Habitat - Outdoor :: Stock Tank Pond?

[jason32835]

We live in central florida and we recently acquired two RES turtles..

I was thinking about getting one of the these:

http://www.shoplet.com/Rubbermaid-Stock ... 45BLA/spdv

And building a wooden slat box around it to make it more purty. Would this be a good home for them? Seems like a nice affordable option don't it?

Would they be able to stay in it year round? We do see temps in the low 30s during the winter.

[jay2487]

Hello Fellow Central Floridian!!! What part?

Those things make awesome turtle habitats. Many people use those exact ones. If you put it outside though you will have to fence it all the way in. Around here you have to worry about hawks as much as you do ground predators. Even house cats are a danger. Those cheap dog kennels at Home Depot work good, or just 4 fence posts and a roll of chicken coop wire. You will still have to filter the water too. There are a million DIY outdoor pond filter designs around on this page and others. The most expensive part is the pump but if your like me, can easily find one used around here from all the strawberry and tomato farmers.

As for the cold, they are native to our area, so you know they can survive. You would just need to keep the water moving in the tank outside or in those few cold days(god forbid we get more winters like this last one) the tub could freeze as air can hit all sides of it. THe turtles will brumate, or go into a hibernating lethargic state where they basically just sleep and come up for air every once in a while.

[jason32835]

Hi Jay! I'm in Winter Garden. You? We actually have a screened in back patio - a pool enclosure minus the pool, and I think this would be the perfect place for an above ground pond.

I would DIY the filter for sure.. I was thinking I might also get the stock tank second hand if possible.. Where do farmers tend to sell their old stuff anyway?

[jason32835]

I was just offered a 200 gallon round galvanized tank from a co-worker.. Before I figure out how to lug it home, I was wondering if anyone had some advice about using it.

I would be placing it on a paver patio, under a screen enclouser. My idea is to build a square 2X4 base to keep it off the pavers and help level it a bit. It would get about 3 hours of sun in the morning and then mostly shady for the rest of the day. I'm hoping it wouldn't get too hot? or freeze in the winter (assuming I have water movement)

I'm also thinking that I would paint the outside brown, to make it look better. I did find some instructions online for doing this and it seems possible.

Anyone see any pitfalls to this idea?

[jay2487]

I am in Plant City not far from Brandon Tampa, the Co-Op or the hundreds of weekend flea markets are great places. On a road near here, on the way home from work, there is a fertilizer tank for sale, the kind thats on the back of a tractor, for $150, it has to be over 300 gallons and looks perfect for cutting the top off and making a pond out of.

As for the metal one, I would check it out first, when that paint gets old that galvanization will flake off and could hurt the animals. I'm not sure it could but its a risk I'd check out first. I would get another heat lamp and UVB light for shady days but I have read that 15 minutes a day completely dry in true sunlight is all a turtle needs as far as lighting. If you have it under a patio filtering should be much easier, just make a sump and sit it to the side.

[steve]

There has been a few pond/stock tank outdoor setups posted. I don't think there any that use galvanized tanks though.

[jay2487]

Yeah that would scare me, I have put together those big general steel buildings before which are a galvanized metal, and every day when I'd get home I would have this chrome dandruff falling out of my hair. Little flakes of the metal were constantly falling off the metal even though it was brand spankin new. That is what makes me worry about it. No telling what something like that could do in a turtles digestive tract, could be like swalling razor blades to them.

[steve]

Well, a stock tank should be safe since animals are supposed to drink from it. You can always lay down pond liner or some other material to protect, though I'm not sure if you'd like the look of it.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

You know I have been using a galvanized stock tank for a couple years now lol. Looks the same as the day i bought it. Certainly no metal flakes of any kind ever comes off it.