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Our kids (2 1/2" RES & 2" Peninsula Cooter) have been in separate 10 gal tanks since we brought them home back in June. Of course we knew we eventually would be investing in larger homes for them. We found a used 125 gal tank on FB Marketplace. The gentleman selling it is upgrading his fish habitat. For $650, we received the tank, stand, Eheim 2217 filter, Eheim heater, Fluval LED lighting and about 100# of fine sand.

Of course, we will be transferring the heating & UV lamps from each tank to the new one. I'm thinking in the short run, setting up basking platforms at each end and focusing lights on each. I'm thinking eventually, I will move to an above tank basking platform, but given their size, that can wait right now. I also know that I will need to upgrade the filter as that 2217 will be hard pressed to cover things. For now, I have a Penn-Plax Cascade 600, which can supplement the 2217, though as the kids get bigger, I'll be looking at something like an Fx4 or Fx6.

Haven't decided about the sand/substrate yet. I would like to keep a few plants to help with water quality. Thus far, in the smaller tanks, they've been eater, tearing the plants up, but we're hoping a larger tank will help with that.

We're going to take the set up slowly as I want to ensure we don't cause the kids any undue stress. It may be a week or two before we transfer them to the new home.

I would get the FX6 and with Black Friday around the corner, you might score a really good deal. I'm not sure what kind of sand you have, but pool filter sand is pretty popular substrate. It's not too fine that it easily gets kicked up.

Everything sounds pretty good. Keep an eye out for aggression and territorial behavior. In the past, people have reported it starting after moving their turtles into a larger tank.

We decided to add a second Eheim 2217. The FX6 might be something down the line, but for now, I want to keep costs under control. After sleeping on it, I just didn't think the Penn-Plax was going to cut it.

The sand is fairly fine. I'll likely start out with it and change it if we don't like the results. I'll post a photo in a couple of weeks, once we get it all up and running. I'm taking my time to minimize errors.

Errors are a great way to learn! If you are going to use fine sand, make sure the filter inlet is not too close to the bottom. And if you are adding it for the first time, it might be pretty cloudy so you might want to add some filter floss to catch it.

Here is a pic of the new digs:

Looks great! How are the kids liking it so far?

They are loving it! Funny, I have two basking stations set up, but often, they will all congregate together on one.
We are turtle-sitting my wife's manager's RES as well, so there's 3 in there temporarily. The RES we're sitting (Harvey) was in a tiny little container with filthy water. Obviously, the manager was clueless about how to take care of him. We are holding him until the guy gets a proper set-up. Even though he's older than ours, he's a fair bit smaller. He follows our RES (Roisin) around the tank like a small child.

It's great you can help him out. RES are certainly inquisitive and full of surprises, I bet he's having a great time.

Trying to teach him to eat from our hand, but he's still very shy and the other two will butt in to take food. He is getting better, but it's taking time. Actually, I'm hoping the manager hurries up and gets a decent set up for him before we get too attached!