Advice on water turtle set up

[Allessa]

Hey guys
New to the forum and new to owning a water turtle. Well, technically, this girl (boy?) was bought by my brother and given to my mother as a mothers day present several years ago. None of us knew about turtles, so my mom did a bit of research and set her up.
I recently moved back in due to my father being sick (unfortunately he passed away a couple weeks ago), but i noticed that she is way too small for this tank. Poor girl =/ And being my mom has ALOT of other things going on (obviously) shes been a bit neglected. She wanted her to go to a good home, but we werent able to find one. So im pretty sure i will be taking her.
I told my mom when i get my tax refund back, (soon) i plan to get her a bigger tank. We currently own a 55 gallon with fish, and i feel that would be a good size for her. But my question is how does this work?
As of right now my mom has this tiny tank with the whole in the middle for the filter. If i were to get something like a regular 55 gallon fish tank, how would i go about setting the filter up...or what kind of filter would i use? I didnt want to actually build an extended up just yet, ive noticed how a few people would fill it halfway to 3/4 (low enough to where she cant climb out) but i couldnt see what kind of filter works with that set up.
Heres a pic of her set up now and of her. PLEASE excuse the mess and her gross water. Im changing it tomorrow ..like i said..alot going on! Also, anyone even know what kind of turtle she is?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Allessa, and welcome to the Forum!!

So sorry to hear about your dad.

You can buy filters that lay sideways, and work ok in low water, but your best bet is a canister filter that sits on the floor outside the tank. The water siphons out of the tank through the canister and then it pumped back up into the tank. These work great, but are a bit costly. But in my opinion, they are the best for turtle tanks.

Another thing - once you get the turtle set up in a bigger tank, you can take him (note, that I said HIM) out of the tank and feed him in a dish pan or something he can't climb out of...leaving him in the dishpan for a half hour or more after he's finished eating. This helps to keep the aquarium clean longer.

Be thinking about setting him up outside during the summer. He's of a size that would be better off in an outdoor pond. Its so much easier that way.

Take a look at some of Gerards' threads. He has a beautiful collection of water turtles.

 

[promisetolove]

Sorry to hear about your father. All the best to you and your family xo

This fella looks like a red eared slider ?

She will need a bigger tank. 55 gallon will be okay for now but she will probably out grow eventually.

Fill the tank a quarter full from the top, and have a basking area about 12" above the basking dock, this will allow more space for swimming, and will still ensure your turtle is getting proper lighting.

A canister filter is definitely the way to go.

---

**a basking light should be about 12" above the basking spot. So the light isn't too close to your turtle. But close enough.

 

[kathyth]

Something I do which really helps keep the water clean, is to feed my turtles out of the tank.
I pit them in a container, with water, the same temp as the tank and put their food in this container. They eat and I put them back in the tank.
I would also get a heater in the water.

I'm sorry about your dad. My best to your family!

 

[Allessa]

Thanks for the advice guys! Okay ill see if i can find a canister filter. Any preference on particular brands?
Yvonne, you can tell from the picture that its a male? Wow, what deciphers them?
I also told my mom to consider an outdoor pond. Shes afraid in the winter months (which arent too cold being were in Arizona) that he wont be able to sun properly because of the weather.

 

[promisetolove]

You can decipher gender by their feet and tails.
Your guys tail seems to be longer, leaning towards a male.

Males will have longer tails and longer nails and will be smaller then a female.
A female will have a shorter tail with not as long nails and will grow much larger then a male would.

As for canister filters I would recommend Ehiem, Rena or a fluval. If you research a bit online you can read reviews on different recommendations. I currently use an Ehiem Canister Filter and looking to eventually look into a fluval FX6 for my tank or maybe even something better.

 

[Allessa]

thanks so much for the advice guys! This is the new tank I picked up today. It's a 50 gallon and I feel like he is so lost! Poor baby had never truly swam. I've attached a picture. Would've done more but my phone wouldn't allow me. That filter is temporary. It was in his old one so until I can grab a new one tomorrow it'll have to do.
So another question is how do you guys set up their islands? I feel that both the ones he has are too small (and I feel like he's too heavy for them). I saw a couple people build ramps leading out but I was hoping to keep him inside the tank and not having to climb out? Any ideas?

 

[diamondbp]

Allesa welcome to TFO. It appears you have a young male cumberland slider which is a variation of the Red-eared slider from the Tennessee area that has a yellowish stripe rather than a vivid red stripe on the sides of the head. It's hard to tell exactly from the photos though. If you have any more please post them. Your setup is definitely looking better and I'm sure he is happier now than before. You will see a big difference when the canister filter is set up. I haven't had an inside aquirium in a long time but I used to buy the "whisper" brand and I was happy with them. Spraying off the actual filters every other day with a garden hose will lengthen the amount of time the filters will last. What I would do is instead of buying a more expensive 50gallon canister filter I would buy the 20-30 gallon canister filter and double up the filter cartridges inside the filter. Usually you can squeeze two in there even though they are designed for one filter. Some people get to worried about the amount of "gallons per hour" their canister filter can run but miss the whole idea of the filter "catching" the yucky stuff. If a filter pumps 200 gallons per hour but doesn't actually "filter" anything than it is defeating the purpose. Plus the larger the canister filter the larger the flow from it which can make swimming difficult for turtles. Red-eared sliders don't typical live in water sources with strong current. They prefer still or extremely slow moving sources of water. Those filters can get yucky pretty darn quick because red eared sliders get pretty big and poop like dogs eventually lol.
I agree totally on having a seperate feeding tub if time permits.
As far as the basking quarters I would always use smooth bricks to build a basking dock. I would buy the 2 inch tall "tile style" bricks to construct a basking spot. DONT MAKE ANY TUNNELS!!! THEY CAN BE DEADLY If you choose to do it this way be careful not to bust the glass when installing them. Dropping a brick on aquirium glass is usually not a good idea(been there done that). Those floating style or hanging basking docks are only good for small lighter turtles and yours is getting past that point.

Best of luck to you and your turtle.

 

[Val_d]

I have a larger RES and I use a Fluval 406 in a 75gal tank. It works really well and can keep up to the poo volumes they have. I highly recommend them for sliders. If you do decide to feed in-tank tho, just watch your food quantities. Remove any excess food after about 5-10 minutes, to avoid it going up the canister. Your tank looks similar to my set up and my slider seems happy. Good luck!