General Care Discussion :: Advice please? Basing/Feeding

[KniteStarz]

Hi guys ! I wrote in last night and introduced myself. Was half asleep though so i think everyone thought I was crazy. Well, I have two turtles, my false map, male (Scoot) and my yellow bellied slider, female (I think..) (Captain/Ms. Captain). I just set up their 75 gallon tank two weeks ago today. Went all out. Got Fluval FX5, have pool media sand with river rocks on top. (Bad idea? Thinking it's going to be hard to clean.) I wanted to try to plant it, (Knowing they would be eating them..they eat EVERYTHING!) but wasn't bright enough to plant before I added rocks/sand. I've just thrown the plants in with them now since i know they love them and think it is good for them? Have a water circulator to help the filter also. I got a heater that's for 75 gal, preparing for temp adjustments. Never thought about the fact that it could get too warm though. If I'm not constantly putting frozen bottles of water in to cool it the temp stays at 80*. Of course, I'm scared of dropping the temp too fast when I do that also. *sigh* The basking area is a turtle condo from glasscages.com that I love. (Still have to put a backing on it.) I have a 50wt basking light and a uvb light up top. It stays about 91* in the basking area. My total fear now is that it's been 2 weeks and neither one of them will venture up to bask ! I put food up top and my little ppiggy Captain did wander up a little to get some food, but not all the way. Scoot won't even consider it. I'm really getting nervous that they will develop a fungus, get sick, etc. Even when the water is at 80* the basking area is 10* warmer. Really it's only under the light though, so since they don't go up there, they don't know that. So frustrated. Also, Captain, as previously stated, is a total piglet. I know turtles beg, but she's just NUTS about food ! This becomes a problem during feeding because she tries to eat all the food. Scoot is more shy, (and sometimes I think not too bright, lol) and she ends up getting too much food with Scoot not getting enough. I'm trying to handfeed for the most part now, like i did in the smaller tank, but does anyone have any ideas? Also I ordered Purigen to clear up the tea green color in my tank, so don't mind that. Oh, and the filter intake popped off the side. I'll be fixing that tonight. Anyway, here's some pics. Glad to be here and any advice or comments would be appreciated !
EDIT: Trying to post pics. No matter what I do it says they're too big. Will keep trying below, but want to post this before I'm logged out or something.

[KniteStarz]

Whew ! That was a fiasco. Here's the other pics.

[steve]

I would use fewer river rocks. I'm not sure I understand your comments about the plants. I noticed you have a digital thermometer... I would recommend getting one of those stick on LCD thermometers. Check each other for accuracy. What brand heater did you get? Try to get more heat towards the edge of the platform. Can they easily get up there if you lead them with food?

[KniteStarz]

I got a stick on thermometer. It did nothing from the outside. I think the whole tank is tempered glass? Maybe too thick? I also have a regular thermometer in there. It's reading 76* right now, while the digital is reading 80*. Are the digital really that off? I thought they'd be better.
As for the plants, I don't remember the name of the plant I get, but it's the one Petsmart says they feed their turtles. It comes in bunches with a rubber band and lead tie holding them together, which I remove of course. I can't really plant it now as I can't even really get to the bottom of the tank, but I've always left a couple bunches in their small tank and they eat it all in a couple weeks, so i did the same here. They're tangled up with the fake plant hanging off the ramp and they are eating them.
What problems will the river rocks cause? Hard to clean?
I got the Sera 300 wt heater, not that I need to use it. It's weird too because my house isn't that warm. Maybe the other one is right. I'll keep a closer eye on it.
I will move it closer to edge. Hopefully that helps. Yes, Captain climbs up there to steal food when she thinks I'm not looking. I watched her. She climbed up fine. Of course once she got it she ran back to the water and dove in !
They're really making me nervous with not basking. I am trying my best to be a good turtle mom, but am making plenty of beginner mistakes I'm sure.

[KniteStarz]

Well, I moved the light and the rock closer to the ramp and Captain is now going up to bask. Can't believe I hadn't thought of that. Scoot still won't go up there yet but I'm sure he'll start following her. I'm also monitoring both thermometers right now and think the tank is running lower than the digital reads. What a piece of poop !

[steve]

If you're spending $10 on these, this is what you will get:


Too many rocks will just trap a lot of waste and most turtle waste will sink. Buy a good water heater you will be making less temp checks. I like to use an infrared thermometer as my main one, and the LCD as a backup.

[mark_alexandre]

If you're spending $10 on these, this is what you will get:

I like to use an infrared thermometer as my main one, and the LCD as a backup.

Hey Steve - could you recommend any brand names or post links to the kind of thermometers you use? I unfortunately have something similar to that picture in my home

[steve]

I use a $2 sticky lcd thermometer like this for backup and quick checks. They might be off a by a degree or two but are consistent.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=3900

The tube ones are good too though turtles have a tendency to break them. It might be better suited to have if you have hatchlings and to check the basking area temp.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=3921

My main thermometer is a non-contact infrared temp gun. They cost about $25 and is quick and accurate.
I can't find the one I use on sale anymore (or for under $30) but it's this one

[mark_alexandre]

Thanks Steve! So are those digital thermometers (seen in the picture you originally posted) considered the worst? I always thought those would be better than the sticky-strips.

[mark_alexandre]

Also - this might be a stupid question, but are you only using this to read the temperature of the basking area? Or does this measure the water temp too?

[steve]

I haven't used the other brands besides Coralife, but cheap digital ones are unreliable. Always check to make sure whichever kind you get is reasonably accurate. I had previously thought they were better too, but learned from it.

A temp gun measures the surface temperature so you can use it for anything. Depending on it's range (most need to be an inch or two away), you just point to it and press the button.

[mark_alexandre]

Sounds like I should get one of those then! Thanks Steve!

[steve]

You might also find them in hobby and automotive stores. They're very useful to have around.

[mark_alexandre]

Do you find that the water's surface temperature is a good indicator of water temperature overall?

[KniteStarz]

Thanks Steve. The outside stick on I got was terrible but I'll try a better one and I'll make sure to get a temp gun soon. In the meantime I'll try my tube one. My guys are still pretty small and i haven't seen them messing with it so I'll leave it for now. I'll make sure to remove it before they get much bigger though.
As for the rocks, yeah, that's part of why i got the sand. (It's pool filter media.) I've read it's easy to clean, the waste sits on top. I'm sure after the first time I clean I'll be pulling out some of the rocks.
Thanks for the advice and sorry if i seemed like i talked in circles. I was just nervous for my little guys. I'm still working out some kinks, but things are smoothing out.