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Hello fellow RES owners!


I inherited my RES from my nephew when he moved away from Iowa to Washington state.
My turtles name is Franklin (not named by me) and he is approximately 6 inches long across the shell. No real way for me to determine the turtles real age because I don't know how long my nephew had him for or when or where he was purchased.

When I got Franklin he was in a 20 gallon tank, he had a very poor HoT filter that was rated for 10 gallons a small heater and a screen on the top. I immediately went out and purchased a Zoo Med 501 canister filter, a UVA lamp and a UVB lamp and some "Turtle Rock" substrate, and a Zoo Med Turtle Dock. Well the single 501 wasn't enough so I got a second one and got rid of the substrate rock because he just dug it up and pushed it out from his place where he liked to be. And it was a pain to clean. I ended up going with large stacking stones to decorate the bottom and this made cleaning much easier.

He lived in that tank for close to 6 months before I had a friend offer to sell me her old 55 gallon tank for $20 and it even came with a screen.

Current Specs:
55 gallon Long tank
75 Gallon Wood Tank Stand
Zilla Slimline Tropical 25 UVB T8 Fluorescent Fixture
Zoo Med Reptile Lamp Stand
Fluker's 5.5 Porcelain Clamp Lamp
Zoo Med Turtle Tuff 90 Watt Halogen Lamp
Zoo Med Turtle Dock with a thermometer mounted next to it to make sure Franklin doesn't cook himself
Aqueon 200 Watt Submersible Aquarium heater (rated for 55-75 gallons)
Fluval 406 Canister Filter with default media load and arrangement. (rated for 100 gallons)

I keep the tank about 2/3 of the way full (about 30-35 gallons of water) and I have spend weeks reading up on how to care for a RES and learning from my mistakes. I set up his new tank about a month ago and aside from the two gold fish that managed to outgrow his mouth there are no other occupants in the tank. No plants for him to eat or dig up no major obstructions for to get in the way of his swimming pleasure.

Franklin is so much happier now that he can swim; he never had room to swim in his old tank. now he swims all the time and basks on his dock for hours at a time/ (when he thinks no one is watching, the moment someone moves he dives for cover.)

I have so many questions I want to ask regarding Filters and Substrate as well as other questions but for now I will just start with this intro.

I look forward to hearing from everyone.

Just a couple of pictures of Franklin and his home.

Looks good. For filters check out viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145 and viewtopic.php?f=9&t=17250 For substrate you can either go bare bottom, probably the cleanest because nothing to hold waste. Sand is a popular substrate there is viewtopic.php?f=6&t=17268 if you are looking at stone you it is a little harder to clean because it has to be larger than the turtles head and suction doesn't work well under them. I have seen examples of homemade under gravel/rock filtration that pulls the debris from the bottom into the canister filter.

Thanks Listen97 for the feedback and the links! The reading has been really informative! I have done a lot of reading regarding sand for a substrate and I can see how appealing it might be but my turtle likes to DIG a lot! its the reason I went with the large stacking stones for a substrate versus the "Turtle Rock" I had in tank to begin with. Does any one have any experience or feedback with using large flat river rock?

Welcome to the site. The setup looks good, though the basking lamp should be closer (to warm the basking area to about 95F) and UVB light should also be over the basking area (usually between 6-12 in depending on the type).

steve wrote:Welcome to the site. The setup looks good, though the basking lamp should be closer (to warm the basking area to about 95F) and UVB light should also be over the basking area (usually between 6-12 in depending on the type).

Thanks for the warm welcome Steve.

The light is a work in progress lol, I originally had it sitting directly on top of the screen that I had with the tank and the temp for the basking are was exceeding 110 degrees so I got the stand and I am going through trial and error to get the ideal temp. I currently have a 90 watt bulb above the basking area. I also have a second dome that I can put over the basking area for the UVB light. Do you have any suggestions as to which bulb to use? And speaking of temp, I have a question regarding your comment. You recommend that the temp should be at about 95 degrees. However I have read in various places that the temp should be about 10 degrees warmer than the water temp. I keep the tank at about 75 degrees for the water.. Is this too cold? do I need to make it warmer?

Also I have scoured over your postings about substrate and I see how much you love sand but I am not sure I want to go with sand because I don't want to make the filter work any harder than it has to. Can you recommend any other alternatives for substrate, I am currently using Stacking Stones http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3973418&lmdn=Theme I obtained from Petsmart to give the tank some texture but I am open to alternatives. Would polished or sealed river rock be ok to use?

I have seen picture after picture of the folks you "Converted" to sand and in the end I may look into that option but I am also curious about alternatives.

Thanks for your help!

I'm using a 50 watt halogen that's about 8 inches away from the basking area and my RES warm up to about 95G sometimes. They can move around if they don't want to be so warm. If you want to use a compact florescent, most people use a Reptisun 5.0 or ReptiGlo 5.0

75F is great for larger RES. The basking area should be at least 10F warmer to entice basking. My basking areas are large enough that my RES can choose a cooler spot if they want too.

If properly set up, sand won't necessarily make the filter work harder. As for the stones, just keep in mind you'll probably have to move them around once a week or so to clean under them.

steve wrote:I'm using a 50 watt halogen that's about 8 inches away from the basking area and my RES warm up to about 95G sometimes. They can move around if they don't want to be so warm. If you want to use a compact florescent, most people use a Reptisun 5.0 or ReptiGlo 5.0

75F is great for larger RES. The basking area should be at least 10F warmer to entice basking. My basking areas are large enough that my RES can choose a cooler spot if they want too.

If properly set up, sand won't necessarily make the filter work harder. As for the stones, just keep in mind you'll probably have to move them around once a week or so to clean under them.

If I chose to use a power head and position it toward the bottom of the tank would that help in keeping debris out from under the stones if I decided to go that route?

If I decided to go with sand. How often would you suggest I clean the filter given my current set up?

There's no guarantee that a powerhead will be able to move all the debris. For sand, I don't think there is additional cleaning after the initial setup.

I've been fighting that battle and a power head DOES NOT do the trick.

When I filled her tank after a partial water change, the hose washed out all kinds of crud. I was quite surprised.
Now, my routine is to brush the rocks once or twice a week, and then yank out the vacuum to catch what I stirred up.
I also run the power head for a few hours on days that I am not brushing to get things 'moving'
Regardless, I have been pulling them every Saturday and still find a lot of gunk.
All I have to say is....I love my cool new rocks, but after having a bare bottom tank for several years, I am so close to yanking them!!!!

Just like Steve I also just put in a 50w basking bulb and it's about 5'' away and the temp is at 92°, it's trial and error with that!

Hello and welcome.

+1 for sand substrate. An excellent filter+sand=very little maintenance