Habitat - Indoor :: UV Lights

[Kimusubi]

Hi,

Me and my girlfriend just rescued a RES from a very very bad home. We've pretty much gotten all the necessary stuff down, but the only problem we're having is getting the UV light and the heat light to be on the basking area because I've heard that the UV light is no good when it's pointed to the water. We have a 20 long tanke, and we've placed the basking area on the front right end of the tank. The only problem is that we have an 18" UV bulb that won't fit over the basking area because the clamp light for the heating is right over. Any suggestions as to how to overcome this issue?

Also, we're having a hard time finding the right filter for him. I know we have to get a slightly stronger filter than recommended for the tank. So we got an Aqua Clear Power Filter 50 (20-50 gallon), but that is way too strong. It prevents the turtle from swimming normall and sucks him all around. I turned it as low as it would go, but even that didn't work because the waterfall effect that the hanging canisters have is too strong. We are going to replace it with a smaller one that is 10-30 gallons which hopefully would be better, but even then I'm not too sure. With our current budget, the canister filters are too pricy, as we've already spent over $200 trying to rescue this turtle.

If anyone has any suggestions for us, I'd really appreciate it. We are doing our best to give this turtle the best home possible. He was in a very abusive home before us. It was so abusive that they had him for a year and a half, and he didn't grow a single inch due to lack of light and proper food. Thank you again in advance for all your help.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Lighting is always tricky. Just try your best to maneuver it! My lights are positioned as best as I could manage. And as for the filter, I'm not familiar with that type of filter because I have a canister filter, but I'd say keep the filter and change out the tank! A 20 gallon won't nearly be enough for any turtle to be happy. The more water, the better! I'd say (since you didn't mention size) that you need 10 gallons per inch of shell length and you'd be safest going with a 55 gallon or more, depending on size. You can get by without the best filter with a bigger tank if you need to save up money. I'd say get the larger tank and the lighting and do water changes every week or twice a week (like 25% or so) until you can afford the better filter. Yeah, setting up a turtle is expensive, I just spend $400 two months ago on an upgrade, and eventually he'll need something a little better!

[Kimusubi]

Well, the turtle is the size of a hatchling. It's crazy how he stayed the same size for a year and a half due to bad husbandry. We felt so bad for him that we had to help him out, but our budget isn't too high so we're limited on what we can do. But do you think a 20 long tank would suffice for the time being if he's only the size of a hatchling? Thanks again for your reply.

[grey goose]

Setting up lights is mostly trial and error. Keep trying to fudge the two lights till they fit. You could maybe get a stronger light bulb for the heat lamp and move it a little farther away.
If the filter's output is knocking the little guy around, try putting a fake plant in front of the output (again trial and error) to break up the flow of water.
A 20 gal will do for now but as he gets healthy he will start growing.....