Habitat - Indoor :: how much UV does my juvenile yellow belly slider need?

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Thu Jul 07, 2022 3:13 pm   how much UV does my juvenile yellow belly slider need?

I have a 30 gallon aquarium that has been only for fish until very recently. I rescued a young YBS (approx 3.5 inches long) crossing the street in a residential area, and picked it up with the intention of releasing it into the creek behind my house, where I have seen wild YBS living.

Instead of releasing it immediately, I decided to keep it in my 30 gallon fish tank for a while, until it gets too large, at which point I will release it again as originally planned.

The tank has a lot of living vegetation, a heater, stays around 85 degrees in spring through fall, and a few degrees cooler in winter. To make the tank more suitable, I have upgraded the filter from an aqueon 30 to an aqueon 75 to ensure the water stays clean, and purchased a floating basking pad that is sitting at the top of the tank. It is only a few inches from the 24" LED tube light i currently have, which does not provide UV light. I am looking into UV options and I want to ensure it gets enough, but not too much.

The tube is only a few inches from the basking pad, I keep it on 14+ hours a day, and the entire tank is illuminated. I am concerned that a UV tube like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AQU8GF0/?t ... petnetw-20 running that long would provide too much UVB. From what I understand, YBS have relatively low UV requirements. i do not want to put the tube on a timer, as it is also the primary source of light in my bedroom at night, and i prefer to keep it on until i go to sleep.

Would something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095Z2CZTS/?t ... petnetw-20 be more appropriate? I could put it right above the basking pad, on a 12 hour timer separate from the main lighting.

I could also just bring it outside occasionally - would a few hours a week of direct Florida sun be sufficient?
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Post Posted: Fri Jul 08, 2022 1:49 pm   Re: how much UV does my juvenile yellow belly slider need?

For the sake of simplicity, I would opt for the Reptisun. I don't think it would be excessive in the amount of UVB it provides and many RES keepers use higher output setups. I have no idea how well an LED-UVB combo would work... or if they would work at all. Taking your turtle out into the sun on occasion is also recommended, provided that you have a safe enclosure for him.
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Jul 29, 2022 8:14 am   Re: how much UV does my juvenile yellow belly slider need?

Good job upgrading the filter!

For UVB normally tube is much better and I normally avoid LED/coil UVB options because they often don't emit anywhere near what they claim to. I like to make sure my RES have too much UVB, don't worry and go with the tube.
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