Turtle tank advice needed

[vaughans81]

Hi,

I just have a few questions if anyone could offer some advice -

I have a Aqua One 2Ft Turtle Tank for two baby Macleay River turtles and just need some advice on the following -

I am looking at the Fluval 105 canister filter, is this a good quality filter or is there a better option?

I have a ExoTerra Compact top Fluorescent Light for UV, what watt globes should I use and how many, it takes 1 to 3 globes and should these be white globes?
I also need a basking lamp, any sugestions on what type/brand I can buy and also how many watts should I use for this?

For water heating I am looking at the Fluval tronic heater 100watt, any opions on this device would be great.

The only other things I need to know are temps I should have inside the water & out on the basking dock, I have read lots of different information on this, what are the best temps?

Thanks in advance
katie :lol:

 

[mike83]

Hi

24 to 27 is a good water temp for hatchlings.

Fluval canister filter should do the job I'm no expert tho mite want to get some others peoples views on that.

What kind of turtle do u have.

 

[mrclarke72]

hey katie.
You realise they may look cute and everything when there small but when they get bigger , they need a lot of space, at least a 6 foot tank. Hope you understand.
The fluval cannister filter is fine for what you need, you could even go an aqua one canny filter, there a bit cheaper. If you want good quality i suggest an ehiem cannister filter, But is a bit pricy (ehiem made in aus, good quality, not cheap chinese stuff.
In terms of your lighting, the exo terra compact, ive seen them but never used them myself therefore am not sure of the size of the globes (that is if they have UV globes that fit that model).
The actual tubes you need would probably a repti-glo 5, You could get away with one of these if it covers the full length of your tank, otherwise you may need 2. The tubes arent cheap however, i pay about 50 to 60 bucks for the tubes i need. You also have to replace the UV tubes every 6 months, but you could probably get away with every 12 months.
In terms of a basking lamp i would go maybe an exo terra clip on lamp,(the one that glows in the dark when off) its alright quality, however you could get away with something cheaper. The globes for those, i would recommend a 50 watt infa red, there are many different brands of globes, up to personal preference, i usually get the exo terra.
In terms of water heating, any aquarium water heater with a built in thermostat is fine. The fluval would mostly be fine but again, it depends on how much your wanting to spend.
And finally temperature, id keep the water temp at about 25, and your basking site temp depends on how much land you have available, The 50 watt heat lamp shouldnt get it too hot, and the turtle will generally choose how hot it wants to be, so long as it doesnt exceed temps above like 45 degrees.
Also dont forget summer is just around the corner, i keep fish aswell and my tanks can get quite hot in summer, water temp can exceed 30 degrees easy, therefore you may need to keep that into consideration. If its in a room where it will get quite hot you may want to look into getting an aquarium chiller ( very expensive) .
Hope that helps, feel free to pm me or ask anymore questions. Cheers

 

[vaughans81]

Hi Mike83,
I haven't got the turtles yet, I want to get everything I need first. Im getting 2 Macleay River turtles. I just want to make sure I have the best home possible for them before I get them.

 

[mike83]

I had a 2ft tank when first got turtles. If you can get a bigger tank it would be worth it cos they will outgrow a 2ft tank pretty easy.

If you are getting 2 turtles try and get them around the same size otherwise you may get issues of them fighting this is what happed to me I have a Murry short neck and a saw shell and the saw shell is abit bigger he sometimes try"s to bite the smaller turtles tail not so much now i got a bigger tank and hiding place he has calmed down allot.

Hope that info helps you.

 

[vaughans81]

Hi mclarke72,
Thanks for all the info, thats great. With the tank size I was going to get a bigger tank but I emailed an aquarium and the advice they gave me was to get a 2 foot tank for babies. I have since been told (after buying the Aquaone 2 foot) that I should have gone a little bigger! Its ok though, I will be getting a larger tank latter for the turtles, I figure a year and a bit and I will upgrade to something larger and maybe use the smaller tank for some fish or just sell it.
I wish I knew about this site before I went to the aquarium for advice!
With the filter, what model Eheim would you recommend?
Thanks

 

[mrclarke72]

Hey katie,
Yer i mean if there hatchies a 2 foot is fine , no problems. And as you said wen they get bigger just get a larger tank and keep or sell the old one.
The model eheim that i would recomend can depend on a few things, Firstly turtles make a fair bit of mess and with 2 turtles in the one tank youd want something that has an adequate litres per hour rate. Also if your gonna fork out the money to get an eheim you'd probably want to make sure its compatable with any future tanks and that it would have suffient litre per hour rate for that size tank.

 

[vaughans81]

Could you also let me know if there is somewhere online I can purchase the exo terra clip on lamp and the repti-glo tubes?

 

[miss2]

Hey Katie
i swear by fluval and all its products - pricy but sooo good!

 

[mrclarke72]

Does it have to be online? I mean any pet shop that does reptiles would have these. If your wanting something online then maybe look at ebay, (they sometimes sell stuff brand new, and you can get it for a bargain) Type in reptile, then on the side panel click on pet supplies. Also try typing in exo terra.
But trust me buying this stuff online isnt necessarily cheaper, postage costs can sometimes be problematic, and if your buying things like tubes or globes online, you have the added risk of them breaking in transit.
Is there a reptile shop near you, or aquarium? what area of sydney are you near?, i may be able to reccomend a few places.

 

[vaughans81]

Im in Oatlands near Carlingford. If you know anywhere that would be great, id rather go in and see someone face to face. I just havent been able to find anywhere that can help with reptiles, only fish.

Thanks

 

[mike72]

If you are planning to upgrade your tank down the track it might be worth considering getting a larger filter and heater from the start. This way you would have the option of continuing to use thoes products in the larger tank rather than having to buy everything from scratch again. There is no problem doing this as there is no such thing as over filtering water, and if the bigger filter causes too much turbulence you can simply attach a spray bar. Also the heaters are thermostatically controlled so a larger heater won't make your tank any warmer it will just bring the tank to temperature quicker.

You dont have to do this if you don't wan't but it might save you some hassles and some $$ down the track

 

[mrclarke72]

mike , disagree with ya on the heater. Aquarium heaters need to be the right wattage for however many litres the tank holds, in my experience, and mates experiences if you get a higher wattage than required or vice versa you risk overheating and cracking the heater (which has happened) not only that, if you have the right wattage you get a more even rate or flow of temperatures rather than short bursts. Maybe for tropical fish you may get away with it, but i wouldnt risk it with things like turtles. But nothing stoppin ya from doing it, just my opinion.

 

[notechistiger]

I had bought a larger heater for my tropical tank, the thermostat broke after a couple of weeks (I assume that going on and off all the time did not help this at all) and it overheated and killed all my fish.

To the original poster, please be aware that if the two turtles you get fight or appear stressed with one another, then you will have to separate them (this may include getting a new tank, etc).

 

[vaughans81]

Hi Notechistiger,
Is this common for two hatchilings to fight? I will be getting them from the same breader so they will already have lived together. I was getting 2 cause I thought they would rather have a mate then be alone. Any advice on this would be great,

 

[JAS101]

I had bought a larger heater for my tropical tank, the thermostat broke after a couple of weeks (I assume that going on and off all the time did not help this at all) and it overheated and killed all my fish.

To the original poster, please be aware that if the two turtles you get fight or appear stressed with one another, then you will have to separate them (this may include getting a new tank, etc).

yup only 2 out of 5 turtles like each other , hence why i have 4 ponds .. but u never know u might get 2 that are great together

 

[garycahill]

You will probably need to upgrade to a larger tank well before a year & a bit, more like in six months with 2 turtles in ther. For the time frame that you are intending, they will be living in a very cramped enviroment, risking stunting their growth & other health complications. I keep 4 turtles together of different sizes, all ELN's, from 10cm to 18cm shells. They never fight.
If you give them the room they need to move & ample dry area, they will live happily together.
Don't forget that a freshwater turtle's life expectancy can be around 100 years old!

 

[vaughans81]

Hi Garycahill,
Thanks for the advice. I have found a great 5 foot tank Im thinking about buying. Do you think this will be big enough or should I really look for a 6ft? A 5 foot fits my home better but whatever is best for my Turtles is what I will do.
Thanks
katie