Habitat - Indoor :: Tank for 2 turtles

[testinz]

Hi all,

I am looking for a tank for my 2 turtles. The female is 7x5inches and the male is 5x3 inches.

Someone in my area is advertising this aquarium for turtle:

-50 Gallon Tempered Glass Aquarium (48"long x 17" high x 13" deep)
-Custom STURDY (heavy duty for weight!) water resistant wood top stand,
-30 Gallon Turtle Basking Second Storey with plexi glass bottom and ramp (36"long x 17" high x 13" deep),
-Heating Lamp for Reptiles
-Water Siphon tube and faucet connection for filling/emptying tank,
-External Water Filtration System (no waterfalls=no noise!)(shown on inside of aquarium for photo purpose),
-Internal Submersed Water Filtration System (no noise at all!).

Do you know if that aquarium is good enough for my turtle?

Thanks!

[Nettle]

That's not enough swimming area for two big turtles. The rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of turtle so 7x10+5x10 would be 120 gallons. It would be fine for the male, but not for the female or both.

[BullDog]

I agree. It'd be OK for your smaller male for a little while, but you'd need at least a 70 gal for the female, or 120 gal for both. Now keep in mind, that will fit them right now. As they grow bigger, you will need a tank pushing 200 gal if you want to keep them together (if they get along, that is...)

[testinz]

That would be a HUGE investment...

I was hoping that the 50 gallon tank would be enough for the two of them for now and I could upgrade to a bigger one in a year or two.

Actually, my turtles are very lazy... I don't expect them to go swimming that much. Do you think this will do for now? This tank will cost me ~250$ CAD.

A 120 gallons or 200 gallons will be too big an investment for me right now.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Well, obviously you can only do as best as you can. But there are two concerns with buying too small of a tank. The first is you will have to do a lot in upkeep, like partial water changes frequently, maybe even every day, and full tank cleanings maybe every week because your filter won't be able to handle the water.

The second concern is aggression. The less space, the less resources, the more likely one of your turtles will injure or kill the other for territory. You will need to keep a constant eye on them to make sure, it only takes a minute before one could be badly injured. Also, if the male starts pestering the female to mate, she may hurt him. Or you may end up with babies ...

Why are the larger tanks too big of an investment? I can understand cost, but often you can find used tanks for a good price and you can go to an animal supply store and get a stock tank instead, which are usually 150 or 300 gallons.

Even if you bought that setup, it would barely last them a year, esp if aggression starts, then you'll need two setups ...

[testinz]

Thanks for replying... What is a "stock tank" and what's the different from the normal tank?

[Vtolds]

This is a stock tank and this is exactly the one I have.

http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs ... ue&cFlag=1

[testinz]

Thanks for the info. Do you think I can fit a water filter on a stock tank like that?

What other equipment do I need?

[TheComputerGremlin]

You can get a canister filter or a pond filter to handle that kind of gallonage. Sometimes it's challenging since some filters require that they are located beneath the tank, but hopefully Vtolds will comment more on that!

You'll need a water heater, basking area, UVB bulb and heat bulb, thermometer. You can get creative with the basking area, search the threads here for lots of examples.