Habitat - Indoor :: Driftwood???

[vips]

I have had some driftwood in my new tank for around a week. I had put it on for the little ones to sit on out of the water and on advice from the pet store I had bought them from.

Apart from the usual discolouring of water which is apparently what is meant to happen, I noticed what looked like white gunge growing on the bottom of the wood, it almost looked like funghi from fish ponds.

I've taken it out and plan to change the water tonight, but is this normal? and is driftwood safe for the RES's?

[Shavannah]

I'm not sure if it's safe or not. I do know that wood will eventually rot in the water, leaving all kinds of unpleasantness in the water. Try getting one of those Zoomed floating docks. They attach to the wall of the tank with suction cups. They have small ones for hatchlings and larger ones for bigger turtles. My res is 3 yrs. and about 4-5 inches. He's too heavy even for the larger ones. I made a dock out of pvc and tiles, it cost me around $12 total. I have pictures in the photo gallery if you want ideas. Keep us posted!

[CountryGirl68]

Driftwood is supposed to be okay to use in water filled tanks. Could the gunge be algae?

[marisa]

vips, does the driftwood happen to be grapevine? If so, I tried using it a long time ago (does it float? if so, how are you keeping it stationary?). After being in the water for a while, the submerged portion would get a very pale green covering on it, which my painteds used to eat. The wood had no pesticides on it, so I wasn't worried about them getting sick. I used to periodically clean it and the pale green stuff would come back fairly quickly. I got tired of cleaning it and switched to corkbark (which I've always used for my RES), which is water resistant. I later read somewhere than grapevine isn't recommended for wet/really humid environments.

Some driftwood will not do what you're describing (I have that as well). But I do wonder if it's grapevine that you have...

[vips]

The pet store I bought this from recommended the driftwood. But then they also had very small gravel which they recommended

The driftwood doesn't float, and the gunge was definitely a white colour as opposed to green. I have cleaned it all off, but at the moment apart from a few floating plants my RES's have nowhere to sit

A pet store has promised to get me in a turtle dock today, and yesterday I collected a heat lamp togethor with a ceramic holder, just need to put it togethor. Do I hang the lamp inside or can I use a desk spot lamp from outside the tank?

[Shavannah]

The desk lamp: do you mean the kind with the adjustable arm? If so, you could use that right next to the tank as long as the heat from it warms the basking area to about 88 degrees (10 degrees warmer than the water). Or did you want to use the heat lamp (bulb) in the desk lamp fixture? If so, what kind of bulb is it? I use a household bulb (75 watt) in a clip-on style lamp. I can't clip it on the side of the tank because of the screen top I made for the tank. I have it clipped to a tall wood shelf standing up next to the side of the tank over the basking area. Hope this helps. If not, wait for others to reply.

[Shavannah]

Forgot: The desk lamp needs to have vent holes in the top so too much heat doesn't build up.

[vips]

I've managed to get a heat bulb and a ceramic holder, and now just need the wire with a switch on the line. My alternative is the desk lamp, it has a spotlight in there and does have vent holes too. Would the desk lamp be fine shining through one end of the tank from outside.

Also can anyone think of a temporary style basking fixture as I'm having a hard time finding a turtle dock.

[Shavannah]

The light shouldn't have any obstruction between it and the turtle, other than maybe a screen with minimum of 1/2" holes. Glass, plastic, and smaller hole screens will block the UV rays the turtle needs.
If you have a hardware store close by that offers tile cutting, you could make one out of pvc and ceramic or slate tile. I have pictures posted in the Photo Gallery of mine I just made. I used a hacksaw to cut the pvc pipe and pvc elbows to connect the pipes. If you have a wet-saw, you can cut the tile yourself, or just have the hardware store do it for you. I spent about $12 for all of it. Do you have a pet store close by? You can get a Zoomed floating dock for around $12 (small) or around $17 (large). I had a large one that I used for 3 years. My turtle was getting to heavy for it, so that's why I made one (thanks to Steve for his idea).

[vips]

Well i've cleaned and put the driftwood back in now and am hoping it should be fine.

I've got the desk lamp shining on the driftwood and the extrovert went straight up to go bask, and he seemed like he was really enjoying it, i've got some pics too so i'll get those up some time soon. I'll get a lead put on that ceramic holder and dangle the heat lamp inside, as the cover on the tank only has gaps throught it for leads.

They seem to be really eager to eat now too, as both of them are waiting at the front of the tank when i get home, lol.

I'll hunt down a basking dock this weekend, so I can start filling the tank up a little more...

[Shavannah]

Looking forward to seeing the pics of your turts!