Habitat - Indoor :: Indoor Pond Setup?

[sprit.ben]

Hi, I recently got a RES and it is my first. Right now he is only about 3 inches and is in a 20 gallon aquarium. I want to get him in a bigger tank and I want it to be big enough so i dont have to upgrade for a long time. I am thinking of getting a 80 to 100 gallon preformed pond. I do custom wood work and want to build a stand for it with the pond set in it so he can climb out and bask. Does any one have an indoor pond or any suggestions to help me out?

[octpusgirl8]

Wow that sounds really cool! Try searching in the photo gallery, i've seen a few people with nice indoor ponds. I don't think any of the "regulars" have one, but i could be wrong. Have you looked into getting a stock tank? They might be easier to work with than a preformed pond. I know most of them are designed to be resting on dirt, and trying to build a stand that suppots them evenly could be a huge hassle, especially if it develops a crack after you've got it all set up! I know i saw one example of a stock tank that someone fancied up and built a basking platform for, it looked really nice, i never would have guessed it was a stock tank.

[Tenodera]

Check in here http://www.redearslider.com/habitat_gallery.html#x In the indoor setups thay have this really huge indoor pond

[sprit.ben]

I saw one in the habitat gallery with a fence around it and it looked real nice. It shouldn't be to hard to get it even with the right suports built under it. Stock tanks do look alot more easy to work with. I want to get started on building with in the next few weeks but I am debateing on getting a bgiger aquarium or a pond.

[octpusgirl8]

I like having an aquarium because i really like watching my turtle do his turtle thing, but aquariums are a lot more expensive than stock tanks and if your turtle is shy, ponds and stock tanks provide a more natural, private habitat. It's really all about what works for the space you have, and how much money you are willing to put into it. Whatever you do, give it a lot of thought and research. It's really annoying to sink a wad of money into a setup only to realize that it's not what want/need. He'll be okay in the 20 gal for a little while (as long as he's not growing too fast), there's no need to rush it.

[DavidY]

I'm going to be building an indoor pond in my basement...someday. I have the 120gal preformed pond that I got from Lowes for $69. I plan on building a frame out of 2x4's with a 3/4" plywood surface cutout so I can just drop the pond in. I plan on putting a bulkhead fitting into the bottom side of the pond and plumb it to a 1000gph external pump. The pump will then send the water to a homemade filter that sits above the pond and will return the filtered water back to the pond via a cascading waterfall. There will also be a "Y" diverter off of the line between the pump and the filter that will send dirty water from the bottom of the pond to a drain when I turn a valve which will make cleaning the pond that much easier.

Boy, I can't wait until it's done!