Water turtle setup, budget friendly

[Rachael403]

So, I still have ALOT to do to my stalk tank for my turtles. I do have a budget, so this is my starter area outside for them. I do plan on purchasing a 500 gallon one when it is on sale, but this is the start.

I got a 100 gallon stalk tank on sale for 64.99 at tractor supply. I know I will need to upgrade at some point, but they will have the bigger ones on sale for much cheaper later in the year. This will be our indoor enclosure for the winter because it will be the only size that fits through our doorways.

I was able to get my canister filter for $74.23, which I will be getting another one next month. I have not set it up yet, I am doing manual cleaning until I get the other one ordered.

The bricks were .25 on sale at Menards. The longer brick on top was 2.24. I have extras, so plan on raising both sides to make it taller to add more water. I spent a whopping $8 dollars on their basking area. I also think it is super neat because we have it in an area thats at an angle, so they are able to swim up onto the basking area and walk up onto the dry part. I also left an area for them to safely go in and out of because there are times during the day when they are in full sun and protect them from predators at night. I do not have the cover on it at the moment, but It was wire we already had that I put over the top.

I also found a place locally that has water lettuce, I am waiting for them to get more in so I can add them to my tank. They are a couple of bucks a piece. I also found someone that has a ton of frogbit floating clusters, but I haven't made it the couple of hours to purchase them yet.

I also added snails (which you cannot see them, I got the "pesky" ones for free that no one likes from petco when I was in there the other day. I think they are adorable, and they are on the bricks at the moment. There is a dozen or so between my indoor fish tank and theirs. They breed fast so I assume I will have more. Since I am keeping the tank pretty clean, they help eat any leftover food/ greens that are in the bottom of the tank.

I have a lot of plans that willl be an eventual process, but I won't add to my "book" for today. I hope you enjoy my setup.


I will have pictures of the box turtle enclosure up in a couple of weeks that I will share with you.

 

[Alex Z]

Is that a cooter or ybs?? I have 3 female rescued ybs...love their stripes..really like the set up and how it provides a more natural home...these are much better than tanks...was looking through cl today found a couple of deals...

 

[Rachael403]

I actually have two painted turtles and a RES in this tank. The other two are still pretty small. I don't think this is exactly natural, but it does the job better than an aquarium. I hope to get it looking more like a "pond" sometime. If you live in a bigger area, CL may have canister filters for it also. Ybs are very cool. I have actually never seen one in person.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It looks like a very good start.
You'll find that if you place tall plants in pots (or buried in the ground) around the stock tank, it will greatly help reduce the algae that will soon show up.
So will partially covering some of the top with shade cloth.
Leaving minnows in the water to live 24/7 will get rid of any mosquito larvae and supply the turtle with a snack. I might even go so far as to drop in a crawfish.

 

[Alex Z]

I actually have two painted turtles and a RES in this tank. The other two are still pretty small. I don't think this is exactly natural, but it does the job better than an aquarium. I hope to get it looking more like a "pond" sometime. If you live in a bigger area, CL may have canister filters for it also. Ybs are very cool. I have actually never seen one in person.

Some of them basking together...

 

[Alex Z]

This is sunny...she is about 4.5 inches and about 3yrs old..

 

[Rachael403]

It looks like a very good start.
You'll find that if you place tall plants in pots (or buried in the ground) around the stock tank, it will greatly help reduce the algae that will soon show up.
So will partially covering some of the top with shade cloth.
Leaving minnows in the water to live 24/7 will get rid of any mosquito larvae and supply the turtle with a snack. I might even go so far as to drop in a crawfish.

I can definitely get some shade cloth and cover up some of the top. Where would one buy something like that?

I want to get some live plants to put in with them, but I haven't figured out which ones yet. Do you have any good suggestions?

I have been looking for minnows, but no "shops" around here sells them. Even bate shops. I will have to drive to Lincoln. If it's legal to trap this year, we may do that. Do you buy or trap your minnows?

 

[Rachael403]

This is sunny...she is about 4.5 inches and about 3yrs old..

I will look at your pics when I get home tonight. My phone will not pull them up.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I can definitely get some shade cloth and cover up some of the top. Where would one buy something like that?

I want to get some live plants to put in with them, but I haven't figured out which ones yet. Do you have any good suggestions?

I have been looking for minnows, but no "shops" around here sells them. Even bate shops. I will have to drive to Lincoln. If it's legal to trap this year, we may do that. Do you buy or trap your minnows?

Pet shops sell them as food for larger fish.
I planted pothos in the area of my fish ponds years ago. I think it was like two hanging plants for $8. Now the whole area is crowded with the plants. they send roots into the water and I'm pretty sure they are somewhat beneficial. They keep out a lot of light, too. The water is always very clear.

 

[Alex Z]

Pet shops sell them as food for larger fish.
I planted pothos in the area of my fish ponds years ago. I think it was like two hanging plants for $8. Now the whole area is crowded with the plants. they send roots into the water and I'm pretty sure they are somewhat beneficial. They keep out a lot of light, too. The water is always very clear.

Can you share pics of your ponds please?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Can you share pics of your ponds please?

There's a hole in the Pothos

 

[Yvonne G]

Shade cloth can be purchased at home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowe's.

I used a tall plastic flower pot as a cave/basking area. I cut a door out at the rim/lip of the pot, then when I turn it over, it's a cave. I fill the water up to the top (which is really the bottom) of the pot.

 

[Alex Z]

There's a hole in the Pothos

Do gou habe of the whole pond and some turtle shots? Looks fantastic man!!

 

[Rachael403]

Okay great, I will check at Menards for the shade cloth, if not there is a home depot about an hour from me. I actually have a ton of pothos that I have made babies from my big plants. I know they grow well in water. I will make up something like that. We have it above ground so I will work on that also. Your pond is beautiful. I will post more pics for suggestions once I get something figured out. I thought about those plant hangers from Menards that hang off the side of your porch and planting some stuff in there. Thanks for the inspiration. I hate how boring it is right now.

 

[cdmay]

Okay great, I will check at Menards for the shade cloth, if not there is a home depot about an hour from me. I actually have a ton of pothos that I have made babies from my big plants. I know they grow well in water. I will make up something like that. We have it above ground so I will work on that also. Your pond is beautiful. I will post more pics for suggestions once I get something figured out. I thought about those plant hangers from Menards that hang off the side of your porch and planting some stuff in there. Thanks for the inspiration. I hate how boring it is right now.

No worries. Enclosures and habitats evolve over time. That's part of the science (and fun) of this aspect of turtle keeping. You'd be surprised how many old timers might learn something from your insight and experimentation.

 

[Rachael403]

This is a split leaf pothos. I'm going to plant this in an area. I was able to take a "baby" off of it. It may be out of control, but I think it would be awesome somewhere around the tank and would provide excellent cover. I know pothos are poisonous to some animals. Are they poisonous to turtles?

 

[Rachael403]

Some of them basking together...

Wow that's a lot of turtles! They look very well taken care of. The basking area looks really creative. Could you post a picture of that? It looks like a good diy basking area, and obviously can hold a lot of weight.

 

[Alex Z]

Ty...I just used zip ties and the platforms of 2 penn plax turtle piers...we have 9 water turtles...3 ybs females...2 juvenile missisippi map turtles and 4 male res..they vary from 2 to 10in...all well cared for with a varied diet..

 

[Alex Z]

This is their temp basking island...the 3rd pic is there future one...will build it next month...

 

[Rachael403]

Thats awesome, you got one of the balcony's for your turtles. It looks like you maximized the space in them as much as possible.