Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2020 5:54 pm First turtle pond
Brand new member here mainly because I am venturing into an area I have zero experience in. I have freshwater and saltwater aquariums so thats about as far as my knowledge goes. I acquired a 125g tank 4 years ago from someone whos kids no longer took care of it so it was free to me with the only stipulation that I keep the 13yr old turtle (yellow bellied slider male I believe) that was in it. They have since moved out of state but keeping my word I will not part with the turtle. I am tired of seeing the turtle basking area above my tank and want to convert it to a heavily stocked African Cichlid tank, tank currently has 4 cichlids, 2 catfish, a pleco, and the turtle. I built a raised planter in the back yard that was going to be for herbs but it has only ever hosted weeds. The planter in 10' long, 24" tall and 40" deep (front to back).
The plan is to dig a pond in the planter that will be 6' long, 18' tall and 24" deep that would include a walk out ramp on one end and a basking area on the other end for the turtle to rest on. I believe the volume of water will be in the 125-150g range. Ill throw some plants on the dry side for it to hide under. The area gets 4+ hours of afternoon sun. I do plan to throw in some cheap fish for it to snack on and eat mosquitoes and some floating pond plants. My main questions are:
1 - Will a 14.5mil pond liner work or should I find something much thicker? All the 45mil I find are $200+ and the wife will not let me spend that. My main concern is the turtle will cut through the liner with its long nails.
2 - Will just a UV pond filter pump be sufficient or should I have a secondary filter for mechanical filtration? Also what turnovers should I aim for?
3 - Should I provide a heater? Winters in Florida are mild, usually above 50F and if it drops below that its a week at a time max. Lowest temp I remember from past several years was just at 30F and that was early morning right before sunrise. Also I should note the location is only 3' from the house.
4 - I cant decide if I will put any cover on it or not. The only concern would be a racoon reaching in but I would hope the turtle would wake and scurry to the bottom of the pond and be out of reach from one.
Thats all I have for now. Any comments concerns and tips are greatly appreciated.