red eared slider turtle tank habitat 125 gal custom aquarium
My 125 Gallon turtle tank. Home made canopy, overflow and wet dry bucket trickle filter system, low maintenance and very clean. two red eared slider turtles with 5 gold fish and 5 minnows. Built entire system for about $400, got tank and stand almost free off craigs list, had to reenforce stand and paint black to match decor. Rocks I got from construction left overs (free). They love their new basking area and large area to swim around. Tank is undersized by 15 – 25 gallons of water since its 10 gal for every inch of turle so next tank will need to be bigger once they grow a bit more.
Duration : 0:4:57
[youtube bVhnSlERnt4]
Aquarium light hood says 20 watts, is that the highest watt bulb I can put into it?
This tank is …
This tank is PERFECT! i love it!!!!!!!
i can tell you put alotttt of time into it all and by the looks of it…it all paid off!
the thing is if …
the thing is if your going to have 3 RES you need much larger tank than 125. The 125 will only last a year or two as they tend to grow faster with a larger setup. You should setup a 250 – 300 gal tank for them with at a min two Very large Bio filters similar to the ones I built to handle the load they will put on the system. If you plan to have other fish or snails etc then 3 filters would be even better with a 2500 gal per hour pump supplying the tank. Good luck and if you need more help ask!
I didnt realize I …
I didnt realize I put 160.. I meant to say 120. Your missing my whole point I think. Its 10 gallons of water for every inch of turtle. This means if you have two turtles that are 4 inches each that is 8 * 10 so 80 gallons. My tank is not full it only has 100 gallons of water in it so techinically I am maxing out the echo system with them in there hence why I would need 250 – 300 gal tank for them to live in rest of their life. Your tank is undersized even technically. Yours needs 2 B around 120.
6 inches would not …
6 inches would not equal 160 gallons. That would be 26 gallons per inch. If they are 6 inches then 60 gallons would be okay so your turtles must be happy currently. I myself am upgrading but to 125 gallon. I have 3 3-4 inch res in a 55 gallon currently but the faster you upgrade, the better
that is …
that is rediculously awesome!!!!
Just realized i had …
Just realized i had a typo…
Its 10 gallon of water per inch of turtle
Typing too fast from my cell phone i make typos.
Not to mention in …
Not to mention in the tank they are in the filter keeps up perfectly but to be even better I need to double the filtration so I would need to duplicate what I did X2 and have a bigger area beneath tank etc. All and all the turtles are very happy and it shows as they are very calm and love our interaction. Appreciate your input and if you have any questions about turtles and setups for them just let me know.
since they spend 30 …
since they spend 30 – 40% their time out of water it makes sense for them to be able to see us in basking area. Besides you need 8 – 12 inches of distance from basking lights to not hurt them and if water was higher canopy would have to be much taller etc. If I had a 250 – 300 gal tank They would gain all the swimming area needed and I would preserve the viewing area for them. Not to mention the bigger tank will give me more room to build the water falls and land area I want for them.
Actually your not …
Actually your not 100% correct. If they grow even to 8 inches long which today they are 6″ then 160 gallons of actually water would be needed. Its 1 gallon of water per inch of turtle which I have two turtles to twice as much water. This tank is only a learning tank for me really and my goal is a 250 gal tank as to support if they both were to reach 8 – 9 inches. I like to have a view of them on basking rock as they interact with me every day and like to see us as much as we like to see them.
I don’t think you …
I don’t think you will need a bigger tank because the most your turtle will grow is 12 inches and will need 120 gallons and your turtle would probably not even get that big. Once the grow a bit more, i suggest raising the water level more to give them more swimming space and make them happier 8).
I have a RES turtle …
I have a RES turtle a little over two years old and still is living in a small tank. The reason being is because I have an apartment and it being not permanent, I do not want to get a 100+ gallon tank just yet. I have been looking around, but still nothing I am willing to invest in to move my tank around. What would you recommend? I want to build a new tank for him also, but am lost with how you did your piping system. Can you help me?
Oh my, not eating …
Oh my, not eating isn’t good. Make sure the water is shallow enough for it to stand on it’s own and breath out of the water. If it gets tired, then it can stop anywhere. I suggest something non living, such as the turtle food most popular is “Reptomin”, (floating food sticks) so it doesn’t have to “work” for it’s food. Most tempting for my babies is actual cooked shrimp, broken up in bite sizes if it’s weak. I hope he’s okay! Keep us posted!
Well that is hard …
Well that is hard to say for sure, no one can give straight answers on the subject. I know people who have been using it on their salt water tanks for 10 years without a single issue and I have been using it for a year without issue, fish,plants,turtles,snails all seem to be doing well. I did recently switch to Rock Wool as I found it cheaper then insulation online and I know that is safe. Again, insulation has chemicals in it but no one can say effects on fish as some hatcheries use it too.
my question isnt …
my question isnt the insulation for ur house dangerouse for the turtles
This question is …
This question is far from your video. If a turtle doesn’t want to eat because he is too weak,he will be tempted to eat with blood worms???
if it goes above …
if it goes above 93 degrees then its too close and if its under 86-88 degrees then its too far away. Good temp it somewhere between 87 and 92*.
Depends on the …
Depends on the light. If your talking the UVb light then no less than 6″ away. Depends on the strength, 5.0 reptisun around 6 – 8″ away, if 10.0 then around 10″ away. dont put in a reflective cover/outlet with 10.0 just too much on the turtle and can harm them in many ways. Per basking bulbs for day and night heat it depends on the heat its outputting. put 6″ away and then put a thermometer under it, cont in next post…….
how far does the …
how far does the light have to to be from the turtle basking area?
I have read that a …
I have read that a turtle tank should not be near the sunlight of a window due to you not being able to control the temp in the tank, as there needs to be a gradient of temps for them to be able to regulate their body temp. With lamps, submersible heaters, and an underwater “hide a spot”, you are able to create a variety of temps w/in the size tank you have. Do you have a basking area? Grifloki is right about the 75 watt night bulb, which I leave on for heat purposes above basking area.
They are only a …
They are only a couple years old.
wow that is a …
wow that is a beatiful tank… how old are your turtles.. i have them i have turtles do you think you can comment me bc i need a little help in learning how to take care of them =]
Sure but they will …
Sure but they will eat some or all.. You need right lights and bigger filter.. Also need a dc for them to get out f water etc.
veryy nice but is …
veryy nice but is it possible to put turtles in a tank with fish ?
Thank you very much …
Thank you very much for your help!!!!
lastly having 4 …
lastly having 4 turtles your going to need a very very good filtering system. The one I built handles my 2 pretty well meaning takes out ammonia and waste really well but I have to change it every 4 – 5 days. 4 turtles would need a system twice as good meaning dual bio filters on a large scale similar to mine to handle their waste once they mature to a year or so. If you don’t there will be high risk of respiratory issues along with general health issues due to quality of the water.