Photo Gallery :: My 55 gal setup

[AndyF]

Here is my setup. Comments and suggestions are appreciated. 55 Gal Wal-Mart tank. Snappy is about 2 and Squirt is about 1.






Snappy and Squirt

The white by Squirt's shell is cuttle bone

This is my ionic fogger. (Not on)



My giant goldfish that grew from a 10 cent feeder

[N4784N R4613]

Is there any kind of cover over the basking area? Because it sure looks like they can pull themselves over the top and by doing so falling a good distance causing serious shell damage or death.

[CountryGirl68]

Nice work.

Just a few suggestions. Get rid of the gravel before they eat it; it'll also make cleaning up after the turtle much easier. Also, I noticed the cords from one of your lamps is resting on the ceramic ring. Drape it off because the rubber on the cord could melt causing a fire. Finally, remember that the fish there could become food and goldfish are very fatty and not nutritional at all for the turtle.

[steve]

Nice pictures. I'm just a bit uneasy about that stand.

[missibsu]

I think everybody spoke for my concerns. Very cute turtles. Are you able to tell genders yet?

[fishandcandy]

It looks great.
You might want to get an aquarium stand. I'm not sure how sturdy that is, but I'd at least want something that was as big as the bottom of the aquarium.
I wish I could keep fish with mine. They wouldn't last 12 hours.

[AndyF]

The stand is surpisingly sturdy, but I am saving for a stand anyway. Those things are expensive for a nice one. The turtles don't eat the goldfish. I give them feeder guppies and ghost shrimp once a week and they stay away from the goldfish. I do need to do something about the basking area, but if I lower the water the filters don't suck up as much water. I have never seen them try to climb out, but it is probably only a matter of time. They have lived with the rocks in the tank for a year and a half and have never tried to eat it, do all RES eat rocks? Mine seem pretty chill in all aspects. I have two plex's in the tank and they never mess with them either. I have already moved the cord, thanx, I didn't even notice that. Snappy, the bigger one is a male, and Squirt is a female.

[Ozzyy]

they WILL eat the fish, they may not now, but one day you might find some missing... turtles get ideas about eating anything in the tank that is not a turtle.... my old turtle dribble ate a toad that i kep with him. so im not taking any chances with anything. plus if they eat any of them take the rest out... gold fish are too fatty and not very nutricious (that goes for any fish eating animal, that why my friend doesnt feed his shark gold fish) but other than that... thats a really nice setup.
the large one might be in they clear... unless ur turts gang up on him.her.

[Spookster]

They have lived with the rocks in the tank for a year and a half and have never tried to eat it, do all RES eat rocks?

Just because they haven't tried to eat the gravel while you were standing there watching doesn't mean they haven't. And yes they will eat it. Rule of thumb that goes for anything put in the tank is if they can fit it in their mouth they will try to eat it to include their own poop. You can replace the gravel with larger river rocks. The turtles like to move those around and play with them but they can't fit them in their mouth. Also the gravel keeps your tank messy because it traps waste. Makes it harder to clean.

[grey goose]

I think it's a pretty nice setup, with the plants and all. The only thing I would do is put a screen on top, and a background to hide the wires. Also the stand makes me a little nervous. I think water weighs 8 lbs. per gallon, do the math. It looks sturdy enough, but the tank has a bit of overhang.....also the food placement is kind of tempting.

[bro616]

is that the set that came with a filter, heater, and lamps?? i wanted one but wasnt sure if it was worth it?? is it??

[pumpkinsherbet]

it is a very nice setup, but i do agree about the stand, fixing the cord and covering up the basking spot.

water weighs about 8.3lbs/gallon, and if you don't have a good stand that supports that type of weight you'll be looking at a cracked (best case) or broken tank w/ flooding (worst case scenario).

oh and the gravel. take that out, please.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

This post is old, from last year LOL.

[pumpkinsherbet]

the boosties got me. i really need to learn to check dates *headdesk*