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Ok I got my shipment in from the US and have it all set up. I havnt plugged the heater in yet, but will as soon. The water temp at the moment is around 70*F, and the basking spot is at 110*F, Its a bit hot so I am moving the light. The filter is working great, has two bio wheels. The light on the top is teh UVB light. Is it too far away? Also, inorder for the filter to worl right I had to fill the water as far up as it is now. Is the platform too close to the edge or no? I dont want the turtle to climb out... I havnt gotten the turtle yet, I am waiting for the set up to be correct first. I also put Aquasafe in the water to make the water right for the RES too. Here are the pictures, please tell me what you think..






You can click on them to make them bigger.

With the water as high as it is, I'm definitely concerned about escape. Call the manufacturer of the filter and see if they have extensions for the intake or any way to modify it so you can lower the level. Your other option is to build up the walls of the tank somehow. But from the looks of those pictures, if your turtle is more than an inch long it can probably climb right out and you're looking at a dangerous fall.

Really nice tank otherwise though!

I'm also REALLY concerned about escape. You'd be shocked how good they are at climbing onto things and it looks like there would be quite a fall.

The lighting situation looks a little off to me as well. The basking light looks really close to the basking area, have you been measuring the temps? They can get REALLY high without you noticing. It shouldn't be any higher than about 90F

The UV light looks too far away and it should be about 10 inches above the basking area. The turtle won't get any benefit from the UV light through the water and from any more than 10-12 inches they get nothing from it.

I'd also add some deco to the tank, some plants or rocks etc ... things for the turtle to rest on when he/she is swimming around.

I am also worried about the escape, I jsut didnt know how well they are at climbing. I have an extention tube, but without that much water it stops pushing water up. I always thought as long as the end of the tube is in the water its fine, but not with this one. I guess Ill build something on that side out of wood or plexyglass. I moved the light on the other side of the tank and I am testing the temp right now. I will move the UVB light down over the dock. If the turtle would get out it is a deep drop. the top of the tank is at my shoulders and I am 5'9. But Ill see if I can go to the Baumarkt tomorrow and pick up something. I was thinking about making a box over it and somehow make it so the ramp that I have now is used to get up. But Im not sure about how to do that. Any more comments?

Oh, And I have rocks too, Im going to clean them and put them iin. I wsnt sure of the turtle could hut himself on them, or eat the fake plants. I dont want him to get stuck on something. I have an awsome decoration that I used for my fish, but its one of those old roman buildings, and the coullums are close together... Ill clean the rocks and post more pics.
Any more comments?

I agree with Breigh.

You could just build up a wall around that corner if you have to leave the water level that high. And the lighting definitely needs to be adjusted.

Turtles are amazing climbers and surprisingly strong. If they can reach the rim of the tank at all with their front paws, they will climb out. And if there's any little thing they could use to boost their climb - like a filter, heater, suckers on a platform - they will. And if you have more than one turtle they will get up on the platform and "stack" - ie, one will climb on the other's back in order to escape!

Let me make a suggestion on the turtle dock. The kind you have is good - lots of people use it and the turtles like it. Little turtles, though, like to squeeze into tight places and they can get stuck between the dock or frame and the wall of the tank. They can even drown there. To make the dock safe, you can turn the plastic frame upside down so the horizontal bar is at the top, then remove the suckers that are at the bottom beneath the water. This will give the dock flexibility so the turtle can escape if he needs to.

On the UVB light, it looks like you've got a compact fluorescent. The distance from the basking area is important with those - too far away and it's ineffective, too close and it can hurt the turtle's eyes. Did your bulb come with directions on placement? If not, here are some good directions for Reptisun compact fluorescent bulbs. You can use them if your bulb didn't come with it's own directions.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9236

How far away is the UVB light (the left one) and what kind is it (It looks a little far away to me)?

Is that a metal beam you've got it attached to? You could use a chain to extend it down further and more over the basking area. If the beam will hold the heat lamp, you could use another chain to hang it as well, next to the UVB light. Use a thermometer to check the basking area temp until it's in a good range (88-90F).

I will do that with the dock. it makes a lot of sence. Ill put an extra rim around that side. Do I need one for the heater aswell? The lamp on the top is the UVB light the box says

" 5% UVB output
30% UVA output
Full spectrum
26 watts

Its a repti sun by zoo med. it says " Self ballasted compact fluorescent UVB bulb for all tropical spiecies of reptiles.

The one that is hooked on the tank is one from zoo med simply called "Repti basking spot light" 75 watts Neither seem to of come with directions. Spotsmama- you have good eyes!!! The UVB is 56cm from the platform, and the other one is 41cm away. (I moved it to the other side.)

its not a metal bar, its bamboo the basking spot is about 85 the way it is now. Ill check again after I hang the other one down a bit. Does the UVB have to be over the basking spot, or just towards the water? Thank you for your quick replies. I look forward to more

Ok, here are some more pictures. I have a question about each, so please bare with me....



Is the distance from the heater and the top of the tank enough?

Is this whay you meant mama?
Also here, is this too close to the water for the turtle to get out??

The UVB light
The basking light
This is the filter, open and closed. What do those wheeles do???


On this one I am worried about the tanks being so close. I have hermit crabs in there, and was wondering if the turtle will try to get through the glass and eat them? I dont want him to hurt himself. Ignore the rats, they always try to get in the hermit crab tank... Plus one is going to have babies!!!! So she hides now all the time, and the other one protects her....


Some of you were worried about the fall the turtle would have if he would get out. This is it...

The black thing behind the tank is a mister I use for my crabs. Humidity..

Thank you for any comments!

That's so cool that the rats just run around the room like that!

It's awesome that you prepared a great tank for your turtle before you even got it!

Wow are your rats free-roaming or do they have their own cage?

Becareful with the rats climbing and falling into the turtle tank. I'm sure you wouldnt them to become a meal lol (yes they are capable of eating mice, even though it is not reccomended, heck if they can take down birds! imagine a poor little rat )

nice tank though! very cool looking! i like how you dont have too much crap in your tank. i like my setups very clean, bare, and simple. Definitley lower the water level though, they can realy climb out and hurt themselves.

BTW, the wheels on your filter are called "bio-wheels". The beneficial bacteria that feed on the turtle's waste will colonize the surfaces of the wheel. These bacteria require huge amounts of oxygen in order to convert the toxic ammonia waste into less toxic nitrates. Therefore having the wheel rotate between in and out of water helps provide them the oxygen they need without depleting the oxygen in the water. It's a very good design for a filter. The only thing you need to watch out for is to clean the mechanical and chemical (floss and carbon) cartridges inside the filter regularly. Otherwise the wheels can get clogged with gunk and they won't work as well.

Cool rats!! And yes, you'd better watch out for them. If they get in the tank it could be really bad for them.

The turtle dock looks great!

Can you lower that water a few inches? I'm really worried about a turtle climbing out.

On the lights, use the zoo med directions on placement. Then, both lights should be over the basking area. I'm going to try to find a photo of good light placement for you. I'll come back and edit the post when I find it.

***Edit***

Here's a good example. Look at the very last photo in the indoor habitat section. It shows a very good two bulb placement. (Most of the other photos in the gallery aren't relevant for you as they show one bulb setups. When people use one bulb it's a mercury vapor bulb - which is a very powerful type of bulb. If you get a larger setup some day you might upgrade to a mercury vapor bulb.)

http://www.redearslider.com/habitat_gallery.html

the rats dont roam around the room. where the tanks are there is liek a shelf that you can pull out, and I put their toy there and let them roam around on there. The tank is too high for them to get up there. I tried putting on the crabs tank but they "spooned" the water with their hands. I cant lower the water level because of the filter. Ill try again, maybe it needed it so high so it can start, but now that its going ill try again. Ill post more pics of the way I have the lamps now. I got 4 little fish to get the filter started so the PH level dosnt go crazy when I get the turtle. I also got some wire, chicken wire, its green coated wire that im going to put over the tank so he cant get out untill I get a basking spot put ontop of it.

The filter has an empty thing in it where I can put those black things in it. Im not sure what they do, but im going to go looking for it by the Americans.. Too expensive by the Germans. Oh and yes, the rats cage is bigger than i am.. lol.. HUGE... I like to spoil my animals haha... The crabs eat eggs, and shrimps, and all kinds of exppensive food id never buy for myself haha...