Habitat - Indoor :: Is there a 'proper' water level?

[Sally's Mom]

Hi folks,

I'm new to the Forum but I have spent hours on the entire site and have learned volumes. I adopted Sally a few years ago and at that time her tank was set up with a relatively low water level of about 3-4 inches with rocks for basking.

After discovering this site a couple of weeks ago, I've made all sorts of improvements with lighting and heating but I do have one question. Do turtle tanks need to be filled with water?

She basks all the time and I elevated the water level to about 6 inches but she really does not spend much time swimming. She'll jump in gets wet and goes back to bask. Is this because the water is too low? Am I doing her an injustice by not having a full tank?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[emma]

You should always make sure to have the water as high as it can go without your turtle being able to escape. This way your turtle will have lots of room to swim around. How big is your tank? How often does your turtle bask?

[Sally's Mom]

Thanks for your reply Emma.

She's in a 30 gallon tank and basks more than she swims. She tends to swim more in the late afternoon/evening time but during the day she basks, jumps in the water and goes back to bask.

I also have an outdoor tank for her that I use for her to get real sunlight but again the water level is only about 4 inches, and she swims a lot there.

I have a filter that only allows for the level to be at about 6 inches but am more than prepared to go to a canister filter (something that I've been reading a lot about in the forums) if this is preferrable for her well-being.

I want her to be happy and am prepared to fit out her tank in any way that's needed.

[megcornell]

Filling the tank with more water would definitely make your turtle happier and healthier. Red ear sliders are aquatic turtles, so they enjoy having deep water to swim in.
I'm not sure how large Sally is, but a canister filter sounds like a good upgrade. You'll probably want to start looking into larger tank options as well, but the nice thing about a canister filter is that it would be functional in larger tanks as well.

[Bascomb]

S-Mom -- The 10 gallons per inch is what you need to take into consideration. If you only have 6'' in a 30 gallon you do not have enough. They are very good swimmers and more water would be a good idea. I don't want to spend your money, but a 55 gallon with a filter/pump of 350gph, would do just fine.

[marisa]

Just curious, but what is the temp of the water and basking area?

[Bumby's Mom]

Do you have a RES or other type of turtle? I know Painted's tend to bask more often then RES usually do. Nyxie basks a good majority of the day and periodically takes a dip in the water and swims around. I would definitely raise the water level though and either do an above the tank basking area or a suctioned dock.

[Sally's Mom]

Thank you for your kind replys. I'm taking the temp of the basking area now and know I need it to be about 10 degrees higher than the water temp. We'll see.

Can you folks recommend a good canister filter? I'm moving the current filter into a plant tank and want to order the canister filter now so that I'm ready when the plants arrive next week.

[Bascomb]

S-mom -- I use two different types for 30 gallons and both are good. I use a Marineland 350 -- 350 gph and a Fluval 405- 300 gph and they both do a good job. You will need to raise the water level about 5 or 6 inches from the top. Make sure the suction has a grate cover so the turtles will not get caught in it. After you get over the new tank syndrome you will be happy with the filter. You will notice a big difference in the water movement.

[Sally's Mom]

Sally is a RES, about 6"l. Her water temp is 78 and basking temp is 88, so that's good right?

I've spent some time in the Equipment forum and read a lot about the Rena Filstar XP canister filter. I went into big al's, which is supposed to be a good place to buy from reading folks' posts. I'm thinking about the XP2, w/ 300 gph for the 30 gal tank; I just got the 30 gal so I really do not want to go up right away if I can get away with it. I'm thinking that when I raise the water level she'll buy a lot more space than she's had. I've got a suction dock too.

Any opinions? Oh, thanks for mentioning the filter grate Bascomb; I never would have thought of it.

[marisa]

If she's healthy and basks at that temp (my RES likes it at 88F and not much higher as well), that's fine. Personally, though, I'd lower the water temp a few degrees, to around 75F.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I don't know how much Big Al's costs, but I found a Rena FilStar XP3 on ebay (at one of the ebay stores PetSolutions) for 120$ with shipping. I thought that was a great deal. PetSmart.com also has them for really good prices (though not so much in the store) but they are backordered (though free shipping). I haven't gotten it yet, but they shipped it next day UPS, so I figure I'll get it Tuesday.

[Sally's Mom]

I was ready to order the XP3 (I figured I'd go up from XP@ 2 because she'll eventually go into larger tanks several times but I would spend on a filter only once.) at big Al's but before I did I performed a search.

Folks on this site kept saying that they thought the filter ran $99; Big Al's had it for $125.99. I paid $99 at a place called ForPetsDirect.com. It's already been shipped too. good luck with yours Jax.

Oh, I came across a video on YouTube showing how to set it up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32CkKhXip_k
Maybe it will help.

[emma]

Yeah, bigals changed the price for their xp3. I just noticed that the other day.