Habitat - Indoor :: New large tank. I need help!

[ElizKM86]

Hello!

My bf and I are in the process of purchasing a huge giant huge new 120 gal tank for our 2 res. The have been residing in a very cramped small tank and we are SERIOUSLY upgrading them. We got an excellent deal on a tank from Craigslist.

Now we are looking for lots of direction, as we are making a big jump from tiny tank to huge tank. We realize it will require a lot more equipment and a lot more maintenance, but we dont really know what other equipment or what maintenance! We have tried to do our research, but we need some help filling in the gaps.

Here is what we have on the way soon:
- 120 gallon tank
- wooden cabinet stand
- hood and light
- gravel
- fluval 405 canister filter
- carbon filter media
- ammonia neutralizer media
- tank heater

What we are hoping to find is someone to give us 'lessons' on how to properly set up and maintain a tank like this. We need a tank guru! Is there anyone around Boston, MA who would be willing to bestow on us their knowledge? Is there anyone who would like to share their knowledge over the interwebz with us? Please help!

-Liz ;]

[Take-One]

Get rid of the gravel. And you will need upgrades in the future.

[littleking8888]

Get rid of the gravel. You may also want to get a UVB light for the turtles to bask.

[mzkitty23]

well, you need a UVB light, a heat light, and a temp guage for the water and the basking area. you also need a place for the turtles to get completely out of the water (and most of them like a place to be partially out of the water in addition). I think you need water conditioner and not just ammonia killer too (but i guess it depends on if you ammonia killer does everything or not). there are lots of "tank experts" on here that can give you ideas on specifics. and yes, get rid of gravel (turtles can really get hurt by gravel). you also need a cuttlebone if you don't have one aready. i just got a turtle a few months ago and this forum has helped me learn SO MUCH, so you came to the right place. Good luck and welcome by the way!

[BullDog]

Agree, No gravel!

For your filter, you're missing biomedia. Fluval has their brand "Biomax". Biomedia helps the good bacteria establish itself to keep your tank in balance.

The other thing, with 2 RES you'll probably find that the 405 alone isn't going to be able to keep up. Try it for a while, but if you find your tank gets dirty quickly then you'll need to add a second filter.

What you didn't mention is a basking area. For two turtles, you're probably going to have to build your own, since there aren't really any commercial docks out there that can hold two full grown RES.

Also, you need a UVB light. These come in tubes or compact fluorescent form. There cannot be glass between the UVB light and the turtles basking area, since the light cannot get through. In addition to the UVB bulb, you'll need a heat source. You can just a regular incandescent household bulb for this.
Alternatively, you can get a Mercury Vapour Bulb (MVB) which combines both UVB light and heat. They're a bit more expensive than just a UVB bulb, but the last longer and there have been fewer reported troubles with MVBs compared to CFs.

Other than that, keep an eye out for aggression between your two turts.
Fluttering their paws at each other, chasing or biting are some tell-tale signs. If you see aggression, you should separate them ASAP. If you don't, the aggression will continue and you could end up with an injured, or dead turtle.

[Chrisbarnett]

In addition to what Bulldog said,

Read through the whole main site. It will answer many of your questions.

[ElizKM86]

Thanks! I was planning on getting rid of the gravel, I was just listing what we were getting with the tank. I am strongly considering sand, but I am apprehensive about how we would maintain it.

I have seen some of the basking docks that people have used made of cork bark. I really like them, but I was wondering if anyone has had any issues with rot or with it degrading or anything.

Since we have never set up a tank nearly this size we really need some instruction about how to set up the filters and the like....

Do we need an overflow tank? If so, how do we set that up? I dunno, this is all very new....

[BullDog]

No, you don't need an overflow. The 405 has intake and output tubes that go over the rim of the tank into the filter.

If the filter is coming with carbon and an amoniazorb stuff, unless they are brand new and still sealed in their bags, then you should just throw them out, since they only work for a short time, and there's no way to know how long they were in use.

For the filter, the instructions aren't bad. If the filter doesn't come with the manual, you can get it online here:
http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/Fluval ... manual.pdf

Two things though: The filter tubes will already be cut, and depending on how they were positioned before, they may not be in the optimal spot, but that's no biggie. They should work well though, since you're getting the tank, stand and filter all from the same guy, so he would probably have it set up nicely.
Secondly, you might have trouble priming it. I have the Fluval 404 and always dread priming it when I drain the tank The 405 may be a wee bit different, but when I'm priming mine I watch the little ball that sits in the intake strainer, and make sure it goes up and down when I'm pumping.

For a nice big tank like that, you'll probably want something like a Python. This is a device that hooks to your faucet and magically drains your tank (I'm sure someone else will give a much better description of it).
I use a garden hose that happens to be the right length to reach from the tank to to toilet. The only gross part is that you suck on the end of the hose to get the suction going. Then I've got an attachment for the tap so I can fill the tank back up with the same hose. You can do the exact same thing with the Python, except you don't have to suck on it

[Chrisbarnett]

Sand doesn't require much maintenance at all. There are many posts here by me and a few other members. Search the forums for "sand" and you should come up with many results.

Cork bark is fine, Just let it soak for a week before you use it so that it won't leech anything weird into the tank water.

Filters, You want the intake and output as far from each other as possible. Preferably on opposite ends of the tank. With the outflow angled towards the middle of the tank and intake. This helps push the waste across the tank to be sucked up. The intake alone doesn't have much suction power in the whole scheme of things, that's why you need the output flowing towards it.

If you need longer tube to do this, go to the hardware store and buy tubing that is the same size. Get a few extra feet than what you had and then find how much you need, cut it to size and fit everything together. I did this with my XP1 because the tubing was dirty and not in that good of shape.



No, you don't need an overflow tank.

[ILUV_Rocky]

does anyone know where to get Cork Bark?

[Chrisbarnett]

Rocky,
search the forums. There are threads that have already answered your question. But you can get it online or in some petstores.