Habitat - Indoor :: 3 young RES. Tank suggestions?

[Dickie_boi_21]

Right now I have 3 8-month-old red eared sliders in a 55 gallon tank. The tank is about 1/3 full right now and I have a very small heater due to a lack of income right now, a 75 watt heating bulb, I believe, 2 "docks," a floating one under the lamp and a decorative bridge on the other side of the tank. Any suggestions as to water height, filtration, heating, lighting or anything of the sort? I would really appreciate it. I love these little guys more than anything and I would love some help too. :]

Thanks in advance. :]

I'll post pics if you guys wanna see the set up.

[sull324]

If you are handy and have some mats around you can make an above tank basking area so you can maximize your water area(the more water,the better),there a lot of pictures on the forum to help you visualize.

For filtration i suggest an Rena xp3,its an pretty cheap and effective canister filter.

For heating ,an typical water heater would do the job,i keep my water at 25c with my under 1 years old res.

And for the lightning,you really need an UVB light.you can either go with heating bulb + UVB bulb or you can go for an single mercury vapor bulb. Going without UVB on a long run can cause them trouble,from shell curling to bone disease.

But as of now the most important things to care about(imo) is the feeding,not too much and offer green leaf or veggies.

and go ahead and post some pics,im really curious .

[Dickie_boi_21]

This is 2 of my 3, Sophie and Mortimer.

I know they aren't great pictures because the only camera I have readily available is my cell phone. Here's the tank from the front, obviously.

The third, Morris, and the dock under the basking lamp.

Sophie, again, and the bridge.

And an out of commission 30 gallon fish tank filter.

Thanks for the quick reply. And i know I don't have much. I've had them for about 7 months, and really need to crack down and get this tank pretty. :]

[Dickie_boi_21]

Also, like you said, sull, I designed an ATBA. But I noticed not many of them were built using plywood for the frame. Or at least it didn't seem like it. Is that a bad idea? Or no big deal? If it's not a good idea, what else would be a cheap, but pleasant looking, alternative to the frame of an ATBA?

[sull324]

Cant really sure about plywood,ive used eggcrate for mine and covered it with fake wood tile that we use for floor and an old car carpet for the ramp.

[Dickie_boi_21]

Makes sense. I guess I aim too much for asthetics when I design things. Hah Thanks though. :] Eggcrate, tile, and carpet? Where can i get Eggcrate? And doesn't the carpet get moldy being in the water?

[DocShay]

Hey, check out my current build there on my OTBA

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=24911

You can substitute the birch sheets of wood i'm using for plywood if you want. The birch im using is really thin and light (like plywood), and only 1 or 2 MM thick of real birch, the middle is made from wood molecules and glue. Fairly inexpensive too. But plywood will work just fine.

As far as carpet, get the green astroturf stuff people use outdoors, i used it on my previous dock and it was submerged, no mold or anything since its all synthetic fibers. Just make sure its OUTDOOR carpet and you'll be fine.

[Dickie_boi_21]

I appreciate the info. I'm just scared that the plywood will swell up with the water and stuff. My dad is saying the same thing. hah

[DocShay]

Maybe i'm confused on what you are doing then.

Do you plan on submerging the plywood in water? Or just make the exterior walls out of it?

If your just making the walls/supports (aka anything NOT submerged in water) you'll be fine with plywood.

But if you ARE submerging plywood n water - don't. The wood will go bad real quick. But a splash of water now and then is nothing.

Frames, walls, supports, joints, etc - Use whatever you want. Just make sure it's not in water. If your making a ramp/dock - I like plexi personally with outdoor capet around it.

My OLD ATBA that I had before my current one was made out of partical board - which aint much stronger than plywood. Ramps were made from plexi

[Dickie_boi_21]

Yeah. You had it right. Hah All the walls and the basking platform itself out of plywood. :] Thanks again. My dad should feel a little more confident about it now.

[steve]

Plywood should not be in water... it won't last very long in there. You've got a nice tank, but you need a stand that would support it correctly. Glass is heavy and water is 8+ pounds per gallon. Once you have it on a good stand, you can fill that sucker up.

[Dickie_boi_21]

Thanks, Steve. I'm probably ust going to build the framing with the plywood and make the landing and ramp out of something else. I'm just not exactly sure out of what. Hah

[n00bEmpty]

You could use cork bark or red wood (heard somewhere it's good but I don't use it)

[Dickie_boi_21]

First off, I appreciate the suggestions, guys. My sister helped me to buy most everything I need for my babies. :] Here's how the tank's looking now.


Here's the entire set up.


My 2 lights. The UVB on the left, and heat on the right. With their little dock at the bottom. Lol


The intake and output for my new filter.


The new filter. It's an 80 Gallon Canister.


These 2 haven't left the new heater's side all night.


And last but not least, the plug mess. :]

[steve]

Looking much better! Keep an eye on that bridge decoration, making sure that your RES can still maneuver through it.