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well its been quite some time ive been here ... to refresh everybody i have a 75 gallon tank and 1 RES turtle about 8-9 inches in length ... in the past ive used cork as a basking area and it worked very well .. but now my turtle has gotten big and heavy and ive had her for a bit over 2 years now ... the cork doesnt manage anymore and she hasent been fully dry in a very long time ... it is mainly my fault but i just moved and have been so busy .. i was wondering if i could build a new dock made out of wood from a 4x4 but i need to know is it toxic for the turtle?? .. ive heard to use plastic with silicon but im afraid my turtle will be too heavy and i want something that looks natural... ive heard of those zoomed docks but the biggest size they have is the size of my turtle ... ive read some posts but everybody seems to have small turtles .. too bad for me i overfed my turtle when she was young and she grew way too fast... so im asking anybody for any ideas on wut to build my new baskin area for my turtle .. it would be greatly appreciated .. and also im tight on money so have that in mind .. thank you for your time

There are a lot of examples for option in the photo gallery, you may want to check there for some ideas. I know that many people use rock and pvc piping to make docks for larger turtles. There are a few examples of out of the tank basking areas made from wood. I don't think wood being in the water, I mean the kind you'd use to build a house with, would be good for a turtle. I'm sure others will add their suggestions too ..

ive thought about pvc pipes and rocks but i think they take up quite abit of swimming space ... i plan on building the basking area to have a dry top area then have 2 legs for support so it still allows the turtle to swim under the dock and have some shade ... with rocks and pvc pipes it takes her shade away and some of her swimming area

You can always build an above tank enclosed basking area. It's pretty easy to do. That's what I did. Frees up the entire tank for swimming or decorations. Makes life easier for cleaning the tank and gives the turtle a nice place to bask and feel safe.

I don't see a problem with using a two by four, but just be careful with what the wood may have been treated with. Another thing, if it is going to go in the water at all is your choice of nails, because they will rust. Those are my only thoughts. I do agree with the earlier post on looking through the photo gallery. I have seen some really neat creations there. On the zoo med dock, I just bought a large one (9x 18 ). When you say your turt is 8 - 9 inches, I assume that you mean length, so the large size should work. As for remaining natural looking...well, there isn't much I can do about that, lol.

You might also consider a 16 x 16 piece of tile for your basking area. The pvc support pipe could be 3/4 or 1 inch diameter, so it would not take up much swimming space. We use some tile with bricks on end for the supports but it does cut down on the swimming room.

ok guys ... im having a difficult time keeping my turtle above water ... i built a raft with wooden dowels and tied them together with fishing line but when my turtle goes on the raft it sinks down :S ... i feel like ive tried everything .. i even put cork under the raft for more buoancy but it becomes lop sided .. my dad said i should use like hard wood for the basking area but i dont know if its good for the tank or bad ... i think its the wood u can purchase at like home depot .. i just need to know if i can use this wood and ill try and find the specific name of the wood .. plz help!!

you'll need to build an above tank basking area, check in phot gallery for the one i made

We have an above tank basking area. Made out of wood. We made sure that it does not touch the water. Just the ramp does. Cam722 is right wood being in the water is not a good thing.

alright... i have finally made a decision but i need some answers... i decided to support the basking area with pvc pipes and use a tile as the surface .. i havent searched for pvc pipes yet but can anybody give me a head start and tell me where i can purchase some ??? .. and do they they come in different sizes ... and how many pipes do u know will be big enough to make the baskin area do i have to have direct measurements on the size of pipe?? ... plz answer back if u have already experienced the pvc pipe journey

You can get PVC pipe at any hardware store. You'll probably need to know how long each piece needs to be. If you draw up a little diagram of what you want to build, someone at the hardware store should be able to help you. (Hopefully... hardware stores are a lot like petstores as far as helpfullness is concerned.)
Good choice to not use wood in the water.

Home Depot is where I purchased mine. Not sure if they are represented in CA. But as fishandcandy said, PVC (those plastic white pipes) are easy to get. I'm not sure, but I think my PVC is 1" in diameter. Make sure the store also has all the necessary fittings, after that you just use a saw to cut it to size and thats it.

alright ive made my final measurements but i need your guys oppinion ... i was looking through the site for pvc pipe examples and i found a really good one by supermum and i couldnt find out wut she used for the black layer that is above the pvc piping ... if i can find out wut that is then i can continue with my project ... if u have seen anything like it or know of it plz tell me .. oh and heres the link to her pic

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v113/ ... 0_0568.jpg

If I remember correctly, she used a piece of black slate. Try Home Depot or Lowes to see if they sell anything like that.

Can't see the pic, but I'm using ceramic tiles. Many ceramic tiles can also be trimmed which I've had difficulties with slate. The slate does look much nicer, but ceramic tiles would be a better choice for the base, at least IMHO.