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Okay. I'm setting up my tank today and I have a question about the water...

Should I use filtered water, tap water, or hose water? The water in my area comes from a well and while it's not particularly hard it does have minerals and such in it. The tap water is run through a water softener. and then I have an ubundance of filtered water - my boyfriend has a fish tank that requires it.

I use tap water, and I too have well water. I also use a simple water conditioner to help balance out the water. Anyway, I haven't had any problems.

Same here. I use biotize and aquatize, they work great.

I use tap water .. I have a well.. the only problem I have is the mineral deposits on the tank and their shell.

What about RUDI water? I know that doesnt have anything at all in it. Or do they need the minerals and such that come from the tap water?

What is RUDI? For the most part, tap water is fine in developed countries.

I use straight tap water.

hannah.26, are you talking about water that's gone through reverse osmosis? If so, tap water would be preferable, since minerals and electrolytes that are needed would have been taken out of water that's undergone RO.

Yea that's pretty much what i mean. the RUDI water ( i prolly have the initials wrong but its not RO) is basically the same except that there are more steps and pretty much everything is taken out.

and what is: biotize and aquatize?

I haven't set up the tank yet....still collecting info.

now I have a 26 gal tank for the beginning set up for a 1 1/2 - 2" turtle that I plan on getting soon...how many gallons of that should be water vs land? I've been looking at different peoples set ups and they all have something different. some have very low water levels and others have a ton of deep water....What does a hatchling need? The pet store has them in 4-5" of water depth right now.

Rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch. If you tank is bigger than that, fill it up! Just be sure to leave enough space at the top to keep your turt from escaping. For a younger turt, you might want to provide some tall plants for resting on. Mine general tread water or hold on to the dock. You mentioned water space vs. land. The only land area you should have is for your turtle to bask on. Most people tend to go with floating places, or spaces mounted above the tank...this gives the turt extra swimming space. Later on, when your turt is over four inches, if you have a female, you will also need a nesting area. But, no need to worry about that right now.

Biotize and Aquatize (especially Biotize) sound like products that are added to the water to help break down poop, etc. in the tank. If you use tap water and it's been treated with chlorine/chloramines, using a dechlorinator is good. Since your tap water is coming from a well, you wouldn't even need that. If you have a good filter that uses biomedia, I don't think other products are really necessary.

I currently do not have a filter. and advice on a brand type and size?

and about the basking area....is something floating best? what about a graduated slope into the water with the substrate? Wouldn't that be more natural? I worry that they wont be able to climb up and drown....

A basking area that floats but is stationary under a UVB light and heat source would give your turtle more swimming room (under it). If you mean creating a slope with pebbles going up to a sort of "land" area for basking, I think this would only take up unnecessary room, and I don't like this type of basking area because it can be difficult to get on if the pebbles shift (as they are likely to do when your turtle tries to climb it).

I have a 20-gallon tank that uses an AquaClear 70 filter. The water level should be higher with this type of filter and it can be noisy if it isn't. Some people like Whisper filters, and perhaps they'll add their comments for your consideration.

I do have some rocks that I planned to put in the gravel for them to climb around on. we'll see what I end up doing...I'm going to mess around with it a couple different ways before I go and get him. how about those little wood logs/branches that you can buy? do they like crawling around on those?

thanks for the filter info. I'll look into it when I go to the store this weekend. Without a filter how often would I have to change the water? every other day?

I like the rena filstar filters. I have an xp3, but that is way more than you need for a small tank. They make lesser models though. They are expensive but worth the money in my opinion. I have also heard good things about the whisper filters. I posted somewhere else that I didn't like these, and well I didn't have the filter that I thought I had. Ha! Anyway, the smaller whisper filters can be purchased at walmart and I believe they are reasonably priced.