redearslider.com

Hello, all!

I've got a RES that I've raised since he or she was very small, less than an inch, and he/she is starting to get big. Sheldon is nearly 3 inches long now and lives in a 10 gallon aquarium with the "gravel" from petsmart, a floating dock, a light and a filter rig. Sheldon is past due for an upgrade. What I want to get is something between 65 and 125 gallons that comes with a stand (Something I saw at petsmart). That's about all that I'm sure of, though. How should I outfit the tank? I'm considering this for a basking area: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBCFG2

Any and all help is appreciated. I'm pretty much up for spending whatever on this, Sheldon deserves the best. Besides, my fiance said we would go halvsies on all of it as our Christmas presents to each other! Haha.

That should work, though I don't think they can be raised very high. You're in luck though, there are tons of options for basking platforms. At 3" you should be able to figure out the gender soon, so that could factor in your tank size decision.

That platform, as steve pointed out, doesn't really go very high. So in a bigger tank you would be sacrificing water and swimming space using it. Since you are just starting out, and while your res is relatively small, I would suggest a bit of planning (spending) for the future.

The cost for the basics will be somewhat the same (tank, lighting, filter and filter media) but I would skip the small docks/platforms and go straight into above tank basking areas. That way, even if your res turns out to be male and only grows about an inch or 2, you'll have minimum 50 gallons of water in a 65g tank. The basic idea is; a lightweight tank/box/enclosed space with some sort of ramp to sit on top of the aquarium for your turtle to bask in. You could, if you are a diy’er, even build one yourself.

If you decide to start with a 125g tank, then something a little less costly/complicated would be to use cork as a floating basking area. You'd be filling the tank about halfway with water and depending on what you put in the tank for decorations (what your res will allow you to put in,) your res would have about 60g of water to swim in. You can buy cork for aquariums and even cut it if needed.

Also, try to avoid using gravel. It's harder to keep clean and at some point your res will start to eat it.

All that said, one of the most important things to consider, and probably the most costly, is the filter. The ones that hang off the side/back of the aquarium might be ok now that your res is small, but they just aren't meant for turtles.

before i built my ABTBA, i made a platform out of 3/4" PVC and light diffuser with reptile turf as the platform. it was a WAY cheaper option.. I didn't need any glue or anything. I added some gravel to the legs to keep it from floating.