General Care Discussion :: New owner- alot of researching, quite a few upgrades

[feistyjenn]

okies,
on the whim of my 11 year old, we purchased a baby res at the local petstore.

we had an empty 15gal complte fish aquarium, thinking "should be good enough". HA! that setup lasted not more than 3 months before we found a 7 in guy that needed a home, hence we purchased a 55 Gal aquarium, an older eheim canister filter <rated for up to 100 gal>, a basking ramp from the petstore, and a heavy duty thermometer to heat all that water, as well as 2 lights, one for the heat and another for the uv rays.

now, after more researching I have come to the conclusion that Shelly & Squishy are only about 1/2 way to a proper setup.

seems that im gonna have to fandangle a proper basking spot, a sand pit area and somehow more filtration.

I have problems though:

Filtration:
this is a canister filter, apparently almost the best of the best for its size, and even though the aquarium is approx 2/3 full <to prevent escaping> and i do 10 gal water changes weekly, my water is horribly cloudy, and seems that the algae insists on blooming profusely.

Basking:
after looking at so many peoples basking spots, i am so useless when it comes to building things, is there an "easier, yet still attractive" way to make one?

sand pit:
Not even sure how to go about this one, I'm sure shelly is female, she's approx 4 in now and still has short claws. compared to Squishy, who is almost 2x her size/age, who has Loooong claws and a very differently placed poop hole along the tail. I know eventually i'll need a place for her to lay. i keep thinking up ideas but not sure how to go about it to prevent water from building up in the sand/ rotting etc..

background:
I have some ppl saying they need one to feel safe/ other ppl saying its just for our human sensibilities and the turtles dont care

toys:
do turtles want more decorations than i have? <try to post a pic>

please, I am really hoping to do right by these two lil guys and i dont think we're quite there yet. any & all info is greatly appreciated.

http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 4942_n.jpg

squishy has claws, thinking hes a boy

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 5464_n.jpg

squishy is about 7 in long

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 8169_n.jpg

shelly is about 5 in long

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 1908_n.jpg

Squishy has a injury- not sure if its from the bump on his shell that keeps rubbing it raw...

http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 4188_n.jpg

showing where the shellbump rubs his neck.

http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 0149_n.jpg

last pic of the current setup & my battle with algae.

sure hope the pictures are linked properly

[Kemul]

feistyjenn, welcome!

First, get rid of the gravel. Each are small than your turtles' heads already. Better
be safe than sorry if the gravel get stuck in your turtle's digestive system. Gravel
also traps lots of debris if not cleaned often.

Filtration: you should check if the filter's media needs cleaning or being replaced.
It seems like the tank's bioload is too much for the filter, hence the cloudy water.
Also make sure the tubings are clean. Good pump won't do much if the tubings
are clogged with waste, reducing your filter's effectiveness by a lot.

Sand pit: I don't think you need sand pit right now. It'll be useful if your female
is gravid or showing signs of being gravid. It'd be better if you separate your
turtles now. Having fertile eggs won't be good, because that means you might
need to take care of numerous hatchlings.

Basking: I'm not good with building basking area as well. The easiest way for
a good looking basking platform is the one you're using.

Background and toys: I still think it's for the human's enjoyment, turtles don't
care. I'm sure others have different opinions

Last, I don't feel competent enough to comment about the injury. I hope it
disappears soon.

Good luck!

[feistyjenn]

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak ... 5176_n.jpg

this is my gravel, next to standard aquarium gravel, still too small?

other than that, i do use a python to suction debris out of the aquarium during water changes.. thinking even of starting to feed them in a rubbermaid, if they'll do that, to cut down on solid wastes.

not helping the matter is the 3 goldfish that havent been eaten, theyve been in there for a few weeks, if not months already. plus some sort of "shark" and a suckerfish that were living with squishy when i got him... maybe a second filter is in order, i dunno. gonna move the suckerfish to my fishtank.

as for basking area, was thinking if i could get the water to full tank height, i could use a fluval hang on the back kinda filter. easier to clean and alot more water movement.

turtle keeping isnt the easiest

<edited cuz wrong pic showed up>

[theartbook35]

If you have two turtles in the same tank, and the tank is 50 gallons or larger, it helps to have an extra filter, too. Yes, two filters requires more maintenance. I think your daughter is old enough where she can help you out in taking care of them, if she hasn't done that already.

The gravel on the right in the newer picture looks pretty big to me. Sand is an easier substrate to manage, as it collects less debris and is easier for your turtles to dig through. Just make sure you don't put anything heavy on top of the sand, because the turtles will dig under that heavy object. I was dumb enough to do this, and my turtle's shell got whacked because of it. (The whack is not an open sore, just a white line, and I cleaned it yesterday just to be on the safe side).

There is a topic on here about how to clean and take care of sand, too.

You don't want the water all the way to the top of the tank, because your turtles will escape, I guarantee it.

The neck wound should be cleaned by a vet, and they will tell you the proper way to manage it.

Do you have a water heater? You'll need it for a tank that size.

This website sells great stuff most of the time, as far as turtle ramps and filters are concerned: http://www.petdiscounters.com They have very good prices, I've bought from them and I really like the things I got. (Not everything I bought my turtles liked, however, but those can be used in future set ups for other reptiles and amphibians I want). They ship fast too.

[mike hill]

Fe-jenn -- First of all the chain pet stores don't have a clue about aquatic turtles. The 100 gallon filter was for a fish tank and not a turtle tank. You will need a filter pump that will pump at least five times the water volume that you have in the tank. In all my travels I have only found one person that knew anything about turtles in these chain stores. Most of the folks on this forum have turtles of their own and it is an on going learning experince for all of us. -- Your bacteria bloom is probably a new tank syndrom and can be helped by 50% changes every time it starts up. I have a 55 gallon and use a 300 gph canister filter and it does fine.

[Kemul]

Feistyjenn,

Theartbook35 and Mike Hill gave good suggestions. I'd like to add a little more.

From your photo below, it looks like the gravel is smaller if not as large as your
turtle's head. In any case, I don't recommend gravel because I think it will trap
debris even if you regularly clean it with python.


I don't know about sand, some people have great experiences with it. Personally,
I prefer no substrate in my tank. It makes my tank look clean and clear.

From the greenish water of your tank, could it be bacterial and algae bloom at
the same time? Like Mike Hill said, you can try changing 50% of the water,
perhaps once a week. Also, upgrade your filter or use two. Two filters will use
more electricity. Important part of filter media is biomedia, apart from the
mechanical filtration. Make sure you have lots of biomedia.

I didn't notice the goldfish. Goldfish poops a lot, adding more bioload for your
tank. More reason for a better, stronger filter.

Turtle keeping setup isn't the easiest. However, once you successfully set it up,
you won't have much trouble maintaining it and you will have the great feeling
of satisfaction

[feistyjenn]

i'm gonna take out the gravel, guess safer is better than sorry, not to mention if it'll help with the bloom as suggested.

on the lookout for a second hand filter, with my water being so low, can't use a aquaclear, so looking for another canister.

also attempting to rehome the goldfish, as its almost pond season, thinking it should be easier, now.

i pre- seeded the canister when i first set it up, with an entire unrinsed sponge from my aquaclear 200 thats on my fishtank, was hoping to bypass the whole "new tank" syndrome... thinking maybe it didnt work so well as i thought.

update when i have news/changes.

Thanks everyone for your input

Jenn

[feistyjenn]

ok- so thanks to my local freecycle network, i was able to rehome the 3 goldfish today, I removed the suckerfish to my 30 gal fish aquarium, the tetra/shark things too big for the fish aquarium, but we now have a smaller bio-load.

still on the hunt for a second filter.

removed all the gravel, have an ugly bare tank, but it IS easier to see dirt and clean up.

boyfriend, <while i was at work, and also without telling me> decided that the filter could use a good cleaning, and took apart the canister and boiled everything inside it =no more bio-colony

so , since i was essentially working from scratch anyways, i did a 75% waterchange <still kinda greeny>,

hoping something goes right for these guys.

[Kemul]

feistyjenn,

Since you're starting from scratch anyway, you can prepare a good chunk of time
for one day to do a complete scrub down of the tank. That's a 100% water change
hopefully getting rid of algae from the system. You need to relocate your turtles
during that time, but they should be fine.

If you want, you can seed the filter with the beneficial bacteria. It looks like
powder you can buy from pet stores. I've never tried it though. There are also
other methods to speed up the nitrogen cycling process, a quick googling will
provide you the info. Good luck!

[TheComputerGremlin]

If you are going to do a 100% water change, you should use a dilute vinegar solution to scrub down the tank walls. That will help get rid of any remaining algae.

There are alternatives to just a bare tank bottom. I found when I was first setting up my tank that some websites recommended taking a black plastic floor runner and putting it on the bottom of the tank, mainly to protect the glass from turtle claws. So we bought one of those and cut it to size and it sits at the very bottom of my tank. It's also good because it gives my turtle some traction. I then added a bunch of these U shaped glass drops, which I inspect each week and take out any that have broken, but I've only had one or two break over the last 15 months of using them. And my turtle loves them! She digs around them, though I'll warn you that they make a loud clinking noise. They don't trap much debris because I only have a thin layer of them. Just think creatively, and you should be fine. You can buy a thin layer of river rocks as well, and I still highly recommend the runner underneath.

For the basking area, the easiest one to make is a PVC/plexiglass one. You can get them to cut the pieces at the hardware store. What you are going to do is build a cube out of the PVC pipe. If you use a smaller pipe, they have these joints you can use. Then you make the plexiglass top, attach the two, and you have a simple basking area. I dressed mine up with some of my U shaped glass drops for some traction. Let me find a picture:

Oh, and ignore the screen. Yes, breaking tons of turtle rules by having it, but otherwise, my cats will have electrocuted themselves and the turtle by now. She's getting an upgraded tank here soon anyways.

[SpotsMama]

On the injury, clean the area with a little Hibiclense (Hibiclense is an antiseptic handwash for people you get at places like Walgreens) on a q tip. Rinse thoroughly. Then put a little Neosporin (or other antibiotic ointment) on a clean q tip and dab it on the wound. Let it soak in for around 20 minutes before return the turtle to the tank. Repeat a couple of times a day until the wound is healed.

If it won't heal because the pointed scute keeps re-injuring it, you'll need to see a vet about it.

While there's an open wound it's especially important to keep the water extra clean. The risk right now, of course, is infection.

[marisa]

To me, the best basking area is a nice corkbark curl. It's so natural looking, will be easy for your RES to get on, and you don't have to anything except size it to the width of the tank---a bit larger so it can be wedged in between the sides, but just a bit because it will expand a little.