Habitat - Indoor :: Umm, slight emergency... ya weird comin from me.

[MoreBloodWine]

Ok, so I doubt alot of you guys were expecting me to yell fire so soon since I'm just getting into this and trying to take excellent care of the before stuff befoe buying a turtle. Well, I just found out today that a friend of mine ordered me a Rio Grande as a late bday gift. Long story short he knew I wnated one I didnt think he was gonna get me one and now its to late to cancel the order. Soooooooo, I gotta few questions...

1. Ok so I dont have alot of money right now so how long will a 10g tank work for. I ask because thats the best I can do with limited money and me being between jobs.

2. Is marine sand ok to use... I have some left over from my old aquarium days.

3. What would be the best but cheapest filter to use on the 10g ta nk ?

4. Whats the best way to handel a basking spot for a 10g tank using one of the floating docks ?

5. Given the size of the tank can anyone suggest a good heater to use ?

I'm sure I'll have more question but on shot notice and limited funds I really am trying to do the best I can here so please be gentle

Right now I got a medium sized air stone a background for added security. Trial pack of AquaSafe but yes I plan to buy a bottle. Anyway all help is appreciated.

[untsmurf]

The ten gallon should be able to last you a few months. I'm not sure about the marine sand. I remember some kind of sand comes with live cultures in it and all this other stuff, so I'm not sure. Is there a description of the sand on the bag? We had an intank fluval that was rated for a 29 gallon and it was wonderful. It lasted forever and kept the tank beautiful. But if you're putting in sand, you'll want one of the over the side filters. You can get on of the small floating docks, that should fit in the tank just fine. Stealth heaters are great, just get one that is gauged for a ten gallon. Good luck and post pictures!

[MoreBloodWine]

Right now Im just worried as hell Im gonna do something wrong... but I already have plans for getting the small dock which I think is 11.5 x 5 or something. I can do without the sand, I was gonna get some rocks when I was at walmart but was worried the lil one might eat one and choke so I didnt. I also looked and I didnt find any stealths for 10 - 15 gallon tanks.

Oh the setup I bought did come with a heater that I guess has a fixed preset of 78 degrees but I remember someone saying the youngins need 82.

So hows this for a filter it should cycle the tank about 3 times an hr.

[Daniel3507]

hatchlings need 78 degree water. they only need water that warm when they are sick

[MoreBloodWine]

So the heater that came with the tank that says its defaulted to keep water at 78 should be ok then assuming it warms the water that much. Also, about the basking spot question... whats the best way to manage that with a small dock in a 10g tank, please be verrry descriptive... Thx.

[steve]

What about a Rubbermaid container, you can find them at much larger sizes.

[MoreBloodWine]

What about a Rubbermaid container, you can find them at much larger sizes.

Not really an option for me right now... and I already got the 10g setup. Just need to work on the more important things of proper care.

[geekyturtle]

You could also get a rubbermaid container - probably a larger one for the price of the 10g tank, unless you already bought the tank.

Since it's only a 10g tank, any cheap filter should be fine for a while - you don't want to buy a huge filter for such a small tank, specially if it's only temporary. I used a Tetra Whisper filter when I had my 10g tank because it was cheap (about $15 I think) and I knew I wasn't going to keep that setup forever.

As for the basking spot, get some cheap metal clamp light fixtures from Home Depot (about $5 each). Get a 75w incandescent bulb for the heat, and a 5.0 26w UVB bulb for the UVB (http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/204474/product.web) They're expensive at petco and petsmart, but cheap online, even with shipping. And you don't need it right away, so waiting a week to get it shipped should be fine. Make sure the UVB is at least 11" away from the basking dock. During the burn-in time (first 150hrs) it should be 16" away - read the directions. Get two temp thermometers - one for the water and one for the dock. Make sure the dock is about 10 degrees hotter than the water. Move the lights or swap out different watt bulbs to get the right temp.

Since it's only a 10g tank, I wouldn't bother with sand or a lot of rocks. The more room to swim the better. Maybe a few rocks for now so it doesn't look so bare though.

If you're going to Home Depot, check out the PVC pipe section - I bought a big 6" 3-way pipe for my tank and my turtle is always swimming through it.

[MoreBloodWine]

Thx geeky, I wana try to have an order place by end of day so its reay to ship monday. I guess the good thing about the 10g setup is that it can also be used as a feeding tank later on or a planted tank to grow my own plants. Right now I got the following in the cart...

1. Fluval 2 Plus (Rated up to 24g) - $32.99

2. 11.5" x 5" Small Turtle Dock - $6.99

3. Repti Deep Dome Lamp x 2 - $18.19 per I figured I may as well just get the domes I'm gonna use on my regular setup after I'm out of this "hole" I'm in.

4. 26W ReptiSun 5.0 Compact UVB Fluorescent Bulb - $18.99

Oh ya, as for thermometers go I got one of those sticker ones for the tank then I got my digital one I use for surface temps. I'm also gonna get some fake plants and stuff.

[MoreBloodWine]

Is this ok for cuttlebone ?

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/212733/product.web

[geekyturtle]

Yeah, just remove the metal thing and pick off the backing because they shouldn't eat that.

I usually break it into small bite-size bits, but some people just put the whole thing in. For a hatchling, bit-size bits would probably be easier.

[Chrisbarnett]

Yes thats fine for cuttlebone.

The reptisuns have been known to have problems, that have supposedly been resolved, but i wouldnt trust it.

This bulb is better, and cheaper.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.j ... Id=2752555
Also, doesn't mention anything about needing a burn in period. I have mine at 6.5" away from the dock, and my turtles eyes are fine.

Skip the marine sand. As untsmurf mentioned, it contains live cultures and other things that shouldn't/don't need to be in a freshwater tank.

[geekyturtle]

Two 8.5" diameter lamps are going to be huge for the 10g tank, I've been fine with 6" ones. I guess it couldn't hurt anything though, just would look big and bulky.

Also it doesn't look like they're clamp lamps - so they're made to sit on a screen or some other covering on the tank, which will block a lot of the UVB light. I'd go with clamp lamps.

[Chrisbarnett]

I use the Flukers 5.5" clamp lamps for both my heat and UVB, I like them a lot. They have ceramic bases and are only like 11 bucks.

[MoreBloodWine]

I already placed the order before reading the new replies, as for the domes. I have a plan for managing those but I fugred buy what I will use as a perma solution now and just save the extra 15 - 20 bucks Id have to spend for smaller domes.