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hi, This is my sons new tank setup, we moved the two res from a ten to thirty gallon tank. From reading some in this forum we took advice on a new filter and purchased a Rena xp2. This filter is awesome compared to the crappy Whisper that we did have. We even tried to make a homemade basking spot from pvc pipe and a plate of ceramic tile. In the old tank we used one of those fake bark basking spots which they seemed to love. For the new tank we had to come up with something new because they were too big to fit on the old bark. We have noticed that they do not bask as much as they used to, could that be because of the new tile? How long should we give them to adjust to the new spot? What happens if they never use it? We tried to make a basking spot like some of the pictures we viewed in this forum, but I am not totally happy with this. Any suggestions on what else we could use in place of tile or maybe another idea? This was a good project for my son and I to do together but I am not too happy with the turnout. Getting all the pvc semi straight was a bear! Sorry this is so long but any suggestions or comments would be great! Thanks



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First things first, YOU NEED A WATER HEATER!!! Do you have one and have just not put it in yet? Are you planning on getting one soon? If not, YOU NEED TO GET ONE ASAP!!! What is the basking temp(put a rock (or anything that is about the hight of the turtles shell if it where basking) on the basking tile and set a thermometer on top of the rock to get a temp)? The water temp needs to be AT LEAST 74F, but not higher then 78F, and the basking spot needs to be AT LEAST ten degrees warmer then the water, but not hotter then 90F.

Other then that you turts seem to be healthy, and happy. You can put some river rock, and water plants in the tank and let them push them around for fun. I hope you can get a heater, and post the temps soon!!

It might be easier to put the zoomeds doc under the light...

Another thing you may want to try is to lower the front of that into the water a little bit more. It will be a little harder for the turtles to get onto a dock not submirged, vs a doc liek the zoomeds one.

There are a few things that I noticed that might discourage the turtles from using the new dock... first, is the tile slippery? If so, they'll need some form of traction to climb onto it. Second, there really isn't much of an incline, I notice that when my turtle goes up to bask he uses the submerged part to gain a grip so he can hoist himself up, maybe your turtles are having difficulty because there isn't a lot of dock in the water. Lastly, how stable is it? If it doesn't allow the turtles to get totally dry thats problematic for a few reasons, one of which is that it will lead to shell rot if they can't dry their shells completely. Shell rot will also occur if they don't bask because they aren't comfortable on their new dock, so its a good thing you've noticed and are addressing it.
Perhaps you could try adding some traction and maybe a ramp, I forget exactly what other people on here have used but you can search the forum... i think they may have used some rubber mats... there are a variety of things you could use, just make sure the adhesive you use isn't toxic.
If alterations don't work, maybe just buying the large sized zoomed dock will make your turtles happy

I'm just curious about the lighting. Which light is the UVB because both lights should be over the basking area. I'm also concerned with all the basking area taking up valuable space. I also agree with meg on the incline. It would make it much easier if they had something to grip to get on the basking area. Is there anyway possible to put the zoomed dock on the back of the tank as a ramp to the larger basking area? You also might want to put some river rocks in the bottom for them to play around with..

Something else.. what size tank do you have? It seems like they'll outgrow it quickyl if they haven't already.

Hi and welcome to the forum.
You've started the process of a really good upgrade, but there a few more things to consider.

As Meg mentioned, you need a good incline. More of it should be submerged. You should reconsider the way the pvc is positioned. It looks like it could tip over in that picture, and the tile (12x12?) will do a lot of damage if it falls. Even if it seems stable now, your turtles will get bigger and heavier and those fittings will loosen. I used a hand saw to cut the pvc and an angle grinder to trim the edges. I also used the grinder to smooth out the rough edges on the tile.

You can also consider cork bark to go above the tile.

Have you measured the basking temps? It should be 10-15F warmer.

Here is a pic of my pvc platform (this is in a 125 gallon tank)

what do you use to attach the ceramic tile to the pvc with?