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  1. #1
    BPnet Lifer ladywhipple02's Avatar
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    Red-Eared Slider Questions

    I have, fortunately or unfortunately, come into possession of two red-eared sliders. I'd say they're about six months to a year old... not tiny newborns but about the size of a squash ball maybe? Anyway, It was one of those situations where someone at work heard from a friend of a friend that I have reptiles and starting asking me about these guys - told me they had gotten them for their kids, their kids weren't taking care of them, and that they were thinking about letting them go in the local reservoir So I said I'd take them if it came to that... and, of course, it came to that.

    They came to me in a filthy exo-terra faunarium, one of the long flat ones, with about an inch of water in the bottom and a bit of aquarium gravel (I guess mom couldn't be bothered to clean the cage either). I scoured the cage down, removed the gravel, added a couple larger stones for basking, and gave them a few mealworms.. Luckily, I also had a couple left-over spot UVB bulbs that I had been using for the dragon before I moved to a ceramic heater and UVB strip, so they now have a nice basking spot and more water to swim in, plus they're in the reptile room which is heated to an ambient temp of around 80 degrees.

    I know I can't keep them in the faunarium, it's just a temporary fix. I do have a 30 gallon aquarium I can clean out - I guess I'm looking for recommendations on the best filters, set-ups, etc etc for these guys? I haven't kept fish since I was a little kid, and even then my parents were the ones that bought the filters and equipment. I've been looking around and reading recommendations, but not seeing a whole lot of five stars out there. Sooo... looking for advice, and/or pics of set-ups folks have currently.


    I seriously doubt I'll be keeping these little guys, but I know a lot of RES aren't kept correctly at all, so I'm thinking to put the set-up together and take my time to find a keeper that will take the whole kit-and-kaboodle and give them the care they deserve.

  2. #2
    BPnet Veteran pretends2bnormal's Avatar
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    Re: Red-Eared Slider Questions

    I'm not too sure about turtles, but I've got fish so I can chime in on a few filter ideas.

    As far as I know, these guys will wind up needing a pretty huge tank (100+ gallons? 10 gallons per inch of turtle & I think RES get to 10-12 inches?), which means a lot of water. One of the most efficient ways to filter that much water is to use canister filters. I'm partial to the Fluval ones, but most "big name" brands are probably pretty good. I'm not sure if too much current is an issue for turtles, but I'd get one suited to either the final tank size they should have or halfway between (so the final tank can be run with 2 of the same canister to filter).

    Despite what the box info says, it is best to filter water between 4 and 10 times per hour depending who you talk to (I aim for 6 usually), so divide the flow rate (gallons per hour) by the tank size and see if the filter is strong enough/falls into that range. I'd probably get one adequate for a 40 or 75 gallon tank since they'll likely need that size before too long and the extra filtration won't hurt in a smaller tank unless they're very current sensitive. (Not that I'm aware of for turtles...)

    Alternatively, for the smaller tank and more temporarily, you can get a submersible filter, often sold for turtles specifically, but these don't hold up in big tanks as far as I've seen, they just aren't a string enough pump usually. One of these would be adequate for a 30gal, but probably not for a bigger tank. These are cheaper filters (I think I got one once rated for a 20 gallon for $20?), so might be appealing to use for now. Canisters tend to be pricier but last longer and filter better.



    Keep in mind, it is filtering the actual volume of water, so a 40 gallon might not actually have 40 gallons of water unless you set up basking above the tank rim. Seen some like this on pinterest, so it seems important to note. But rate the filter for the amount of water the tank will be holding rather than its total capacity.

    Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
    Last edited by pretends2bnormal; 05-23-2019 at 12:08 PM.

  3. #3
    Registered User redpandakitty's Avatar
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    Re: Red-Eared Slider Questions

    I have 2 Yellow-bellied Sliders which are a subspecies Trachemys scripta, just like RESs (sorry if you know this already). I have tried both HOB filters, canister filters, and in-tank filters. They all do a decent job but, as I'm sure you've concluded at this point, turtles create a lot of waste in the water so will need to be regularly vacuumed. If you can get yours to eat in a separate enclosure I would definitely recommend it as it can cut down on food waste in their water. I've also used sand, rocks, and gravel as substrate for my turtles and have found no substrate in the tank is the easiest to keep clean for the sliders.




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