Photo Gallery :: Spanky's set-up

[Stacey]

Freshly cleaned set-up. I added the small rocks and an extra little filter for that area because it seems to have turned into his "pooping spot"


This was with his old rock basking area, sorry the pic is so blurry, it was the flash from my camera.

[jenaero]

he looks like a big guy. How big is he? What size is the tank?

You might want to put more stuff in there to keep him from getting bored. Large river rocks, plastic plants, a cave...

[Stacey]

He is about 7" now, and the tank is 72 gallon bow front. I know I have to upgrade very soon, but money is extremely tight right now with the wedding. He is actually very amused with the bubble wall, and loves to push his rocks around. He is due for some more rosies as he just finished his last one yesterday.

I have looked for a cave (or something similar) but can't find one big enough for him. He used to have some fake plants, but tore them to pieces.

[marisa]

Too bad he's destructive with fake plants (even plastic ones?)--some green in the tank (but not the water ) would give a more natural look.

[soopermum62]

Nice looking RES stacey! Don't be too discouraged about the bare tank..
throw a ping pong ball in there and watch him play with it.

[BigCT]

I have looked for a cave (or something similar) but can't find one big enough for him. He used to have some fake plants, but tore them to pieces.

What i did was go down to the local Home depot and picked up some Square bricks/ steping stones. I cleaned them off and baked for a while to make sure anything living would be killed off. stacked a couple up and put a peice of slate on the top.

Being a natural stone (the slate) there is a little gap on the top so when the turts are in the cave they can poke the heads out and breath. they love to run and hide when i come in the room to fast.

I'll try to get pics uploaded soon

[pkneeyahx]

stacey.. that is fricken beautiful!!!!

are you single?? :]

just kidding!

[GouzlanTheAmerican]

i wouldnt worry about upgrading yet. 72 gallons is plenty for a 7 in. turtle. i wouldnt worry about getting a bigger tank till he is about 8 1/2 -9 in. big. just add some more rocks in the bottom and it would look a lot better.

Good Setup!

[Stacey]

I am happy with his tank and how it is setup. After I get married and buy the house (and live happily ever after.......... ) we are giving Spanky his own room!!! We are putting a pond in our house for him, but with our zoo at home he needs his own space. I have a "buddy" at Big Al's that will special order what they normally use for the feeder fish tanks, the HUGE rubbermaid looking things. It is around 150 gallons. I am basically going to make it look like an above ground pool with a waterfall.
Spoiled little turtle

[pkneeyahx]

Stacy,
Here's something to think about. Old bathtubs. There is a place a block away from me called Rebound. They basically sell off old junk donated to this shelter.

Anyways, in the furniture section they have 4 bathtubs just screaming to become ponds. Regular soax-in-the-tub deep bathtubs all 15 bucks each.

If I had the room, I'd buy one, build up a custom stand for it much similar to my current setup, but raised up higher.

It has it's drainage holes, but I'm sure if brought to a plumbling specialist and told them your plans, they'd fix it up nice nice.

Just something to think about. Bathtubs are deep, wide and long.. seems perfect to me!

[jenaero]

Adam, that's exactly what we're going to do when we buy a house. We want to find an oversized bathtub, hook it up in the basement with plumbing and all, so all you have to do to drain is pull the plug, and run the water to fill. We'll put up a wall, and make a natural grassy/dirt/rock area with live plants so they can get out and walk around. I can't wait!

[pkneeyahx]

it might have to be built with it raised up, and the spot where it would normally drain out would have a heavy duty 1 way shut off valve instead of a plug. I wouldn't want to rely on some piece of rubber sitting in the drainage hole.. especially when turts like to get into things.. :]

but that would be awesome.. have it installed like a regular run of the mill bathtub.. but raised up about 2 or 3 feet, so you'll have room underneath to have cabinet space for food/filter & tubes, and your turtle gear.. plus, you'll be able to go underneath and switch the drainage valve for cleanups..

Man.. that is just too too GOOD!!!

[steve]

ever thought of a preformed pond? this site has some great looking ponds i'd want to put together

http://www.maccourt.com/products/ponds.html

[Brianthedog18]

How do you connect a filter to a bathtub? It's an awesome idea, but I don't get how a filter would work, or how you'd even find one powerful enough!

[bradhart]

There's filters designed for outdoor ponds. There's definatly one big enough for a tub. It would most likely be a canister, so you wouldn't have to hang it. PondMaster, I believe is a brand name of some heavy duty filters.