Habitat - Indoor :: Seting up a new tank

[lunabebe4]

I am buying all new stuff tomorrow and my first res. What do i need to know exactly as far as set up? What do i bring him home in? After setup is there a time frame I have to wait to put him in his new home? Im all new to this and i have researched a lot about feeding and so forth. But I dont want to harm him by putting him in the tank to early or anything. Any help?

[thegrandpoohbah]

The bare essentials would be:

tank
tank stand (tanks weigh ~10lbs/gallon when filled, most furniture can't handle the weight)
filter
heater
basking dock
basking lamp
UVB lamp

I would recommend getting the tank set up and let it run for a couple of days to make sure conditions are right before getting your RES.

[lunabebe4]

Ok, I was planning on getting the tank set up tomorrow and buying him friday. Would that be ok. One day for the tank to be set up?

[octpusgirl8]

Read over the habitat section on the main page, it has tons of great info. You'll save yourself a lot of money if you do a bit of research and buy the right stuff the first time (speaking from experience here!) Be sure to buy a tank that's plenty big, you want 10 gallons ofr every inch of turtle. You're best off buying a tank big enough for a full grown turtle right away, then you're not wasting money buying a new tank/filter/heater etc. in a year or so. Get a good canister filter, turtles are very messy and it'll make your turtle owning experience much more pleasant.

As far as putting your new turtle in the new tank, as long as the water is the right temp, you should be good to go. The tank will "cycle" and get cloudy for a while, but that's nothing to worry about, it will clear up in a week or so if you've got a good filter.

[lunabebe4]

On average how much will i be spending to get everything?

[papoopeepoo]

300-400 - tank + stand (that's on the low side)
150-200 - canister filter
30-40 - heater
15 - basking dock
4 - basking lamp (could vary greatly because a regular 60-75watt light bulb) can be used
20-30 - UVB bulb

So if you happen to find a good deal on all the materials you're looking at a minimum of about $550. Mind you, that's before the cost of the turtle and food for the little guy. Most of that cost is a one-time fee if you plan it all correctly. The only things that will need regular replacement are light bulbs, filter media, and turtle food.

P.S. - water weighs about 8.3 pounds per gallon, thats without the weight of the aquarium, or tank, and stand.

[Chrisbarnett]

Make sure you check Craigslist as well before you go buying a new tank/stand etc. You will often find sweet deals on aquariums, especially since you live in a heavily populated area.