Habitat - Indoor

Ahlo!

Hello everyone, i just got my 165gal tank moved in and starting from scratch. I had 2 RES in a 40gal tank fully outfitted with two filters, one on each side on top of two heaters. I had river rock since i wanted the whole thing to look more "natural" look to the tank. i also had a floating dock under the heat lamp for Leo and Dawn to bask, with a UVA? bulb for the other type of bulb in the hood for the second type of lighting. I love the tank but i moved where i couldn't have them and i ended up selling the whole sha-bang to a co-worker for a Xmas present.
Heres a pic of what the tank looked like ( that gold fish was originally supposed to be eaten but just got big enough that the turtles left em alone... at least for a little while)

But now since i moved and now am able to have a tank i opted to get another but bigger, significantly bigger....165gal from another co-worker. The tank is massive but its basically empty so i am starting from scratch.When i had the 40gal i had some issues with having to do a full tank change every month, my assumption was because i bought cheap filters. What i am wondering is what would you guys recommend since i obviously am not going to be able to use my old filters. This tank is so much bigger i don't think its feasible to do a complete tank change that often,assuming if i get a better filtration system it wont be as bad.Also the filtration has basic filtration media and setup so what would yall also recommend for that?

Lighting is another question, the tank was originally fresh water fish, so it has a hood that's all florescent and completely covers the entire top of the tank, besides custom build top and lid what would be the recommendation? I had a hood with the UVA or UVB florescent bulbs and a heating lamp dome, something with this scale i think i could do something a little different but on a larger scale. I was looking at the LED Lighting System but im not sure if that would work for RES without extra lighting to get the UVA/UVB?

Anyhow i cant really think of anything else that i really need guidance on, thank you guys so much for the response and tips and tricks!

Wow! Congrats on the huge upgrade! It'll be a big change, and I'm sure your turtles will love it!
Cleaning will probably be a chore no matter what. You're simplest to clean would be a bare bottom, but it doesn't give you that natural look. I have a few large river rocks scattered on the bottom of my tanks. You might also want to have a look at the tanks in this forum that have sand, they look very nice.
For filtration, a Fluval FX5 may or may not be enough. That's what I have for my 75 and 90 gallon tanks.It's usually best to err on the side of over-filtration. You could try two "smaller" filters like two Fluval 405s or two Rena XP3s. Hopefully someone with a big tank will give you their experience.

For lighting, you'll still need a UVB light and a heat light of some sort over the basking area. For the rest of the tank, you can use whatever suits you.

I'd have to say do not sure the river rocks. I had them in my small tank and when I moved to the 125... well all I can say is YUCK! I have sand in the 125, and so far it is awesome. The poo just lays on the top of the sand and the filter just sucks it up. We've been setup for a month now, and my is perfectly clean and my water crystal clear (do have some algae growth on the sides but just got it of this evening).

As for lighting, my tank has two hood lights and two covers. I used the hood and glass cover on one side, and used egg crate on the other. If your's is all one hood/cover, I'm not sure what to suggest unless they make a hood/cover that would cover half and then you could use the egg crate on the other half. My tank has what I refer to as a divider in the middle, meaning there is a piece that goes across the top and the bottom in the middle. I assume that is for support.

As for the FX5... AWESOME filter. I too am not sure it would be enough for a 165 gallon. V Cray should be able to tell you more about that.

Good luck with the new tank. Really, try to make your life easier and skip the river rocks.

Thanks! Im super excited,its going to be a bit spendy but its all part of the fun xD If i cant get something for about that size then i will definitely over kill on the filtration. its one solid hood so i am not sure what do do. The area where the hood sits is 17"*71"

Ok so ive been looking into sand for the substrate, recommendations for a specific brand? Since it was brought up using sand made cleaning easier for the larger waste?

Oh and how about one of those surge protectors that have timer on it so it automatically turns on and off at specific times?

Should i use multiple floating platforms so they can just dry off, not just bask?

Not sure about the lighting. Maybe egg crate over the entire top. Sit the existing light on the egg crate and then add heating and UVB light over the basking area? I'm sure someone here will have a better idea/vision than me.

As for sand... get pool filter sand. No particular brand. The sand needs to be rinsed/cleaned before putting it in the tank. I've seen people say play sand is awful to rinse/clean... lost of larger particles and rocks to get out of it. Poor filter sand is fine and doesn't have all that stuff in it. The p f sand I got is very light/almost white, which I like. Here are some pics of it.

My sand had not completely settled in these pics. My water is crystal clear now.

Yes, large waste floats on top of the sand, and if your filter is strong enough, it will just pick it right up. One month into the new tank, and I have not had to siphon up waste at all.

As for a surger protector with a timer... I'm not sure. You wouldn't want your filter turning off. I do know you should either have a GFCI outlet or and surge protector that has GFCI built in. I think GFCI is what it is called. It is the type of outlet that is put in kitchens and bathrooms in new homes.

You could use multiple platforms, but if the temp up there is not at least 10 degrees wamer than the water, they probably won't use it. At least that's what most of what I've read says.

Thanks for the great pic! its definately made the whole process seem less daunting, and a whole lot cheaper! I think the most expensive part is going to be the filter, but besides that i think ill be able to get away with smaller stuff while i collect the rest

FX5 for your filter on that size tank and don't think twice. There's a link to one in the deals section of this forum for $217. You won't get a better filter for less for that size tank with 2 turtles.

Awesome! lol its going to be a process thats going to take a little while to do. How long should i let the tank run before i get my turtles? I read the filter sticky but i guess im still confused on whats recommended for each layer.

You don't really need to wait... the turtles aren't affected by the cycle the same way fish are. Turtles can climb out of the water unlike fish.

Kewl, how about recommended media for the filter?

This may help: Filter Media Thread

Ok so i was also wondering where a good place to buy some RESs? I'm not so sure if i want to buy more from Petco/Petsmart since they weren't very helpful, i was looking at the turtle shack and another thought popped up. If i buy the baby ones will they get lost in this tank?

You want to have more than 2 turtles in that tank? I would stick with 2, size differences can cause problems and the more turtles you ad the higher your chances of aggression down the road. Plus 165 gallons is really only sufficient for 2 turtles.

When i sold the other tank i sold my turtles with it since i didnt have anything until i got this tank, So i am buying two new turtles xD

Ooooh gotcha sorry for the misunderstanding! If I were in your shoes I would check out craigslist, there are always people trying to get rid of the turtles on there.

Habitat - Indoor :: Heya guys and gals! New to me 165 needs ideas!

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