Photo Gallery :: Homemade plant rest

[sonyj]

I've had this idea for a while but just worked on it this weekend. I took some fake plants and attached to a suction cup to make a plant rest that a small/hatchling turtle could sleep in or rest on.

These pics were all taken in complete darkness while Koopa slept, so sorry if they aren't the greatest. It was impossible to see exactly where to focus. lol Just wanted to share them though in case someone else needed the idea.

[Grifter420]

Thats a pretty cool idea, i know my little ones love to sleep in the plants but are kinda low in tank. i may have to try something like that out, seems to be a hit with your turtle too

[JessicaTS]

The pics looks great and so is your idea

[gammeragirl]

That's a great idea, I think I will try it. Koopa must feel nice and secure in those plants...

[steve]

very nice job! Koopa seems to enjoy them!

[tinyslider]

Looks great, nice pic's too!

[sonyj]

Thanks guys for all your nice comments. I think it's like giving a kid a new toy, Koopa is in that plant now every time I check him at night. Before, he would be in a different place every couple hours like he was restless.

Last night it was so cute. He was actually laying on one of the big leaves near the top and the pleco was holding on to one of the leaves near the bottom. I guess Mr. Pleco didn't want to be left out of all the fun.

[staman]

I had the exact brainstorm a couple weeks ago. I was feeling rather proud of myself... Then i was looking at my Mag Float and had an even better idea. Afix a plastic coated magnet to the end of the plant and then just have another magnet on the outside of the tank. You can actually move the plants around to wherever you want them. I have some plants on the bottom of the tank that i can move around as well. The plants are in Dutch Rockwool (grodan) and the rockwool is in a mesh pot. I used to silicone a suction cup to the bottom of the mesh pot . Now i put the magnet in the bottom of the mesh cup and then put the rockwool and the plant in.

--:)

[TurtleBot]

Did you just use thread to attach the leaves to the suction cup?

[sonyj]

No I actually used hot glue. I know that doesn't sound great. But I reasearched it before using it to see if it would be safe and it's almost 100% nontoxic to any animal and I was sure to cover the glue with leaves that Koopa wouldn't be able to get to. I let it dry fully before putting it in.

BTW, I've been waiting for someone to actually ask me that question to see what their reaction would be.

[steve]

Now that you dropped the secret... how well is it holding up under the water?

[sonyj]

It is holding up great. I was concerned with how it would hold up with him sleeping on it every night so I check it every morning.

My biggest concern was that he'd bite into the glue and take a chunk of it off and eat it. That's why I made sure that from his vantage point the glue itself can't be seen or gotten to with leaves glued over it. I didn't have aquarium silicone on hand when I did the project or I would have used that. So after a few searches on the toxicity of hot glue, I was satisfied it wouldn't hurt him if put into the water as long as he couldn't eat it or it fall apart in water. It's doing good.

As he grows I may have to rethink it if he gets too big for those particular plants. Right now it's his favorite hang out spot.

[RESCHIU]

Hi sonyj, I really like your set up for your turtle, especially with the lamp with 3 lightbulbs I may get one like that for my turtle one day. I do have a question though, how do you usually keep your turtle tank clean? do you change only certain amount of water about every other day? or do you do like a big cleaning sometimes?(like drain out all the water and put in fresh water), if you do, how and what is the best way?

[sonyj]

I usually add a gallon or two of filtered water every couple days due to the evaporation process and then do a big cleaning every few weeks. Each and every time I clean I thoroughly scrub the dock and filter tubes etc which helps the water stay clean longer, imo. I don't usually drain the tank completely with each cleaning, just about 3/4ths of the water. I use a python to vacuum the debris from the bottom/drain the tank.

This last weekend I actually talked my husband into helping clean the tank with me. He drained/vacuumed it while I scrubbed everything and we were finished in minutes. It was so nice not having to do it all myself (he claims I should because Koopa is my turtle, and my argument is that he bought Koopa for me )

[sonyj]

P.S. I forgot to add that at Christmas time we bought a couple of golden mystery snails for the tank. My son was having a fit to get Koopa a "Christmas gift" so I sold him on the idea of the snails as tank buddies. I have seen a noticeable difference in the bottom of the tank and the amount of waste debris that's there since the snails have been there. They are doing good and Koopa only was interested in them when I first placed them in the tank, now he leaves them alone.