Habitat - Indoor :: plans for new tank setup ~ need advice

[pumpkinsherbet]

for those not familiar, this is the current tank:


and to give you an idea of how big they are here's john on a coaster:


and aeryn with the tiki turtle:


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i did some surfing and pricing and found that two 10 gallon tanks would actually be cheaper than a 20 gallon so that is step #1. the 50 gallon i'll have to save up for over the next couple months (i so need a better job).

the plan is to get both of those 10 gallons, set them up next to each other and build a bridge/basking area between them. my main questions are:

-what is a safe yet malleable material to use for the bridges?
-would it be better to cover the water area or keep water level lower and build a ''ramp" to the basking area?
-how soon am i going to need to upgrade?
-should i make two separate bridges, one for uva and one for uvb, or would a mix bulb be okay?

i think that's it, but if there's anything i'm missing please let me know. i want my turtles to have a good home.

[steve]

Here is some start up info:
http://www.redearslider.com/startup.html

2 tanks is just not a good idea. Go with a 40 gallon rubbermaid for now. It would be cheaper than two 10 gallon tanks

[pumpkinsherbet]

that's very helpful, thank you!

[Muirner]

check out www.craigslist.com i'm telling you it may be cheaper then you think. And keep your options open, i looked in 3 surrounding states to find my tank and stand, and i got a 55gal tank and stand for 75$. I picked it up, set it up and now i have it!

[Turtlegrandma]

it would seem to me that two tanks would always cost more because you will need two filters and two heaters and two lamps, etc.

[KellyP]

Two tanks are going to be more expensive in the long run. You need two of everything that way. Go for the biggest that you can afford. If thier together in the tank they can share the extra space. If thier alone in thier own 10 gallon each they have half the space they would have had if they were together.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i'll check craig's list, that's a good idea. thanks for that.

i was going to build a bridge on them so they could kinda share the tanks. but if that's going to be more costly in the long run (wasn't even thinking of the filter, i can't believe i forgot that) then i'll just stick with the 40 gallon rubbermaid until i can afford a bigger tank.

the advice is helpful, but i still need to know a good safe material for building the basking area. i forgot how messy gravel was.

[Kallistos]

If you're willing to take the time to build a basking area, I'd look through the photo gallery. This is my basking area, exceedingly simple and very cheap. I took a square of plexi glass (some sort of plastic) and drilled holes in it, took some twine and tied to to the tank screen. For the ramp I siliconed a gutter guard on the end of the plexi glass. On the actual plexi-glass I put a green kitchen mat.

There's many ways of creating a basking area. Another user posted one that was made out of PVC tubing that looked very nice. Grey goose made one w/ ceramic tiles I think, although he's very handy and it must've been a challenge.