Help with my Turtle Tank set up

[vaughans81]

Hi,

I have purchased a -

Aqua One 2Ft Turtle Tank (dock attached) with ExoTerra Compact top Fluorescent Light for 2Ft Tank. The globes are not included so if anyone knows a website or somewhere I ca n go to buy the globes from would be great.

What else do I need? Fillter, heater? I am getting my turtles in a month so I want to be ready and make sure i have everything I need. I have purchased a few books I am reading but if you know of any websites with good info I would love to take a look. Any ideas on brands for the other items I need would be great and the best place to buy these from. I know I need a really good fillter but have no idea where to start or what brand to look at. Any advice would be great. I just want to make sure my turtles have the best home possible. Also what is the best thing to put in my tank eg, plants, rocks, a tunnel for them to swim through?? I have never owned turtles before so I am starting from scratch.

BTW I am getting 2 Macleay River turtles.

Many thanks

Katie :lol:

 

[tenacres1100]

Australian Freshwater Turtles

 

[bfg23]

you will only need a small filter for a small tank like that.
get a respected name brand like fluval or aquaone or eheim and it will last for years.
also you will need a water heater you can get from aquarium shops, 1 watt per litre is the guideline i think.
26degrees is good for turtles, but its best to be positive for your species.

turtles make the water very messy when feeding so you will need a good filter and will probably need to do 1/3 water changes regularly for good health.

My mate has a turtle and i went and looked at it the other day, it was in a tank with nothing but rocks and its dock, and it was a very sketchy turtle.
I told him to get a live plant or 2 and something for the turtle to hide in/under, now the turtle is no longer sketchy and will eat right from his hands now.

 

[vaughans81]

Thanks bfg23, I will buy the tunnel I have been looking at for them to hide, thats a great start. Thanks for taking the time to answer. I need all the help I can get!

 

[Cypher]

Jus be careful with the tunnel idea...you don't want anything that a turtle may get stuck inside & may not be able to reach the surface for air.

 

[vaughans81]

Oh ok, thanks for that Cypher, do you any ideas for what I should get for them to hide under?

 

[pdsn99]

From the research I have done recently;

Temp;
24-26C is good

Rule of thumb is 1w per 1L hence 100w heater will do 100L.

Basking lamp is beneficial - should be about 30C under lamp

Tank;
2foot tank - 3/4 full will hold approx 40L (but calculate the L's - Width x Length x Height of water in cm divide by 1000 = Litres).

Macleay's generally stay in the water and infrequently come onto dry land, however the dock is necessary.

You will need to upgrade to atleast standard 6 foot when larger meaning 3-4 year or so.

Filtration;
Definitely need a canister filter - turtles are dirty buggers. My suggestion would be get one that will do the larger tank, so you do not have to upgrade later. Water can never be over filtered.

Feeding;
If you can buy or catch small live fish (white cloud, native guppy) knock them out then feed whole or chopped up (head first may need to assist). This will give them the calcium from the bones and nutrients from internal organs.

Stay away from processed foods like turtle dinners and red meats. When do turtles eat cow in the wild.

Mix the diet up - Brine shrimp, freshwater fish (not just fillet), frozen krill, vegies, bloodworm(occasionally), cat kibbles (rarely).

Try to supplement foods with calcium/multi vitamins. As powder dissovles in water I soak what I'm feeding into a paste I make up. Then feed the turtle in a seperate container - so not to dirty the tank.

Turtles need to be in the water for feeding - they use the water to swallow the food

UV;
Need to get UV lighting atleast a UV2.0 & no more than UV5.0.

I also suggest to get them out in the natural sunlight (under supervision - dont want no bird to gobble them up) a couple times a week for approx 20mins each time.

Any other questions i'll give it a go.

Good luck and have fun :lol:

 

[vaughans81]

Wow, thanks pdsn99, thats the best advice I have been given yet. I will def use all this information. The only other question I have is how often should I change the water and should I use a Ph test kit to make sure the water is ok?
Thanks

 

[bfg23]

if you are thinking about the floating turtle log then its a great idea for turtles, they cant get stuck in there.
i do water changes on my croc tank fortnightly, but i only change the top 6inches of water.
yes 10dollars will get you a PH test kit, but regular water changes will keep the PH level right up anyway.

 

[garycahill]

a 3 foot tank is recommended to be the minimum tank size for a turtle.
If you are after care sheets, here's a link to the best care sheets; http://www.australianfreshwaterturtles.com.au/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=4
Craig Latta has been keeping & breeding turtles forever.
Probably the best recognised name in Australia for turtles next to John Cann.

 

[Cypher]

Oh ok, thanks for that Cypher, do you any ideas for what I should get for them to hide under?

Depending on the size of your tank, I used to use driftwood. My turtles didn't necessary need to burrow under or hide inside to feel safe...hiding behind the drift wood, out of human sight was fine for them.

Also with fake plastic plants. I used to silicone a bunch of them to like a big flat pebble & the turtles enjoyed hiding behind them.

The reason to silicone was to stop them from constantly ripping them out of the gravel.

 

[vaughans81]

Hi Garycahill,
I was going to buy a larger tank but was told for babys a 2 ft was perfect. In a year or so as they get bigger I will upgrade to a 5 ft. The tank I have is an Aqua one tank designed for Turtles and the lady Im buying it of has turtles in it at the moment. Im only getting 2. Thank you for the advice, its really hard to get the same advice from people, I seem to hear lots of different opions. I have read Craigs care sheet, it is really good and contains a lot of info. I think I will be fine with what I have for the moment