Habitat - Indoor :: Need tank setup ideas

[mikedpirone]

Hey guys I'm just looking for some input on my turtles tank setup. More like decor because they have all the basics (filter, uvb/uva light, heater, dock). I'm talking like design wise. Here is a pic of the current setup
which frankly I find boring. Please if you would provide links to the items in question because I would really like to see what your talking about. Thanks!

[jenaero]

Ditch the gravel and get large river rocks. Makes it lots easier for cleaning, and the gravel could get eaten which could lead to huge problems for the turts. Throw some fake plants in there. I got the kind meant for terrariums that suction to the side of the tank. They hold up quite well in water and my girls love to sleep/hang out on them. Other than that, it looks good

[mikedpirone]

thanks for the ideas. im still trying to find a way to either trim or find a different pickup tube for the filter. the current one hits the bottom of the tank and makes the filter sit crooked which makes the filter get a bit noisy at times. Originally i was just going to take the bottom part of the tube off but I thought that might make it unsafe for the turtles but Im not sure.

[Emily]

I like your tank. I don't have anything on the bottom of mine except for plants now and some rock looking thing that was made for a fish tank decoration. The less stuff in the tank I think makes for more swimming room.

[mikedpirone]

thanks i got lucky and wound up getting the tank, filter, hood, light for free from my fathers friend who happens to have 2 adult RES. They out grew this tank and he just gave me everything for free.

[fishandcandy]

My turtle Petri loves his fake plant. It was only 3 or 4 dollars at Walmart. It's got tall sturdy leaves, so he can climb around in it. He's also got one of those rock looking things and he usually sleeps on that. I'm pretty sure that was from Walmart, too.

[sonyj]

That's really great on your set-up that you will not have to sink too much money into it at once.

Just a thought, but since this is used equipment, you might want to find out how old the UVB light is. Some UVB lights need to be replaced every six months while others are around a year. And since they do not burn out like the heat light, it would be a good idea to start with a new one if it is very old at all. And of course you should be able to tell if the heat light works or not.

Be sure to share pics with us as soon as you get your RES.

[jeggy]

put a sponge between the filter pickup tube and tank to cut down on the noise.

me personally, i would add some bright colorfull plants in there. not too many thought as to take up valuable swimming space. i just got a 60 gal. tank for my 4 in. turtle and i have it almost filled up. LOTS of swimming space for my turtle. and he swims a lot. like a kid plaing in an open meadeow

[steve]

Is that a hatchling in there with the bigger turtle? If it is, it is highly inadvisable to keep them together with such a variation in size (attacks and aggression are often problems).

[mikedpirone]

they were both bought at the same time and were both the same size. i posted a while ago trying to figure out why such a massive growth in such a short period of time but noone was able to figure out why. they were both bought in september. the smaller one is now an inch and 3/4's and the larger one is 3 and 1/4 inches long. there has been no signs of aggression at all....oddly enough the smaller one pushes the bigger one around. they get along fine except for feeding time. i feed the larger one first then remove him and feed the smaller one to make sure it gets its share.

[steve]

When there is such a difference, most people can pin it down to one turtle being able to out compete the other for food. My male RES is rarely aggressive when it comes to pellets. Separate feeding and weighing may be necessary to confirm it. If one of them is female, she would eventually outgrow a male of the same age and there could be a rare genetic anomaly...

[mikedpirone]

yeah i figured that the larger one was stealing all the food so thats the reasoning behind the seperate feedings now. i am going to start to do a monthly growth chart to see if it helped any.