Habitat - Indoor :: Heating Elements

[GMkid350ss]

Hi everyone,
I'm really new to all of this. I've spent a bunch of money getting everything perfect for our baby RES's. We have 3 that are about the size of a half dollar. I currently have them in a 29 gallon tank in my house with a steel grate over the top with both a 100 watt basking light and a 20 watt UV coil light sitting on top of the grate. I was told by the keeper I bought the turtles from that I should keep the basking light on at all times and the UV light on for 4-6 hours a day. However, after reading a lot on the forum I've noticed that most people reccomend only keeping the basking light on for 12 hours a day. My question is, is it necessary to also have a water heater? The water is at a constant 78 degrees F with the basking light on all the time. Being that the house temp is never below 74 I'm just wonder wether or not a water heater is necessary. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[steve]

12 hours of uva/uvb are good. So is your setup lighted 24/7? That's very unnatural so I would suggest you take care of that. A water heater, IMHO, is a necessity even if your temps are fine. It never hurts to have it as a backup and it seems like you will need it if the basking light is off.

How big is your tank and how much water do you have in it? If a basking light is able to affect the water temperatures, something tells me that you might have a tank that is too small and/or very little water.

[GMkid350ss]

I'm definitely going to cut the lights down to 12 hours per day. My tank i s 30x12x12 (29 gallons). And its filled with about 4-5 inches of water. The turtles are very small so this seems to be plenty of water for them. I can't believe the keeper I bought them from suggested that I keep the basking light on 24/7. Also I was wrong about the house temperature, as it is currently between 68 and 70 degrees depending on the time of day. I am guessing that I'll need a water heater to raise the temp about 9 degrees (at night when the lights are off). Will the heater shut off if the temperature is adequate with the light during the day and turn off when the temperature drops at night? Or do I have to manually turn it on and off? Also, what kind of heater do you reccomend. Thanks

[steve]

Sliders are great swimmers, you will enjoy observing them when the get more swimming room, just make sure they can't climb out because they are great climbers too. You should be able to set the temp on the heater, but check it with a thermometer the first few times you use it since they are sometimes slightly off. For heaters, Tronic is reputable but I haven't tried them. Ebo-Jager (sometimes just Jager) makes great heaters and the Visitherm stealth heaters are also good. I'm currently using the Visitherm because they are made of thermal plastic. The others have an indicator light to let you know its on, but the Visitherm stealth doesn't have that.

What did the keeper say about filtration?

[GMkid350ss]

There is about 5 inches between the top of the tank and the main basking area. I also have a floating dock set up. How much water would you recomend adding? I would definitely have to prop up the main basking area with rocks as it is only about 3/4 of an inch above the surface. I am unlimited as far as filtration goes becuase I am using the Tetra Whisper Internal Power Filter 40i so i can adjust heighth for water suction. The keeper didn't really say much about filtration however I learned rather quickly that trying to use a normal fish filtration system doesn't cut it. I quickly ran over to Petco and asked for advice and that's the system they reccommended.

[flutterby]

Hon, a word of advise... Research BEFORE you go to a petstore because 9 times out of 10, they're wrong. The internal whisper filters won't be able to handle the amount of waste that a turtle produces, let alone several. I have a Whisper 10i in maybe a gallon and a half of water for my Firebellied Toads and it gets clogged and even with weekly water changes the water is nasty (but toads like yucky water). I really suggest look into Hagens.

[GMkid350ss]

Hmm thats interesting. I appreciate the advice. The 40 i seems to be doing a really nice job in my tank but I'll definitely keep an eye on it. It does pump twice as much water as the 10 i so maybe thats why.

[sonyj]

Just remember that whatever filter you look into, you want it rated for 2-3x the size of your tank at least. Filters are rated for fish which aren't half as messy as turtles.

Look through the photo gallery to get some good ideas for your basking platform when you raise your water level. There are some good pics, but you'll just have to wade through there to find them. And welcome to the forum...

[GMkid350ss]

Thank you very much! I can't wait to get everything setup perfectly and start enjoying the turtles more!

[staman]

For a 29 gallon tank, after you put another 6 inches of water in it, you would probably want a Fluval 4+ Hagen filter. If you have cash then definately get a canister filter made by Rena or Eheim. They are more expensive but youll need it anyway when their adults and in a 150-200 gallon tank. Canister filters also do a much better job of filtration than most internal filters due to their 3-4 different filter medias.

As for the lights: the whole idea is to mimic the sun above your tank. The UVB bulbs reproduces the radiation of the sun and the heat lamp obviously reproduces the heat. The two lights should be on the same timer about 12 hours a day.

[GMkid350ss]

Yes, I definitely I agree with your filter suggestion. I have the heater installed and am planning on building up my basking area to accomodate more water tomorrow. With the few inches of water in the tank now the 40i is doing great, but I also have the same feeling that I'll need to upgrade once I increase the water level. I already have a 100 gallon tank that the turtles will move into next so rather than buy another 40i, I'll probably just get a high-end canister filter. The 40i appealed to me at first beacuse of its range of location. I am limited by my steel screen on the top of the tank as far as hanging a filter on the side goes. However, if need be, I'll just have to cut out one of the corners to allow for a larger hanging filter, especially since the water will be only a few inches from the top of the tank. Thanks again for your advice.