Habitat - Indoor :: What can i do to make the tank better?

[WeeSnack]

Yeah, good idea, I should get bigger rocks. I think the tank is plenty big for them, it may not look like it in the pic, but they have lots of swimming space.

I, personally, think the floating docks look really tacky and I've always liked the basking area's like the one I have...

...aaand I just spent a ton of money buying all this =/ the new rocks, the reserve, new light, new tank, new plants, everything.

It'll do for now.

[WeeSnack]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys =]

[untsmurf]

Just because you spent a lot of money on it, doesn't mean it's good for your turtles.

Your turtles can die of impaction from eating those rocks and turtles need 10 gallons of swimming space per inch of shell (scl). Your turts look to be between 3'' and 5'' each. That means you should have a minimum of a 60 gallon tank.

Maybe you can package it back up and return it??

[WeeSnack]

My little turtle is about 2" in a my bigger one is about 3"

[emma]

Ok everyone, thanks for all the suggestions.

Btw,,, WeeSnack, I also had rocks like that in my tank and it made the tank look really pretty. =]
But as soon as i saw my baby turtles (2 inches) trying to eat the rocks i had to take them out.
How many gallons is your tank?

[Rubicon]

Try to think of a theme that will go along with your turtle. I used a pirate theme. Here's a pic of my tank.



You should put some air stones or something that will create bubbles. My turtles LOVE the bubbling treasure chest! The chest adds some humor and something interesting to the tank. Also, maybe some sort of decoration that adds to the "coolness" and provides a hiding place for either your turtle or any other animals you may want to add to your tank. For instance, I added a pleco and crayfish. The crayfish needs a hiding place so I bought a pirate skull he can hide in. Something else you could do to add some originality to your tank is create your own background, to go along with your theme.

Your sand setup looks GREAT!! How long did it take to settle after adding it?

[hoojib88]

I just washed and washed and washed the sand. Now it's pretty clean the only stuff I wash out of it now is turtle poop.
The way I wash my sand is I take the tank outside, spray the sand with a hose while I run a skimmer through the water. Also, I'll put the spout under the sand and clean the substrate from the bottom. Just let the water pour out the top of the tank. Don't worry about the sand that flows out with the water because those granules aren't dense enough to settle effectively and will only cloud the water.
My last and final trick is, when I add water to the tank I pour the water onto the turtle's basking platform so it disperses and the sand doesn't kick up as much. I don't have to wait for anything to settle, so I can put the turtles, fish, and crawfish right in. So if you have a floating platform, cave, or old dinner plate, that you don't use anymore, try pouring your water on those and see how that works out.