redearslider.com

Ive used sand before and it was a GIANT pain in the a**. Getting sucked into filter, turtle eating it non stop,etc. Okay so i thought i would get large river rocks... right?
WRONG! All kinds of dirt/debris got under them and my filter couldnt pick it up, even when i do water changes its a nightmare.

My point is when i remove the substrate how do i get the plants to stay down? they require rocks to be weighed down but i dont want even one rock in my tank (excluding those GIANT decor rocks)
Any ideas
Filter: Fluval 406
Tank size: 50 gallons
Turtle size: 3 inches
Proper basking setup: Yes

What kind of sand did you use? Are the plants real or fake? How about some updated pics?

I've been looking into this as well as I am in the process of upgrading my RES tank. A couple cool things I've found are:

Using those large decor rocks and woods as the medium for the plant holding, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3dfOnLQ9nk
I've also seen some people use potted plants. I'm still looking into how they make them though, so I can't provide much info.

Currently my mississippi map turtle is in it, but will be transferred out as big changes are happening
The plants are fake, and i used children play sand
Here are 2 links
http://prntscr.com/9tjr94
http://prntscr.com/9tjrgz

I would suggest pool filter sand as it would be harder for the filter to sick up. Your turtle eating it is still a problem though, especially if it's non-stop. I'm not sure what's safe to hold down those plants... larger rocks (drilled/glued?), maybe some sort of epoxy. Wrapped around wood? Attached to some PVC? You might just have to keep the bottom bare like a lot of us do.

Alright, i know what i will do. (I do have a question after). I will buy a small piece of driftwood and drill the fake plant to the wood.
What kind of screws should i use that wont rust? Is it safe to drill plastic and put it in the turtle tank?

You can drill a hole then use hot glue to hold the plant in place. I have several made of wood and plastic plants in my tank that I made this way. Water potable epoxy would also work. I like sand myself but my turtles don't eat it and I'm not a fan of bare tanks.