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Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 5:47 am
by Kansasslider
Looks good so far. Sid,you might consider placing the intake strainer in the center of your tank.I figure the least distance it has to pull debris the better.It works well in my tank but its totally up to your liking .

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Thu Jan 31, 2013 10:35 am
by slider_keeper
Yeah I'm gonna put the two intake nozzles in the center to push the debris to the edges and have a current run the center of the tank outwards.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 3:28 am
by steve
Looks good so far! I think I need to get in gear and add the sand I bought last summer.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:09 pm
by cutepanda86
Wow, impressive!

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Sun Feb 03, 2013 8:57 pm
by Kansasslider
steve wrote:Looks good so far! I think I need to get in gear and add the sand I bought last summer.

Last summer? Wow! Do you have anything in the bottom?

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 4:29 am
by steve
They're currently bare. I used to keep a few river rocks in there but took it out.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:25 pm
by Kansasslider
Steve,do your turtles like a bare tank? Mine hated it and would never hang around on the bottom until I added sand.They love it they dig in it and use it to get from one side to the other. I wouldn't leave it bare for long its just not what they would encounter in the wild.No offence but you should know that.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:10 pm
by cutepanda86
My Sheldon loves the bare bottom of the tank. Makes it easy to find the food leftovers. ;)

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:09 am
by Kansasslider
I guess they just look bare to me.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:49 am
by cutepanda86
They are but I guess it depends on the turtle and the cleanup involved.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 11:05 am
by Aqua&turquoise
My turts had the bottom of their tank bare.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 8:32 pm
by Kansasslider
How many turtles live in a situation that has no rocks gravel or sand ? Answer none! I'm saying in the wild. it should be the same in the tank!!!!! Do you want to have a pet that makes you happy ? Or a happy turtle ? They love to dig!!!!! They also love to rub their shell on anything they can. Just my 2.I would never bare tank for my kids.

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:33 pm
by slider_keeper
Ok so some more updates, didn’t get nothing done this past weekend, had family come over to watch the super bowl on my big screen, lol. They used me! J/K. Ok so got some more work done today, yay:) I built the basking and sleeping branches today and was able to start drilling the slate rock. Here’s the pics......

This first pic is the main basking branch with a sleeping branch attached to it.
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Top view, you can see one of the slate tiles to be used as a base in the back ground....
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This next pic will be the short horizontal branch that will be attached to the same base as the basking branch.
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This is the two pieces setup as they will look in the tank.
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I cut the long branch into three pieces to be used as the support branches for the basking and sleeping branches. This is the third branch that will be on the other side of the tank, attached to its own slate rock. This branch will stick out of the water on one end.
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I used the coated all weather screws to attach the branches together and will use these same screws to attach the bases. They are the same screws I used to build the first basking branch Toku currently uses. I wet the wood to help keep it from cracking. It seemed to work good except in one spot.....
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Here is the screws, I will post a better pic of the screws since the flash whited this pic out....
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So now on to the drilling of the slate rock. I never done this before but it seem pretty straight forward and is turning out pretty good for a first. I first cleaned the slate with a rinse of the hose and used a wet towel to wipe it. I got a drill bit made for drilling slate. As you will notice in the requested pic, I wet the slate to allow lubrication. This first pic shows the measurements I made from the support branches to the slate for drilling.......
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Next I wet the slate for drilling and did my first hole:)
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And finally I got my first set of holes drilled, yay! A success!
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Here you can see I made the holes about an inch apart....
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I will post pics of the branches in the tank, hopefully I can finish drilling the forth hole and attach the branches and put the first pieces in the tank tonight:) Stay tuned, more to follow.....Keep on, keepin on! Turtle Turtle

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 9:53 pm
by cutepanda86
Sheldon rubs his shell on his basking rock ramp. I'm not saying bare is the best, just saying its an option.

Excellent update!

Re: Toku's 150 gal build

PostPosted: Tue Feb 05, 2013 10:43 pm
by slider_keeper
Believe it or not, sand is just as easy to keep clean if not cleaner and it provides more surface for good bacteria to grow on. It also looks way more natural, and Toku loves to dig in it and cover himself in the sand. But it is up to each keeper how they want to setup their tank/tanks. I had a bare tank for the first three yrs of slider keeping. Ever since I put sand in, I won't go back.