Habitat - Indoor :: Angelina's Forever Home

[Mom2RES]

Angelina will be getting her forever home this coming weekend (she won't actually move in yet). We are buying the 125 gallon tank with stand that I found on Craigslist. My husband was in OH this past weekend for military duty. He went to see the tank. We had no way to get it home. He felt comfortable with giving the people a deposit, so they are holding it for us until this coming weekend. We are going to make picking it up a day trip, and take our girls to the zoo while in OH.

Here it is.


DH and I basically decided that we didn't want to get say a 55 gallon and have to keep moving up. We want her next home to be her forever home, mainly for the sake of not investing in something and then having to invest in something new in the future.

Since we don't know if "she" is a he or a she, we should be covered either way. If she is a he, we should probably be able to get by with not ever having to build an ATBA, because we should be able to leave enough water out for a basking area within the tank (do you all agree?). If she is a she, we will probably eventually have to build an ATBA, but we should have plenty of time before we have to do that (she's about 1 1/2 inches now).

It will be awhile before she moves in. DH said that there was a filter and pumps and stuff, but I'm sure it won't be what I need (it was used until just recently as a fish tank). I'm pretty sure I will go with the fx5 that so many of you here recommend. I will also have to get a bigger heater (will probably use the one I have and get a second). That brings me to a question about lighting. I currently have a double dome light that holds a UVA bulb on one side and a UVB bulb on the other. Is that going to be enough light for this tank? Will I need another light fixture? Did I read somewhere here that the rays don't penetrate the water, so it wouldn't matter if I had a light that wasn't over the basking area (shown into the water)? If I need another light fixture, should I go ahead and make her a second basking area, or should I just leave it at one?

Also the tank comes with a glass top that can be removed. I seem to remember reading something like you couldn't use that with a turtle, because the glass wouldn't let the rays through. Is that correct?

Currently Angelina is in our living room that has a large picture window (she does not sit in front of it but off to the side). DH is concerned about putting this tank in our living room, because it is on our upper floor of our mid-entry. He's afraid to put that much weight in a concentrated area on the upper level. I think we are going to put her in our family room (lower floor). This room is partially underground and only has one small window in it. Will that hurt her at all as long as I have the UVA and UVB bulbs? I'm not sure she had any benefit whatsoever of the large picture window, because it is low e glass. The only benefit I see that she had was more light coming in, but I'm pretty sure she had no benefits of any rays.

I'm excited to be able to give her this new home, but at the same time I'm afraid. I'm afraid of doing something wrong, not to mention the upkeep of such a large tank. I have a six year old and a 21 month old and work full-time, so spare time is not something I have a lot of. Any suggestions that will help keep maintenance to a miniumum will be GREATLY appreciated.

[Schimpf]

As a mom of three kids and running two businesses I thought I would chime in with how I manage all my pets, including my turtle.

On days that I have off/no work. I'll put my boys down for their naps (ages 4 yrs and 16 months). During this nap time I make a list starting with the pet that didn't get done on the last day off. For example:

I have 6 guinea pigs (2 cages), 2 ferrets (one cage), 1 mouse (one cage), 1 betta (one tank), 1 turtle (one tank) and recently got adopted a kitten (one litter box).
With all my pets I do one big clean once every 7 days. The guinea pigs and turtle take the longest (GP cages are 2.5'x7'). So my list might look something like this:

1. Clean turtle tank
If time:
2. Clean mouse and betta (these are fast and easy)

The next day off or when hubby is home I'll do the guinea pigs and ferrets. Or do it the other way around.
Its all about time management. I have a bad habit of playing card games on my computer, so when I do that I then have to give up say my bubble bath that night to make sure all the pets are taken care of. It all balances out in the end.

Oh I also wake an hour earlier then everyone else to feed the pets and making lunches for hubby and my daughter (6 yrs). I do the kitty litter at this time too. (just not at the same time LOL EWWW).

You can so try feeding in another container to help with the waste load in the tank. but I've never personally tried that.

I hope this helps some.

[PridgNYC]

You'll be fine with little to no exposure to sunlight as long as you have the UVA/UVB lights above the basking area. UV does not penetrate glass vary well, so there are no real benefits to the sunlight coming through your window.

As far as the glass cover, use the glass on one side of the tank and set up the other side with the basking area and your double dome light. Use regular aquarium lights on the side with the glass. You don't need UV all through the tank, just on the basking area, and it will cut down on algae. check my build thread for what I did, eggcrate on one side with double dome light over the basking area, and glass with an aquarium light on the other side. http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30478

Maintenance wise, the 125 with an fx5 will be very low maintenance compared to what you have now. I've had mine set up since the the beginning of Sept, and haven't done anything except feed him and add water when it gets low. (well besides weekly water tests during the cycling period which finished about 2 weeks ago, but that was mostly for curiosity.)

Put your filter intake and outflow on opposite ends of the tank to create a nice flow through the tank and you wont have to deal with manually picking up solid waste. Sand substrate or no substrate is best. river rock traps waste and will increase your cleaning requirements, don't use gravel.

[happycamper]

How exciting! I am still getting used to my 100 gallon, so fun!

My only input is that yes you will probably want to get more lighting, but only for your viewing pleasure. The one basking area with proper lighting is totally fine, no need for a second. I have found though that that leaves one side of the tank pretty dark, so I add a regular aquarium light on that side. I only turn it on when I have company over, etc. I think the critters like having a "shady" side to relax in.

Congratulations, can't wait to see pictures of it set up!

[steve]

Congrats on the new tank! There are some good ideas posted. Just to chime in... you don't really need to have an ATBA and will have plenty of time to implement one later.

[Mom2RES]

Thanks guys. The tank is here now. I am working on cleaning it up. You can't tell a whole lot from the pic, but I think you can see the "cloudy" areas. This is some type of build up. I didn't ask but after starting to clean it, I am wondering if it might have been a salt water tank. Anyway, I have gotten that build up of the tank itself. There was alspo some on the glass lid pieces. It seems to be thicker and is more resistant to coming off. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to use to take it off. On the tank I just used water (because I didn't want to use a chemical on the inside of the tank) and a lot of elbow grease. I could us a chemical on the lid, because it is very easy to rinse off. I just don't know what to use.

[PridgNYC]

White vinegar, you could have used it in the tank too.

[Mom2RES]

I will try the white vinegar on the top glass pieces. I got them pretty good, but they still have some spots here and there. Thanks.

PNYC I looked at your build thread, and under one of the pics you asked the question if you needed to cut a whole out of the egg crate for your light (something like that). Did you ever get an answer?

Does egg crate come in black? If it doesn't, do you think you can paint it with paint that takes to plastic, and if so would that be safe for the turtle (not sure why it wouldn't be since hopefully the turtle will never touch it)?

Oh, the tank did come with flourescent lights. Eventhough you can see them in the pic, I didn't realize that. They both work, although one of the bulbs won't come completely on (I'm sure the bulb just needs replaced). Not a problem, since I'll only need one.

Honestly, if I had been the one to originally see the tank, I probably would have offered less, because the stand needs some work. It is wood, and it is sturdy. I'm either going to have to sand and restain it or paint it. It does have some knots in the wood, which I'm not a fan of, so I may just paint it.

[steve]

I have not seen it come in black, if it does it will probably be expensive. How to cut it... viewtopic.php?f=6&t=30196&p=289509

Fully cured Krylon Fusion spray paint is safe to keep around the aquarium.

[PridgNYC]

Eggcrate does come in black, and silver, but you'll have to order it, and it is not expensive, about the same price you would pay at the hardware store for the white stuff. http://www.goodmart.com/products/louvers-intl-para-image-plastic-eggcrate-white-styrene-louver-22-25-x-22-25-lipl21-24wf22-25x22-25.htm?source=gsGM That is the link to the white, but they also have it in black and silver.

Mom2RES, I never did get an answer, but went ahead and cut a hole anyway just to be on the safe side, then had to improvise a wire screen using some galvanized wire because Jordtim discovered he could reach the edge of the hole and was trying to climb out. He was never successful, but better safe than sorry.