General Care Discussion :: Tank swapping question... need advice.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so right now Nikos is in his/her temp 10g tank (sleeping since it's almost 1am) with about 7g of watter and I've just finished filling his/her new 20g temp tank. I've got one of those Turtle Topper's (ATBA) by Pen Plax on it so I'm able to fill it up quite a bit. I'd say I've got about 17 - 18g of water in it. So as you can see it's a huge increase for Niko. While the question is not wether or not Niko will take to it which I know he/she will the question is this.

Right now I've just got a tank full of water with the Turtle Topper on it so whats the best way to finish setting this tank up since all of Nikos equipment is on the other tank ?

I dont wana take from one tank what Niko needs to put it on the other while it gets set up. I know I can cycle the tank with Niko in it I'm just concerned with screwing somethin up here.

[jozzep]

I would put Nico in a separate container with some warm water in it while a i swap all the stuff.
How long do you think it would take you?20 min?

[MoreBloodWine]

I would put Nico in a separate container with some warm water in it while a i swap all the stuff.
How long do you think it would take you?20 min?

Well, I'd wana clean all the plastic plants n some other stuff to get the green algae build up off them. But at the very most I'd say an hr but even then the main thing is the water in the new temp tank warming up I suppose.

I mean a bowl of warm water wont stay warm for more than 10 mins if not less.

[BullDog]

I would say just put him in a warm, dry box. That's what I do with mine when I clean their tanks. I've got a big sterilite container, and I put a rag in it, and that's about it. They hate being in the box, of course, and thump themselves against the side the whole time, but it's usually suitable for at least an hour. Just make sure the room temp is in the mid 70s.

[MoreBloodWine]

Well, tomorrows supposed to be a warm day (high of 72 low of 58) and the floor of the house I'm on is usually exceptionally warm even in cooloer temps. So thats what I'll probably end up doing is just putting Niko in a small box or somethin with some rages he/she can hide under.

I know a small tank is nothing to brag about when it comes to turtles but this new 20g temp tank is a huge increase compared to Nikos current temp tank with about 7-8g of water in it so I'll be sure to share pics. I'm also kind of excited about it because I liked al lthe rave I heard and videos I saw about Pen Plaxx's Turtle Topper and with the TT I'm able to give Niko that much require added swimming room ;-)

Edit: Plus with this new slightly larger temp tank it gives me more time to play with while I work on getting Nikos permanent tank. This new temp tank should give me about another yr to play with even though I'd hope to have Nikos perma tank before 6/11/2010.

[theartbook35]

I would say just put him in a warm, dry box. That's what I do with mine when I clean their tanks. I've got a big sterilite container, and I put a rag in it, and that's about it. They hate being in the box, of course, and thump themselves against the side the whole time, but it's usually suitable for at least an hour. Just make sure the room temp is in the mid 70s.

Ya know, when I didn't have the money for all the supplies I needed, like heat bulbs, I had to keep my turtles at room temperature. Room temp. at that apartment was almost always mid 70's, give or take a few degrees. I don't recommend them always living at room temperature, but they can tolerate it.

Anyways, I usually put my turtles in their critter carrier while I clean my tank. I fill it with about four inches of fairly warm water. (I've discovered in my travels that plastic has a tendency to hold heat better than glass). If you have an old storage tub, you can put a dry, but warm towel in there, and put your heat lamp over the tub while you clean.

[MoreBloodWine]

Heres what the new 20g temp tank looks like right now, still trying to set it up. It actually got a bit cold today bec of the rain so I wont be movin Niko for another two days or so so I figured I'd take my time setting it up.

I got a new filter for the new temp tank, I may still try and utilize the small filter on the 10g tank for bottom debris but I dont know yet. The new filter as seen in the pic is inda nice, I've used them before but they seem to have something new on them which is some sort of bio media or something for the beneficial bacteria which is pretty cool. It's basically like a big sqaure pot scrubber (what it looks / feels like).

[Caphits]

Is that filter from Walmart? I have one of those, and it works wonderfuly with that square bio pad thing.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ya, $30 from wally world. I really like it to because like I said it's like the old one that I got but with the new bio mediaa pot scrubber thing which is really cool.

I didnt feel like waiting so I went ahead and finished the tank. I'm pretty much done aside from some minor decorating. I just gotta wait for the water to warm up before I put Niko in it. Right now he/shes in a large bowl of shallow water in a dark cupboard. Figured that would be the best place to put him/her since it's dark and should calm him/her down some during this transition.

[BullDog]

Looks great! That ornament adds a nice punch of colour

[MoreBloodWine]

Also, right now the waters about 65 degrees and I changed the heater from it's old setting of 79 to 75 since someone said 79 was kinda pushing it. Anyway, could I put Niko in now or should I want til the water temp goes up some ? Last thing I wana do is put him/her into shock by tossing him/her in to soon.

[MoreBloodWine]

Looks great! That ornament adds a nice punch of colour

Ya it does since I wana try bare bottom. Not sure o nthe sand thing after Nikos temp tank ended up growing grass as one might call it lol. Also, check out Nikos lil buddy in the right corner of the tank ;-p

[BullDog]

I can see it, but I can't tell what it is. Is it a turtle?

[MoreBloodWine]

I can see it, but I can't tell what it is. Is it a turtle?

Ya heh, about my last question on when I can put Niko in. Wana take a look at that ;-p

[Caphits]

I would wait till 70. Looks like a good setup. Nice topper.