hi everyone, nice to see that there are many turtle lovers out there! :lol:

so i have a red-eared slider which i've been raising for 8 years now. Shes quite big! just her shell is about 8 inches long!

well, i've decided on getting her a new aquarium tank so she can move around better. i'm certain shes out-grown her 30L"x18H"x18D" aquarium!

because i'm still a student i have alot of time to care for my turtle, i carry her aquarium outside everyday to have a good rinse off because i do not use a filtration system. i asked my mom if i could buy her a bigger aquarium, and i thought if i have the money and time to go out and buy a new home for my turtle, might as well get her a filtration system to make my life a bit easier :D .

can anyone offer tips as to a filtration system powerful enough for my beautiful turtle?

Also, some recommendations for aquariums tanks would be nice too. i've been doing some research on ebay looking for some nice deals around. Any reccomendations as to size of the tank or dimensions will be very helpful.

thanks to everyone in this community!
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5913/img1809ja6.jpg
heres a picture of her :)

Turtles always love it when they can get bigger tanks! My 5.5" 2-year-old turtle is in a 40 gallon breeder (about the volume of your tank but more surface area). When my old lizard passes on, the turtle gets her 120 gallon tank. Getting a larger glass tank for a turtle is cumbersome. Building an indoor or protected outdoor pond is less expensive and perhaps easier to deal with than large glass aquariums. My page at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/indoor.htm has photos of two people's indoor turtle ponds.

I could not imagine hauling a 40 gallon tank out daily to clean it! I can't even lift mine! I do a 100% weekly cleaning on my turtle's tank. I made a filter for my turtle's tank which you can see on his page at http://www.fishpondinfo.com/turtles/tator.htm
I used a pond pump and some plastic boxes from work. If you'd like more information on my filter, let me know.

I have yet to find a decent aquarium or "turtle" filter that is strong and big enough for a turtle tank! There are some pond filters that may be useable such as a PondMaster filter but they will splash all over in an aquarium (at least under 120 gallons in size). They would work though for a large enough indoor pond.

I don't know if you're a "build-it-yourselfer" but, if you were, you could use timber and railroad spikes (to hold the wood) to make a wooden frame to put in a pond liner in the lowest level of the house to make a turtle pond of a few hundred gallons. Hang lights from the ceiling. If you're not a "build-it-yourselfer," then the 120 gallon tank would be best due to its higher surface area (4 feet long by 2 feet wide by 2 feet deep) . They're not cheap though and are very heavy (you won't be lifting it!).

I see your turtle has small gravel with her. That must make it even harder to clean the tank! Have you had any problems with her trying to eat the gravel? My turtle's tank has nothing on the bottom.

Good luck!

LOL yeah she does eat the gravel. but i looked up to make sure it was safe. i specifically bought limestone gravel cause i read it could be a sort of calcium supplement if you will. and yes, if i get a big tank i deffinitely will be purchasing a filter of some sort.

if i could make a small pond, i would, but i dont think my mom would like that. haha

if i can learn how to make something i can. im somewhat good with my hands. i like to work with wood, but im not sure how that would help with anything haha

scratch that part with the outdoor pond lol. i asked my mom if i could make one she said yes, but not in the back yard. here are some pics to the area she is allowing me
sorry i took these pictures in the dark so im not sure if you can see everything
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/5123/img1810bq7.jpg (front view)
http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/3585/img1811sq3.jpg (view from the garage side door)
http://img167.imageshack.us/img167/285/img1815qa4.jpg (view of the roof)
this room is accesible only from the side door in the garage. so theres no way out and no way in for predators.

i also have a question as to how i will rid all the ivy in the area

i live in southern california so the weather is pretty much like the desert. hot during the day and cool during night. There is an electrical outlet for her basking lamp, and there are lights on the overhead as well.

i will be doing alot of research to pond building. any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Alan,
That looks like a great place for a turtle home. I'd start work on it right away ... before she changes her mind. :)

Is the floor dirt or concrete?

The ivy should be easy enough remove. Don some gloves, grab a pair of snippers, start pulling & cutting. If the flooring is dirt, what ever you place on top of the trimmed-back ivy won't allow it to grow back in that spot. If the ivy grows back around the edges, that might be a cool effect.

If the pond is going to be an above-ground type, I would look around for materials to shape the walls of the pond ... such as: cinder blocks, large pieces of timber, sand bags, etc.

You are going to need a liner, of course. Try not to skimp. A neighbor of mine went cheap by using a tarp for a liner. I told him he'd have problems ... a few months later he was suprised to come home to a koi pond with only 1/2" of water and no live fish. :huh:

When planning your layout you might want to incorporate a place to hang out and view ... as well as a small path or footing areas so that you can access just about every spot of the pond. without falling in

Good luck ... check back with updates!

PG

How big is the enclosed outdoor room? You could make a really neat turtle outdoor room with pond and land areas.

I agree with what Pool Guy said.

thanks pool guy!

the ground is concrete, not sure if that will be helpful or not.

i'll have a few friends helping me cause they find this project quite interesting!

i just have a questions to as what kind of pond would be best?

and where to aquire these materials etc.

as for the dimensions... i'd roughly say 4ftW x 10ftL i'd say its quite spacey for a turtle :)

and you can see the windows in the pictures. those windows belong to the room i am currently using my computer in! so i'll be able to watch her 24/7 not to mention my little brother's room window is right next to it.

So, you won't be digging! You have a few options. You can buy a preformed pond and use that, making earthen ramps from the pond to the ground (or building up the ground around the pond). For the inexpensive route, you could use a hard plastic kiddie pool. They are usually very shallow though so not adequate if you ever get ice there (you don't, right?). I'm a little confused, this area is outside, right? But, it has a ceiling? If it's open to the outside and gets natural light, you don't need to add artificial lighting.

The final option is the one I mentioned before. You can make a stable wall and put a pond liner over the structure. The wall could be made of railroad ties (wood) or cement blocks. Be sure to put something soft between the wall and the liner such as old pieces of carpet or felt. The wall has to be secured with mortar, rebar, or something like that. Water is heavy and strong and will try to find a way out.

It's so neat that you would be able to watch the turtle there, and it's a secure area. You could fix something up really nice!

it is outside and there a small portion of ceiling slanting down it like where the two roofs meet from each side (if that makes any sense @_@)

and it will get sunlight, but ill probably be adding artificial lighting anyway its got electrical outlets etc.

and it doesnt drop cold at all here compared to some of you guys. during the winter the lowest it will really go to is 40 degrees F. LOL so no worries about the water freezing