Habitat - Indoor :: Just redid my turtle's tank. Any tips on improvement?

[forgetmenot9002]

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http://tinypic.com/r/34obnys/6
http://tinypic.com/r/r0t6qe/6
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Maybe not the best pictures but it works. Before I redid it there was gravel and a bunch of rocks but I found out that the gravel wasn't good so I threw them out. Now the tank seems rather plain and empty. I'm sure Franklin, my res, doesn't mind but I'd like him to have fun in his tank. I was thinking maybe some sort of hiding hole or something? Anyone have any fun ideas?

[sull324]

You can add some sand at the bottom,its easy to clean and cheap(personally i use pool filter sand)

And you can add fake plastic plant,big rock,some fake cavern.

[BullDog]

A good addition would be an above tank basking area (atba). Looks like there's not a lot of water in there for an adult RES! Even if you still used the floating dock, raised the water level and just built a bit of a "wall" around the tank so he can't escape.

For the bottom, I use a few large river rocks for my turts to push around.

[forgetmenot9002]

I saw the thread about sand but it seemed a bit of a nuisance. I've been waiting for the weather to be better to look around our property for new big rocks to place at the bottom. I'm if-y on using fake plants because I don't want him to try and eat them. I was thinking of making a cavern of some sort but I'm not sure how to go about it.

I should have an additional dock along with the floating one? I'll look around the site some more but I think the tank is a little small for my turtle but I don't have the money or space for a bigger one right now. The current one is 24.5 inches by 12 by 12. I wasn't sure how to go about making a wall around the tank to have as much water as recommended also.

[BullDog]

Check out this thread for ideas on an inexpensive basking area:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15260

Egg crate is cheap (~$12/sheet), and easy to work with.