Equipment Review and Discussion :: 50 gallon tank

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yeah i understand,car insurance and college does drain your wallet but not as much as women do(40$ on valentines chocolates,flowers and stuffed animals)..geez .Just keep preparing and getting everything you need before you get a turtle.

Someone(i cant remember who) on this forum once said that the best health insurance you can get for your turtle,is the proper equipment.And it makes sense,because without a water heater your water can get realy cold and make your turtle sick,without a filter the water gets dirty faster,and dirty water can cause fungus infections and other diseases,without a UVB and UVA lighting your turtle can get shell rot and other diseases,leading to trips to the vets and the vet isnt exactly cheap.Getting everything your turtle needs will minimize the chance of your turtle getting ill,thus saving you big bucks.Im only 16 and i thankfully i have a job,and everything my turtles need.The most i spend a month is 15$ food and filter cartridges for them and of course a couple of bucks on mcdonalds famous mchickens .

[industrial_girl_2000]

Yea...I'm like you, I think being on a limited budget might force me to go with the Fluval 4 and not a canister filter. I think the biggest tank I could afford at this time would be a 50 gallon.

The thing that has been concerning me recently is the electrical bills, wondering if I could afford paying my dad for the electricity I would need:/ I did a conversion on Pizza's post at its around $25-30 USD and I'm assuming thats per month.

Electricity to run all this stuff costs barely anything. My electricity bill is typically less than $30 a month and I am running all of the following in my house:

1 Reptisun 5.0 UVB bulb (Siobhan's tank)
1 75W spot reptile UVA bulb (Siobhan's tank)
1 100W Mercury Vapor UVA/UVB bulb (Sheba's tank)
1 Fluval 4plus filter (Sheba's tank)
1 Fluval 2 filter (Siobhan's tank)
1 50W submersible heater (Siobhan's tank)
1 200W submersible heater (Sheba's tank)

In addition to all the appliances like fridge, washer/dryer, dishwasher, TV, etc.

I think when I upgraded Sheba's lamp & got Siobhan's complete setup (basking lamps are on all day long), my electricity went up about $2-$3/month (!). Nothing to worry about.

[Rickiew04]

Great!!! You guys are awesome...xsavingsaturdayx is a very wise 16 year old!!! A wise man once told me..."Girls are a money pit." (No offense to you women out there...we couldn't do it without you) Thanks for all your help everyone!!! Whenever I think I don't have anymore questions...another one arises...so stay tuned!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Yeah i understand,car insurance and college does drain your wallet but not as much as women do

Funny. I could say the same thing about my ex-husband....yeesh, what a money drain. My dad once told me that I couldn't "afford" to be married to him! LOL!

[Pizza]

Well I checked the wattage on my xP4 today, 31w (wow, very low), I guess it's not mindblowing, since the filter is only large because of the canister itself cycling water and holding in media, it's really just a bin with rocks and pads in it, the only electric part of it is the top, the motor which draws in water and pumps it out.

And yes, my cost is per month.

[Rickiew04]

Thank you very much Pizza!!! I would definitely LOVE to get the XP3, but I just can't afford that right now. In the future though, I will definitely be looking into getting one.

[Rickiew04]

Would these be good dimensions for a 55 gallon tank? 48.5L x 20H x 13W. It seems kinda narrow to me? But maybe that doesn't matter. What do you guys think?

[Pizza]

If you do intend to initially get a hatchling, then the tank will last at least 2 years, probably more.

As said before, the maximum female length (and largest length for any RES) is 12 inches, and even so, it isn't as common to get a fully grown 12 inch female turtle, most stop growing at 8-9 inches.

The tank width you described is fine, unless you start off with a large turtle, you want to get more than one, or you don't intend on upgrading for the next 6+ years.

From my personal opinion though, I would rather get one that is wider than 13 inches, but then again, they say that length is the best dimension for aquatic turtles, more straight on swimming space.

If the price and condition is good, I say go for it, otherwise, hold back and see if you can do better.

[Muirner]

The XP3 uses 19W of power. Im thinking that's per hour. So it's lower then what i thought.

p.s. i took this # off the box of my XP3 where it says "power"

[Rickiew04]

Ok, I found a brand new 55 gallon tank at the pet store. Actually I found 2. One is $80 and the other is $100. The $80 one has dimensions of 48"x12"x22". The $100 has dimensions of 48"x13"x20". These both seem really narrow, so should I spend $20 more to get an extra inch wider? I think I'm gonna get the $80 one. What do you guys think?

[Pizza]

Yeah, I'd also stick by the cheaper one, they're both new, one inch isn't much of a difference for small turtles, and 55 gallons is great.