Habitat - Indoor :: Help me set up my tank in the UK please :)

[Thiago]

Hi all, well my RES should be making a move into the UK in the near future and I would like to set her up with a nice indoor tank. Having never set this up before I would like to know where experience UK RES owners recommend I buy my stuff from.
My RES is fairly big and lays eggs, I'm not sure if its fully grown and can't take a measurement at this moment, I do have pictures though from a little while back, she could be bigger now but probably not by much



So yeah any UK RES owners care to tell me what the best indoor options are here for a setup that will keep her happy and her water clean?

Thank you

[seanwb]

Nearly everything you can buy in the US can be bought here, despite RES being very out of fashion compared to a few years ago. So all you need to do is use this forum to decide what you want and then buy it as if you where in the US. (Apart from the fact it will cost a LOT more over here).

Exo - terra Repti Glo UVB and a variety of basking lights lights are easily available from reptile shops or ebay

Fluval, Rena and Eheim (and others) filters and accessories, water conditioners easily available from pet / tropical fish shops (but MUCH cheaper on Ebay, or by googling)

Reptomin, Hikari and King British pellets cheapest on Ebay, I have so far failed to see Mazuri, Wardleys or HBH.

About the only thing I have wanted but have been unable to buy is the Visi-therm stealth titanium heaters. It appears these are not imported. I bought an "Aquarline" off Ebay which so far has done the job very well.

I have always bought tanks by looking in Practical Fishkeeping for the best deal within a reasonable distance. Ebay is a good source of second hand tanks, but when I was looking, all the ones I was interested in were hundres of miles away.

Where are you moving to?

[Rubicon]

Gorgeous girl ya got there. Kinda off topic but how old is she?

[Thiago]

Thanks for the replies, I'll start looking at ebay and listing all the items And hope they dont add up to too much lol
Just out of curiosity how much do you think I'm looking at to fully set this up here?

And I'm in the UK but my RES is on standby because they've got a fairly strict system to try and keep people from bringing in RES into the country Hopefully she'll join me here soon.

Before it was easier cause we had space and were out in a more open warm environment, but here in the UK we can't change the water easily or let the RES walk around outside so it's the first time I really have to set this up.

And Thanks, she sure is a beauty ;D
I've had her for 13 years I think, kinda lost track , but when I first got her she was a tiny little thing in that old school little tank with a tiny island in the middle with a palm tree on it.
Funny thing is I thought she was a he for a decade until "he" laid some eggs LOL

[seanwb]

How big is she? Asking as that will affect tank size.

[TheComputerGremlin]

In terms of American dollars, if you go all out with the best items and whatnot, you're probably looking between $500-1000. But that's a new glass tank, a canister filter, and all the other jazz. If you find anything used, that will save a few bucks. And that's in America, so it might be more or less!

[Thiago]

I can't measure her right now, but I think 7 inches . She's 13, so maybe you guys know how many years it takes for a RES to reach full size more or less?

Thanks for the estimate, I'll see if we can go all out on the setup

As I look through the tanks I notice the thickness of the glass, and I'm curious what thickness is safe for a RES so it can't break it by any chance?

And what do you guys think of this?



http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-SILVER-57-GAL ... m153.l1262

or

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Glass-Fish-Tank-A ... 240%3A1318

Or something else altogether ?

[seanwb]

Hi there,
the 32 inch tank is too small

You need to allow 10 US gallons per in of turtle. Therfore if your turtle is 7 in you need to allow 70 gallons. However US gallons are 0.8 of a UK gallon so you need a 56 UK gallon tank or bigger.

The other tank would be OK. Have you realised that it is plastic / acrylic rather than glass? Need not be a bad thing, see debates in these forums.

You would still need to add lights, heater guard and probably a decent external filter.

Personally, if I had the money, I would buy a quality glass aquarium with a stand from a discount aquatics store I could actually look at it, lights from a reptile shop and a big external canister filter off Ebay.

BTW Red Eared Sliders are called Red Eared Terrapins in the UK. Call them Red Eared Sliders or turtles and people will be very confused (unless they are American).

[seanwb]

In terms of American dollars, if you go all out with the best items and whatnot, you're probably looking between $500-1000. But that's a new glass tank, a canister filter, and all the other jazz. If you find anything used, that will save a few bucks. And that's in America, so it might be more or less!

You brought a smile to my face and win the optimist of the year award ! Virtually nothing is cheaper in the UK! Normally if something is say $100 in America then it is £100 in UK (or worse) . Painfull when there were 2 dollars to the pound, still painful now . It is very often cheaper to order books and cd's from US and and ship them over.