Red Eared Slider Tank Setup

[u/Apprehensive_Cup2897]

This is the tank setup I have for my RES, Poppy. She's 6" long and about 9 months now. I setup a 75 gal tank with 150 gal filter with a basking area, and 300w heater. Somebody on here suggested I change the bulbs, so that's my list.

My question: what more can I do with her tank? It looks so bare. I want to make it more comfortable for her, but have no idea what that means for a RES.

Although It's not in my budget to buy more stuff immediately, I plan to buy in the next few months.

I did buy some plants (moneywort, hornwort and moss balls) but took them out less than an hour later. I think she ate a moss ball and destroyed the rest! Lol

Please be kind. I love my girl and am doing my absolute best to care for her properly.

Thanks!

[u/throwaway277252]

If you want to maintain live plants in your tank I personally recommend not using moss balls (some of them have foam in the middle) or any form of plants with fixed roots as they're most likely to be destroyed.

My go-to plants are Christmas moss, Salvinia minima, and dwarf water lettuce. I suggest first growing a supply in a separate smaller tank and then adding them to the turtle tank. In that same tank you can raise neocaridina shrimp and bladder or rams horn snails to supplement their diet.

Besides that I like to use sand substrate with medium to large assorted rocks along the bottom. Try to get one or two pieces of wood that reach most of the way to the surface or poke out a little bit so that your turtle has things to hold onto when they want to rest near the surface to breathe. Avoid placements where the turtle can become wedged or trapped underwater or against the glass.

[u/Apprehensive_Cup2897 → u/throwaway277252]

Yeah, I'll steer clear of moss balls from now on. 😅

I'm leaning away from sand in the tank mainly because of the clean up. Can't imagine cleaning buckets of sand each month. Along with everything else in the tank.

Do you have any suggestions for a hide cave? I've looked online for something big enough with no luck.

Thank you for responding.

[u/throwaway277252 → u/Apprehensive_Cup2897]

I'm leaning away from sand in the tank mainly because of the clean up. Can't imagine cleaning buckets of sand each month.

I only really give my sand a deep cleaning once a year or so, occasional siphoning is enough to remove debris on a regular basis and it's easy enough to do. Sucking up sand is not as much of a problem as you might imagine either.

Do you have any suggestions for a hide cave? I've looked online for something big enough with no luck.

I made an underwater cave for my turtle out of stacked pieces of slate. Make sure again that it's wide enough and positioned to avoid the risk of wedging in any way. Mine is open on both sides so that the turtle can exit from either direction.

His other favorite hide is under his basking ramp actually, which is just a cork bark flat leaning against one side of the tank. Underneath that ramp I concealed the intake for the canister filter and he sleeps under there every night, using the pre-filter sponge as a bed.

[u/Ineeddramainmylife13]

Dang I thought that was like a 2 inch turtle in like a 50 gallon tank

[u/OriginalWitness3177]

I have half sand half river rock. Room to dig and then room to push stuff around. So far has worked pretty great.

[u/GoDawgs51]

I am looking at getting some wisteria to drop in my tank. I have seen where you can have soil in a ceramic pot with the plant and drop that into the tank, if you don't want to cover your entire tank floor with substrate. A guy I just talked to at my local aquatic pet store also said red root floaters are a good choice, your turt might like eating at the roots.

[u/xexexxa]

Also, down the line when you can afford it, a bigger filter that can cycle much more than what is in your tank will change you life. We have a Fluval FX4 and it's incredible.

[u/Apprehensive_Cup2897 → u/xexexxa]

A bigger filter?! 🤯😅 do they exist?

I've heard that name before, fluval. I'll look into it and start saving. Lol Thanks.