Habitat - Indoor :: What I plan on getting for my little turtle

[Kai.]

After reading a lot of the stuff on this site/forum, I have come up with a list of what I plan on getting. Please note that I do have a budget on this project.

Rubbermaid Container (around 40 gallons?)
Aquaclear 200 (label says it's supposed to be for a 29-50 gallon tank)
Stealth UL Heater 100 watt
ReptiSun 5.0 UVB Flourescent (15")
TopFin Aquarium Thermometer strips (x2)
Basking platform made from PVC fittings
Clamp Lights x2
Fake Plants

would that be good enough to provide a nice home for my turtle? How long would this setup last my turtle before I have to upgrade? All comments appreciated. Thank you.

[Kallistos]

I know you're on a budget, but just a little more money and the set up will be substantially easier to clean. The rubbermaid, make sure it's as large as you can afford, the difference between the largest one and smallest will only be like $10. Stealth's are on sale @ drsfosterandsmith.com EDIT: That filter seems a wee bit small, that rating is for fish. Turtles are way more messy, try to get one that's rated for 2x or 3x the size. Aquaclear 70's or 110's.

The more UVB the better, try and get the reptisun 10.0
Stick on thermometers aren't very accurate, try and invest in the $4 a pop digital themometers.

Other thank that, it sounds good. How big is your turtle. For a hatchling a 40 gallon will last for roughly a year.. (i think)

[Muirner]

Looks like you have a good setup going. The only thing i dont see is a UVA light, or clamp lamps. I'd go with the Reptisun 10.0 as well, it has the best UVB output.

[turtledudee]

also, just to throw in, get the largest filter ( rated capcity) that you can afford, it will help you in the future. If your rubbermaid is a 40 gal, 40 X 3 = 120 so you'd need a filter rated around 120, If you don't mind, could you give us the price you're looking at and i bet we'll find you a premium setup that'll last you a bit longer than what you have listed?

[Kai.]

it'd be best if it didn't go over $200 (Canadian unfortunately)

Muirner, for the UVA, I'll just use a normal lamp. The Clamp Lamps I forgot to mention in there.

The difference between the Aquaclear 50 and the Aquaclear 110 is about $20 so I guess I'll take the 110 one

[SpotsMama]

The only other thing I can think of is a heat source for the basking platform. The basking area will have to be warmer than the water or the turtle won't bask. A regular household light bulb will provide heat. The UVB bulb - while essential - won't.

Just be sure your heat light is far enough away from the basking spot that cool water won't splash on it and cause it to explode, but close enough that it heats the basking area to about 10 degrees warmer than the water.

Good luck!

[turtledudee]

well, also how big is your turtle?
(for the tank size)

[Kai.]

I thought a normal UVA bulb would be enough to heat up the basking area...

I looked for a Reptisun 10.0 on Petsmart, but I only found the 5.0 one.. Would i be better for me to buy it online from petsmart.com (with about $20 fee because I live in Canada) or for me to buy it from local petsmart stores here in Canada? I put my location (shipping address) to Canada, so it added the fee. But is the total still in American? Or has it already been converted to Canadian?

Thanks

The turtle is about 2" (shell)

[SpotsMama]

You're right - an incandescent bulb for UVA will heat it up. What won't, though, is a UVB bulb. The Reptisun 10.0 and 5.0 bulbs are flourescent UVB bulbs and don't provide heat. You have to have two lights to cover all the bases.

Maybe that's what you had in mind already.

[Pokey]

Where do you all find a Rubbermaid as big as 40gal?
The largest I could find at Walmart was 105 quarts (26gal+or-).

[Kai.]

Yea that's what I was going to do ^^ I only need to shine the two lights on the basking platform and the heater will take care of the water right?

I'm not sure where I'm going to fine one that big... It says on the startup info chart that a 40+ gallon Rubbermaid tank is best, so that's what I decided on. I haven't gone out to look for the stuff yet because I wanted to make sure what I was getting was appropriate first

[Pizza]

I also live in Canada, and my set-up (good for a turtle ~9 inches, albeit too small for my 4 turtles), altogether ran the bill up to around ~750 CDN.

The PetSmart stores here are a jipp (PetCetera and Petland are even pricier), I only bought the small things from them, or speciality areas I could not find anywhere else. Through 2-3 weeks, I went around town, and oftentimes the small privately owned shops offer the same or better products at much cheaper prices. There are of course, those small shops that overprice, but there are also those that sell at an almost down-to-earth price.

For example, the Canadian PetSmart in-store price for a Rena FilStar xP4 filter was 359.99 (without tax), but after looking through 3 smaller shops, they were all cheaper, but I found my filter at one particular shop for 199.99 CDN (without tax). You're saving nearly double. The PetSmart here also charged around 300 CDN for an 80 Gallon tank, when I found a 90 Gallon Tank for exactly 200 (plus tax) at a smaller shop. However, just because a shop sells one item really cheap doesn't mean that everything in the shop is below average price (but many times, it is). The place where I found my 90 Gallon Tank sold their xP4 *on sale* for $ 340 CDN (they stated their regular price was 480).

If you want to save space or money (if you don't already have a small fluorescent fixture), many turtle keepers use a ReptiSun 10.0 UVB Compact instead, it is the same as a fluorescent tube of the same type, but smaller and shaped to fit into a normal lamp (Anywhere from 5-20 dollars, normal to pet-specific lamps).

This is rather insignificant, but the PetSmart where I live sold their stick-on thermometers for about 4 dollars each, while the Pet - Fish section of my Wal-Mart sold theirs for 3 each, it may be worth your while if you're dropping by Wal-Mart anytime soon.

All around town the largest Rubbermaid I see is a 150L, or 39-40 Gallons. I bought mine on boxing day for $ 15 CDN at Walmart, they call it a "Jumbo Tote" specifically.

My final advice: Go as big and purcahse equipment for the bigger scale (the exception being a powerful filter, it may cause swimming difficulty for smaller turtles, possibly drowning) as you can go now, to prevent more pricey upgrades in the future (turtles grow fast into adults, unless you got it as a full-grown adult, 8-12 inches).

[Kai.]

Calgary ^^ You got all our snow and cold this year (if you still don't know yet, I am from Toronto)

There is a Big Al ( fish specialty store, they sell 5 foot long sharks too =P) "relatively" close to my house, I could check things out there. $15 for a jumbo tote as they call it... great ^^. Just what I needed.

About the compact reptisun 10.0, it's 5-20 dollars? but isn't a normal one like 20-30? Does this mean that the compact one is less effective?

[CountryGirl68]

Forget about the stick on thermometers - they will not give an accurate reading. What do you have your turtle in at the moment? If the set up isn't too bad, maybe you can wait a couple more weeks and save up a few more dollars. If not, you'll see that in less than a year, you're gonna spend even more than that upgrading again. Best to upgrade as best you can now so you'll save money in the long run.

[mkoby]

I would definitely try Big Al's. They have great prices on their website! You might want to check and see if they pricematch in case the online prices are cheaper.