tank. 120+ gallon is reccomended for one. They might fight for territory, although since they're young, they will probably learn to "share". Not sure, not much of an expert. I own one and I've been reading a lot.

So 240+ gallon tank should be good, although a 20+ gallon will work for now. Or you can just get a 120+ gallon tano for both of the RES if you fill up the whole tank.

See, 120+ gallon tank is reccomended for one, but you only fill that with like half the water so u have room for a basking area. What I did is make a platform basking area on top of the tank so u can fill it up more than half the water.

Or other ideas can be obtained from

http://www.atphabitats.com/basking.htm (Make sure to check the Tank-Top Platform bottom of the page), what i use is similar and its really great. Just make sure the ramp doesnt get in the way for the light to shine on the plants(incase u want to add).

Those homemade ones seems to be great.

Also, make sure you get UVB and UVA. I once bought a lamp that gives heat and UVA and i thoguht i was set. I only know that UVA makes them feel good(lol) but UVB is what they need for their shell/growth because of calcium.
 
Also, many people use RubberMaid for their turtles. It's very cheap. But you just cant really watch the turtle do some of what they do when they're in the bottom.

Also, lol, too much also. Anyways, make sure you have a great hiding place for them. When they're new to an enviornment/people, they might be scared and they will definitely want a hiding place.

You can read a lot of stuff from this place http://happyturtle.ms11.net// .
 
wow that seems pretty large of a tank. Good thing their's Craig's list. During the first year or so how large will they get. I know the average size of a full grown is 8-12 inches. Hopefully they don't get to large, I'll be headed to Iraq in October for a year and a half so my wife will be taking care of them while I'm away. I wanted to get a decent sized tank until the time I return and buy my house to build an outdoor environment. I think I might go for a 20 gallon tank, do you think they'll outgrow that buy the time i return or should i get a 55 gallon tank. I acquired them in L.A. Supposedly it's illegal to sell them but to own them is a whole different story, can anyone confirm this? I found several 55 gallon full setup (filter and all) for around $100. I really think this would work....any suggestions on the filters that you would use or recommend. I wanted to get a submersible just so they can have some sort of current.

any info would be nice.
 
Yes, that's correct with the illegal to sell, legal to own.

Anyways, I live in Canada so I don't know about eh prices up there but I DO thing that that $100 for 55 setup is good. Go for that instead. The 20 gallon can only support 1 RES, even if it's 1.5 inches. They kinda grow a fast pace when young compared to when they get older, like 10 years perhaps.

So I suggest the 55 setup you're talking about, should be great. I hope you decide to make that Top-Tank Platform for basking area. Really great since there's more room for water. Also, try getting a setup that doesn't have a hood/canopy(Although I doubt there is such as that). Since you will need light over the basking area and the hood/canopy will just get in the way. I wouldn't reccomend the tubes.
 
souds good hopefully that aquarium is still for sale. Any suggestions on the filter? Should i get a submerisble or a bio-wheel? I had a bio-wheel for the fish tank that we once had, it worked well but I'm not sure how well it would work with this setup since the water isn't going to be too deep.
 
Canister, the XP or whatever is a good choice from what i heard. It might be too expensive though. Well, for me it is. I'm very young, haha. Since you're using a 55 gallon, get one of those AquaClear instead for now. Unless you want to just buy one filter to save money. Either Canister, the XP or AquaClear(temp). I heard ebay sells cheap ones. But hey, go to http://invisionfree.com/forums/Happy_Turtles_Pub/ . They may help you with better information. It's a turtle forum, the site is good too. Its one of the links i gave you earlier.
 
I have a small red eared slider myself.I keep him in a 20 gallon tank and he seems pretty happy. I have a fluval 2 plus filter which works well. For a basking spot I have a turtle dock by ZOO Med. I also added some plants.
 
i bought a turtle and its very small the people didnt tell me wut kinda of turtle it was but thay said that they wouldnt get but a few inches bigger. i took it to a pet store and they told me that my turtle was illegal and it was goin 2 be about 12inches in diameter. if i keep it in a small tank will it stay the right size to keep it in the tank?
 
megan52290 said:
i bought a turtle and its very small the people didnt tell me wut kinda of turtle it was but thay said that they wouldnt get but a few inches bigger. i took it to a pet store and they told me that my turtle was illegal and it was goin 2 be about 12inches in diameter. if i keep it in a small tank will it stay the right size to keep it in the tank?
Click to expand...
No eventually it would die. Turtles need lots of space and lots of filtration. I would purchase a book on owning turtles and read it forwards and backwards. The best way I have seen turtles kept have been either the plastic pond setups or using plastic kid pools for them with a series of lights above their setups with live plants and huge canister filters. But they do really well in these setups and live for years.
sorry, if I sound cranky, To many turtles die from poor care. People claim they are gonna take care of them but over a period of time, horror stories of their pet's death. Trust me, I have done this myself as well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom