Habitat - Indoor :: Any more items?

[emma]

So far here are all the things i have for my turts.

What is in their tank right now-
20 gallon long with screen top
ReptoFilter
Stealth 75 watt heater
Zoo med basking dock
2.0 UVB light- getting a 5.0 sometime soon
UVA light- getting a better one soon
bubble disk and tubing
air pump for the disk- rated for 10 gallons
River rocks- about 2-3 inches long on each rock
PVC pipe thingy
fake plastic plants
2 goldfish
mr. cleaner gravel cleaner to clean out the tank poop with.
fish net
scrubbing things
--Does this sound good for their living conditions right now? Is there anything you recommend I should be doing different?
Food:
ReptoMin baby pellets
Zoo Med aquatic turtle pellets- are these OK for the turtles?
fish food for fish
lettuce (couple of different varieties)
carrots, grapes, worms, blood worms
---Is this a good diet for them right now?

For use with the new tank i am getting (55 gallons)
xp3 filter with cermamic rings
stealth 200 watt heater
floating turtle log

Things i am questioning about getting- test kits for the water??
what kinds of pump would be good for a 55 gallon tank??
what kind of fish would be good in with the turtles??
any play things for them??
---Anything else that you recommend I should get for them?

And when I get the 55 gallon, should I leave Brownie, the false map turtle in the 20 gallon buy himself? Do you think he would be happier?

It just seems like I have SOOO many questions..sorry about that...I just want my turtles to be happy!

[Starchick]

Yes get test kits! Very important for monitoring water quality! Stick with fish like rosy red minnows until you know if they'll get eaten, you don't want anything fatty like goldfish that would be bad for them if they get eaten. They don't really need toys but river rocks are something they can push around and play with. I don't know about pumps though.

How big are your turtles? I think Brownie might be happier in his own tank, so long as it provides enough space.

Okay, as for what you have: unless the spaces between the wires are like a quarter or half inch apart, it's going to be filtering out all your uvb rays. I've not heard good things about the reptofilter, but you can sort of gauge how it's doing by how quickly your tank gets grody, and once you get your test kits you can keep on eye on the levels of ammonia etc. I've heard that most people don't even feed the fish themselves, the fish just clean up bits left behind by the turtles. Diet sounds pretty good, just be sure you're feeding nutritious lettuces rather than iceberg, and don't overdo the protein!

Good luck!

[emma]

I would be keeping Brownie in the 20 gallon i have now while the other 3 would be moved to the 55 gallon.

I have cats at my house that are always on top of the tank, so i HAVE to have a top. What kind of top would you recommend?

And no, i tried at first giving iceberg because i didnt know it was bad for them but they hated it and would not eat it. Then i got them the fresh stuff like red lettuce, and romain lettuce.

The ReptoFilter in my 20 gal. does a pretty good job on keeping the water very clean and clear...but for the 55 gallon, i knew that it would be useless for a small filter like that so thats why i got the xp3.

[Starchick]

Head to the hardware store and look for some kind of mesh with a really wide gauge, if the holes are bigger than a half inch you should be just fine. You could probably take some wire cutters and pull off the mesh that's on the lid you have, and just wrap it with the new mesh or glue it on. I'm sure others will have suggestions as well, there are lots of people on here who've had to work around that!

[Sgt. Pepper]

Instead of getting a new screen altogether you could just cut a whole where the uvb light goes. That way the light gets through and the cats can't get in. To keep them from knocking the light away you could get string or wire and tie the light down to the top or something.

[erinemcgreevy]

My turts love their floating log and aquatic plants.

[emma]

I have right now a 10 gallon pump...so...need a new one. What pump would you recommend or a 55 gallon tank? I kinda want to buy everything off biglalsonline so i dont have to pay 2 shipping prices.

[octpusgirl8]

Get a Tetra Whisper air pump, i would think a 40 would be plenty big enough. I have a 60 for my 75 gal tank and it's way more than i need, it has 2 outlets and they put out a ton of air through the two bubble strips i have in there. Really a 20 would probably be fine, but i would get the bigger of the two in case you upgrade later.