Habitat - Indoor :: DIY 175 gallon setup

[Niksan878]

Hello everyone!

I'm kind of new to this forum, but it's very nice to have such a place where we can share things about red ear sliders:)

I've have 2 turtles for the past 12 years... so now I'm thinking of building my own aquarium setup.
In the attached jpg you can see the sketch of the setup I'm thinking of doing.

Please share your thoughts on the project...I'd love to hear some other opinion before starting the thing:)

Thank you!

[sflemin2]

They will love that! I have a 150 and the biggest problem I have is that its too tall. I wish it was shorter and longer..its really difficult to clean (but I am short..so..). Will you be building an above tank basking area?

[Niksan878]

Well I haven't decided yet whether or not I'll be making a separate terrarium above the aquarium (so that I can take it off when I need to clean the aquarium) or just glue some "landing zone" inside of the aquarium...

I'd really like to make a place with sand and dirt so that they can dig and lay eggs if they want to... not sure about that thought since the depth should be twice the length of the turtle (at least 40cm deep). Has anyone done something similar?

[sflemin2]

I personally would like the ATBA but here is some inspiration for the in tank area http://www.glasscages.com/?sAction=ViewCat&lCatID=55

I haven't seen a nesting tank solution for a tank that large. I have a similar problem. Turtles arent very comfortable laying eggs around people so when you have to physically take them out of the tank to nest, they typically dont do it (although some people have had luck in their back yards). Mine always lay them in the water . I know some people put it beside the tank and build a ramp to it.

[steve]

Hi, welcome to the site. I like your design, though I would probably make it a little shorter and more wider because it's easier to reach in and grab them. Though I also see you want to make a canopy, so my comment probably doesn't apply. There is a youtube video of a design with a more effective nesting area (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYB_ftul1CI)

[Niksan878]

Hi Steve and thank you!

I saw the video of that guy's aquarium and I must say its looking pretty amazing:) The only problem (I think) is that the nesting area is just 4 inches deep (as he said). I'm getting a little confused here, I thought that the nesting area must be twice the length of the turtle's shell? For example if my biggest turtle is 20cm long, the nesting area must be 40cm deep (full of sand and dirt)?

[Niksan878]

Hello again!

I've played around in Illustrator and came up with the following updated version of my future aquarium.

This way each area is separated from the rest which makes it easier and a lot lighter to move (if needed), to clean (just remove the top and the terrarium area, which could be build out of acrylic and be very light) and will still look very nice. Besides this way I have a 50x25x40(h) area to lay eggs if needed...And the best part is that each part is replaceable!

What do you think?

[sflemin2]

Great idea! How will you support the nesting area?

[Niksan878]

Hi Sflemin2,

Here's a draft 3d illustration of how each part should be attached to the other one... As you can see the little parts on the upper side of the aquarium serve as reinforcement to the aquarium as well as a place to put the upper terrarium area...What do you think?

[sflemin2]

Very nice! I am not good at this stuff so I do know for sure but it looks like it would work. I need to come back to this thread after I save up some cash. I am very unhappy with my basking area in my 150 gallon but all the basking areas in the threads are typically for much smaller tanks (and mine is a fat tank...so its even more difficult). Please keep us updated on this project. I hope you get some better feedback from people who know what they are doing lol

[steve]

Hi Niksan878, I think the depth of a nesting area should be roughly equal to a turtle's shell length. That should be plenty. I'm not certain if a dual nesting/basking area is the right idea. A female might feel that a basking area has too much traffic or is too warm for her eggs.

[Niksan878]

I thought that the MINIMUM dept of the nesting area should equal twice the length of the turtle's shell? Any other opinions? What about the width and the length? If I have two read ear sliders with 20cm of shell each one of them, what dimensions should I have for my nesting area?

Thanks!

[steve]

I haven't seen many nests dug that deep, though if you can make it that deep, it's fine. The size of the entire area will have to be as wide as the turtle, but I don't know if that's the only thing they require. Many nesting boxes don't work for RES.