All Turtles Message Board

Christina · Level 2 Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 29 Location: New Jersey

Okay I'm getting my daughter a baby RES for her B-day. I want to make sure I have all the required items to keep my little guy happy and healthy.
I have been doing alot of researching on this site and it has helped me alot Thanks. Here's what I have so far:

1. 29 gal tank
2. stealth heater
3. 2-20 gal tetra whisper internal filters
4. 5.5" lamp fixture with 75 watt basking bulb
5. uva/uvb light

How deep should I make the water for this size tank and turt. I was told 5" from the bottom? Any help would be appreciated

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

you need a basking dock. or an area where he/she can get completely dry. i would fill the tank 3/4 of the way.

Christina · Level 2 Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 29 Location: New Jersey

Thanks turtle-grl I am making a basking dock out of plexiglass with stones glued on with silicone. Isn't 3/4" to much I dont want my poor baby to drown Exclamation

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

If he/she is 5 inches he is pretty big for a 29 gal. He will need all the room he can for swimming. You could try half and see how he does.

Christina · Level 2 Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 29 Location: New Jersey

The turtle is only about the size of a quarter. The water depth I was told to put at 5"

2turtles · Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 3:49 pm Post subject:

hatchling RES' are verrrryyyy good swimmers. I would fill it to about 4" from the top, or just start with an above tank basking area and fill the 29 gal all the way up.

My only area of concern is your filtration strategy - Is this the filter you have?

Christina · Level 2 Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 29 Location: New Jersey

4" from the top? Question

That seems like a bit much to me. I was thinking 5" from the bottom. The filter that I have is the Whisper in tank PF-20i. I purchased 2 of them for each side of the tank.

2turtles · Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2007 4:35 pm Post subject:

I am not a fan of your filters, and not sure they will prove satisfactory over the course of time. Your tank is going to be very suitable for a year or so though.

In my opinion, your water level and setup is both a function of comfort and well being of the turt as it is visually pleasing to you. If you want to start with a 5" depth until you are more comfortable with the capabilities, needs and requirements of your new baby - I wouldn't anticipate any negative affects from it.

Just for comparison, here is my 47 gal tank with two juvenile turts (about 6 months old) with the water level about 4" down

and a full 75 gal tank with above tank basking for three turts who are 6 months old to 18 months old

I know your baby seems tiny, but he/she will soon be begging for a fuller tank.. and they are so enjoyable to watch when they have tons of room to swim, dive and play around.

When you get her home, make sure to provide some pics!

(I would recommend trying to return your filters and starting off with something that will be more appropriately sized for the long term, such as this the Cascade 700 filter.. I think you achieve excellent filtration when you go with roughly 5x the water circulation... so for a 29 gal tank, I would recommend almost 150gph filtration, and while your internal filters would exceed that, I don't believe they will have the necessary surface area for an adequeate colony of bacteria which will be required (and help cut down on the smell))
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