Habitat - Indoor :: Urgent Question about habitat

[blaydes]

ok, my dad is at a store buying a tank for my turtle(2-2.5 in.)and im on the phone with him, and the tank we are buying comes with a submergable heater. would we even use that? the tank we are buying is 20 gallons for temporary use and it comes with a kit. the kit includes the heater, the lid, and a 20 gallon designed filter.

[blaydes]

and another question, every time you fill up the tank after cleaning, do you fill it up with spring water in the gallon jugs, or do you fill it up with tap and buy chemicals to take the chlorine out?

[ellman605]

try to get a bigger one.

[blaydes]

the 20 gallon is temporary.

[ellman605]

k, but i wouldnt waste money, if its only temp, go for a 10 gallon, onlyu 10 bucks....

[Spookster]

If you are just buying a temporary tank you would be better off just getting a large rubbermaid container.

[sonyj]

Yes, you do need a heater for your tank no matter what the size tank you get. Keeping the temps correct is very important.

Many people use tap water and use the stuff made to dechlorinate the water for aquariums. At the moment I can't think of the name brand I have, something like Aquasafe or something. Just fill the tank up and follow the directions on the bottle.

The size filter you need for your tank should be rated 2-3 times bigger than your tank size. So for a 20 gallon tank, you need a filter made for at least a 40 gallon but one for 60 gallon would be much better. The reason for this is that turtles are much much messier than fish which the rating on filters apply to.

[steve]

I would have gone with a bare tank, "kits" are usually cheap generic products. But definitely have an extra rubbemaid or two.

[butterfly]

I used to use bottled water when I was keeping my turtle in a temp lagoon but once I got a tank, bottled water would be nothing but a big waste of money. Your better off using tap water and adding a conditioner to it. I use a blue bottle called ReptiSafe. I think thats the name, I cant remember it too well. I bought about two months ago and its still pretty full so your getting a better bargain that way than buying bottled water. I also have a 20 gallon tank.

[marisa]

Reptisafe is good, so is a product called Amquel.

[staman]

I use AquaPure. I used to mix the stuff with a 2 gallon jug full of tap water. It says to mix the stuff before you add it to the aquarium but since I got a python I cant be bothered with the jugs anymore. Theres no harm in filling the tank and then adding the conditioner is there? This is with the turtles in it of course...

How long does the stuff take to work? Im assuming its instantaneous.

[marisa]

Reptisafe claims to be instantaneous, and I'm assuming those products all work about the same way. When I used to use Reptisafe, and was changing the water, I'd fill the tank a few inches, add the Reptisafe and then more water. You could stir the water around with something like a net. I didn't have my RES in the tank when I did this--the water was too cold (the water comes from a spring).

[sonyj]

Reptisafe claims to be instantaneous, and I'm assuming those products all work about the same way. When I used to use Reptisafe, and was changing the water, I'd fill the tank a few inches, add the Reptisafe and then more water. You could stir the water around with something like a net. I didn't have my RES in the tank when I did this--the water was too cold (the water comes from a spring).

That's exactly what I've been doing. I will add some water and then the dechlorinator so that it gets mixed with all the water faster.

[staman]

I will start doing that as well. thx