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Hello everyone , I am new here!! I do not own any sliders yet but we are looking at getting a one or two for Christmas!! We have a 8 year old who has always been in love with turtles she is great with our current pets!! My question is about the habait, can anyone recommend a tank size or set up that would be a good starter for us.. Like I said we never owned turtles before but I want to make sure that we know and have everything before we bring them in to our home any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated thanks

Welcome to the site! How exciting, I'm glad you're doing some research first.

My opinions:

Turtles are really not a pick up and play with pet. They can bite their keepers, especially when they are in the water.
They might need vet visits like any other pet, but finding a good 'herp' vet is not so easy.
Males are much smaller than females, so you can look forward to a smaller or bigger tank.
They can potentially live for a few decades, so you must really consider that in your future plans.
RES are not easy to re-home, and captive turtles/pets cannot be released into the wild.
Filter cleaning is never fun.
Males and some females will fight. If you want the smallest potential setup, look into a single male RES.
They are amazing to watch and have more personality than you would expect.
They also have very distinct personalities, so interaction with them will be interesting.
There is little maintenance AFTER you get things going, though you will need to figure out a routine thats makes things easiest for you.
They like to explore, so with large tanks or outdoor enclosures, you can watch them enjoy their surroundings.
If you adopt one, you will know the gender and immediately provide the appropriate size home and avoid intermediary upgrades.