General Care Discussion :: upgrade questions

[JustJet]

Hi folks! Its Jet here. I got tired of waiting till I have enough money to upgrade Corals tank. She really needs a bigger one now. So I got a 60 gallon long with a base for a filter. She loves it. The heater I am using is so too small for it as is the filter. They are for a 25 gallon tank. I can upgrade them next month. Corals 60 gallon is not quite filled half way right now so about 30 gallons? Anywho I took apart her small filter and rearranged her media and added a few sponges for now. My biggest concern at the moment is lighting. I have the two lights I had before, one for heat and one for UVA & UVB but they are kinda far from her basking area. The tank came with two toppers that fit side by side the long way each with a long light bulb. I got a light bulb for it that has UVA and UVB and heat all in one yaa! but underneath the bulb is clear, kinda thick plastic. I think I need to remove the clear plastic. Can heat and UV rays penetrate it? I will be upgrading her filter to the Rena Filstar Xp3 Filter in about a month till then I'll just have to change the water a lot, use my sad little filter, and keep feeding her in a different tank. I check the water temp a lot and add warm water as needed and with the heat lamps and tiny heater will this be okay for a month? I want to buy the heater that fits on the hose that leads the clean water into the tank from the filter. Do I need to buy a second heater now? Will she be ok this month? Any other advice would be grand. I'll add a pic of Coral my just over 2.5 inches baby red eared slider turtle just because I lover her! (yes I don't really know her gender yet but who can wait to name there baby?)

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[mikee]

jet - Don't short your turtle by not getting a filter large enough. Size by the 5x rule or more. Most pet shops use sizing for fish or just try and double it. That is not enough. The 5x rule is an, at least, number. You can over do it and make it a blender but that would not be good for your turtle. Good Luck!

[JustJet]

Well next month I am getting the Rena Filstar Xp3 Filter I even picked out what media I want to use. for a 60 gallon tank housing a tiny 2.5 inch turtle I think that will be okay for now. Do you really think I'll need the Xp4 this year? and what do you mean by blender?

[steve]

Hi Jet, you are right, the plastic will block the UVB rays. What's the water temp as is?

[coreyvht]

yeah fill that puppy up