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I have two 5" RES and i'm planning to put them in a 55g tank(48x18x12).

Filtration will be a fluval 304. and perhaps one of those hanging filters.

1 Heater.

The problem is that i don't see how I would be able to put a UVB light for them since 1.The tank is Acrylic(acrylic melts) 2. There is a brace on top of the tank so that the sides won't bend and only has 2 openings of about 12x7"
3. I have a very nice canopy which limits the upper space.




Would I be able to have my RES with cichlids in the tank?

i'll post more basic questions as I begin to setup my tank.

thanks everybody.

Can you post a pic of the tank with canopy? Acrylic won't melt from a basking lamp if set up correctly. With 2 5 inchers, you'll be looking for something bigger in about a year.....

heres a quick picture that I had in my photobucket account.

It's the blue tank in the back. Then my 115g marine tank, and my grandmother.

if you guys need a better picture of it let me know.

right here it currently had saltwater fish.

Are the openings in the top like the 115 gal.? You may have to experiment with clamps for the lights...And as nice as that canopy is, it may have to come off.

yes they are exactly like that. they are the same width but different lenght.

You may be able to build an "above tank" basking area with a ramp extending down into the tank. There are a lot of people here who have done this successfully.....check out the photo section for ideas.

I know i got the basking spot all figured out. but I have some questions

would I be able to put cichlids in with them.

about filtration i got that down also (I have a lot of great filters)

the only thing I'm worried about was the light and if it would melt my tank. anyways I think I could tinker with my canopy a bit to get the basking spot to around 90degrees.

I know I should run carbon in the fluval. even some of those ceramic rings. should I put the polyfiber thing inside the fluval also.

should the gravel be a certain size?

and I think that thats it for now.

I'll post more questions later. thanks alot for the quick responses.

if you love your fish i wouldnt recommend you too put them in theyre,it could become your turtles dinner! and im sure you wouldnt want that. lol

Anything you put in the tank, fish-wise, will probably get eaten sooner or later.
I run Fluvals also and yes, you can use polywool in the bottom tray. Just dont pack it in tight, and if you have the small blue tray, put a bag of carbon in that and put that on top of the polywool. Then fill the two upper trays with Bio-rings.
Gravel should be larger than your turts head, they do try to ingest them for some reason, and could get impacted. Also if you line the bottom of the tank with rocks, it's much harder to keep clean. Turtles make MUCH more of a mess than fish.

Hi there. Regarding gravel, anything safe to be in the tank with your turtle would probably be called river rocks rather than gravel. The problem with gravel is that the turtles eat it and get impacted then have big problems. You may not want too much in the way of rocks on the bottom because the more there is the harder it is to clean. That gets to be a big deal over time!

Regarding the canopy, I've got a setup that looks kind of like yours without the canopy. I wanted to be able to reach in the tank easily and wanted the air to circulate. It simplified the lighting setup. Someone else on here, I think its IndustrialGirl 2000 has a really nice setup with a canopy. She's posted pictures and has discussed how she handeled lighting. You might do a search and check that one out.

First of all, putting two five inch turtles in a 55 gallon is way too small. Remember 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. I have my 1.75 inch in a 30 gallon and my 5.5 inch in a 66 gallon - both in large plastic containers. Don't put any gravel in your tank. Your turtles can eat it and then become inpacted. Besides, tanks without gravel are much easier to clean! And yes, your turtles will probably eat your ciclids - I wouldn't risk it.

Here's a post from industrial girl 2000 on her big tank with a canopy. There were subsequent posts in Photo Gallery after she got it all set up. I'm not sure her canopy is exactly like yours but you may be able to glean some ideas.

Or, as grey goose suggested, you could always ditch the canopy; ie, sell it.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... light=tank