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so i made an intro post like five min ago, if youre interested in how i got this new turtle of mine go and read this. You should prolly read my other post so you can actually know what i am rambling about. here ya go

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15677

well anyways, this new turtle of mine is not in the best health. at first i had setup a tank full of water for him and as i set him in the water, i noticed that he was having alot of trouble swimming. I noticed every 5 seconds, he was swim as hard as he can to the surface just to catch his breath. i was really worried about this so i decided to lower the water level to 4-5 inches so he can simply poke his head out of the water easily without struggle. Im thinking that because this turtle was never had swimming space for the last 7 years, this turtle basically doesnt have the muscles to fully swim and float. this turtle isnt skin and bones and it appears pretty healthy btw. but anyways, my plan from here until whenever is to gradually increase the water level an inch or 2 every month until this guy is able to swim proudly again. Other than that, im willing to consider any ideas you turtle gurus can think of.

If, as you said, the turtle isn't skin and bones and appears to be healthy, he should quickly acclimate to increased water levels. Swimming for them is instinctive. You could raise the water level more quickly than you said you're going to. Just give him a good set-up.

Props to you for taking the turtle in (and informing that family of what goes into taking care of a RES).

i know that sliders can swim instictively but i was just concerned because it seemed like Rupert was seriously struggling to swim up to the surface

Welcome back!
I think that's a good idea, but you can probably raise it up a bit quicker than that.

Frankie was in the same situation when I first got her, but she spent her first couple weeks with me in a 30 gal, and she just stood up on the bottom to get a breath of air.
When I switched her to the 90 gal, I filled it up all the way, but I gave her a plant and an underwater platform to rest. At first, she tried to stand up on the bottom to get a breath, but was about 6 inches too short She really looked like a hatchling when she had to go up for a breath, with her limbs flailing wildly.

Now (about 4 months later) she's gotten better at swimming, although she'd rather just sit on the bottom or one of her underwater platforms. She doesn't seem to have the buoyancy thing quite down yet, and tends to sink like a rock

Make sure that there's an underwater resting area so that he doesn't have to struggle for air when he's sleeping. My little guys are still under 4 inches and a soap dish with suction cups works wonders.

Most little one adapt right away. I don't know what to say about a turtle that can not swim. Try and raise it about an inch a day and see if that will help. Is he swimming to one side

When my male RES recovered from his orientation problem, we let him swim in the large tank periodically for an hour so. It was done for about week until we didn't notice any swimming problems. Granted the "large" tank back then was not very large but gradual is the best way to go -- especially with feeding.