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We 'adopted' two 6" RES over the weekend and the habitat provided was woefully inadequate. We replaced the 20 gallon tank with a 55 gallon and seemingly appropriate filter/light set up. Our setup is REALLY basic right now but we are adding as we go. I am having trouble determining which direction the outflow on my pump needs to go. I have messed around with different configurations of the spout and spray bar but don't really know how it should be positioned.

The light setup is a 5.0 UVB and 50w heat lamp. It looks dim to me.. but I do have another light available if I need to place one on the left hand side. Does it need to be a UVB or regular light, or do I have adequate lighting already?

What else do I need to go out and buy immediately? We will be leaving for a few days and will have someone else tending to the house. I have a daily feeder and light timer on the way that will be set up before we leave.

The lighting looks OK, have you measured the basking temps? The spray bar looks OK, it could be even submerged a bit more to quiet it down. What's the water temperature? You should have a couple of good thermometers to check and double check. Do you have your equipment plugged into a GFCI? You might also want to have timers for the lamps. What are you feeding them? Do you know their genders?

I've actually already tilted it some to decrease noise hah. Water temp is room temp, 75. I do have a thermometer on the inside of the tank. Equipment is not on GFCI. I do have a timer on the way. I am currently feeding juvenile reptomin as that's what they came with, but I will be receive some Omega One sticks tomorrow. Basking area gets up to 85. It's currently a 50w bulb. I may experiment with a 75w. I will get a tank heater for winter. We are in coastal AL so we only have about 2 months of winter. Based on info we have read here, we think they are about 4 year old females.

Do I need to get any other bare minimum accessories for now other than a hiding spot?

As for basics, I think you're good. Two females might overgrow your setup pretty quickly though.