Help with Turtle Tank

Hey guys,

So just a little bit of context. Today while I was at work, my roommate discovered that our neighbor was getting rid of old stuff and noticed that they had a really dirty tank out on the yard. My roommate went and asked about the tank and it turns out it houses a red eared slider turtle and he is planning on throwing it away, turtle included. My roommate knows I recently got a tank and wanted to save this turtle from the trash so he brought it inside for me to take care of. I have no problem doing that as I don't mind "adopting" a turtle. It is just that I have no idea how to care for one other than the basics of it needing a basking spot with uv and a heat lamp on top. The tank he came in was something that looks like the tank below:



As far as me and my roommate can tell, it seems to be a 54 gallon corner tank. We are still in the process of cleaning it because the water level was really low and muddy and seems to have to hard build-up on the glass. It seems this poor turtle was keep in poorer conditions. We currently have the turtle in one of my spare buckets with an air stone in it. As soon as we finish cleaning the tank, I plan on putting the turtle in there are doing daily water changes to keep the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels low. My problem is, how do I go about doing this? I am strapped for cash since I recently set up a 55 gallon tank. I am planning on just putting basic gravel on the bottom, about 2 inches, with one of those zoo med turtle dock. I just don't know the situation with the uv and heat lamp. I know I'll have to build a diy basking area since the top is pretty unconventional for traditional lids and all. The other issue is that I don't know how to do the filtration. From what I've read, a canister filter for a 125 gallon is recommended for this, but seems to be pretty expensive and I have no prior experience with a canister filter. Would I be fine buying a HOB filter for a 125 gallon? Is that adequate filtration for this? I just want to get the basics done so I can start cycling this tank and making it a safe environment for this turtle. It seems to be an adult, around 4 inches since the neighbor mentioned having him for two years (which I am surprised he survived that long in those conditions). Will I have to do a fish in cycle? My other tank is still in the process of cycling. I know I'm strapped for cash right now, but I want to do what I can to help this turtle! Any help would be greatly appreciated for this!

You probably won't get much help for turtles around here since this is a fish forum. You might want to try reaching out to some reptile forums instead.

I'll be honest though. If you're strapped for cash and are still missing most of the necessary supplies, you'll probably want to consider trying to find a different home for him. There are quite a few facebook groups for reptiles or other exotic pets in various areas around the US. I've seen a lot of animals rehomed through my local exotics FB group. If you have a herpetological society in your area, that might be a good resource too.

The thing is, a corner tank isn't a very good shape for almost any turtle. The footprint or "floorspace" is a much more important metric than the number of gallons. He might be okay in the corner tank for a little bit, but you would need to get a tank with a much larger area to keep him in permanently. Also, I don't think you'd be able to get away with an HOB. You really do need a canister filter with turtles, and you need to greatly overfilter. They're perhaps the messiest aquatic animals you can keep, so you really cannot cut corners on filtration. An HOB with a rating of 125gal likely is not going to hold as much biomedia as a canister filter of the same rating.

Seisage said:

You probably won't get much help for turtles around here since this is a fish forum. You might want to try reaching out to some reptile forums instead.

I'll be honest though. If you're strapped for cash and are still missing most of the necessary supplies, you'll probably want to consider trying to find a different home for him. There are quite a few facebook groups for reptiles or other exotic pets in various areas around the US. I've seen a lot of animals rehomed through my local exotics FB group. If you have a herpetological society in your area, that might be a good resource too.

The thing is, a corner tank isn't a very good shape for almost any turtle. The footprint or "floorspace" is a much more important metric than the number of gallons. He might be okay in the corner tank for a little bit, but you would need to get a tank with a much larger area to keep him in permanently. Also, I don't think you'd be able to get away with an HOB. You really do need a canister filter with turtles, and you need to greatly overfilter. They're perhaps the messiest aquatic animals you can keep, so you really cannot cut corners on filtration. An HOB with a rating of 125gal likely is not going to hold as much biomedia as a canister filter of the same rating.

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Ah gotcha, yeah I kind of figured it was gonna go that route. I was already discussing that possibility with my roommate. Might seem we have to go that route.

You can use any rock or wood for an aquarium to provide an area for the turtle to climb out onto.

If you can't afford a UV light yet, take the turtle outside and let it suntan for 10-30 minutes each day. Avoid the middle of the day unless it's really cold. You can set up a kiddy wading pool or large plastic storage container for it to sit in when outside. Then the turtle can get some UV light and warm up and you can bring it back in after.

Internal power filters can be used or an undergravel filter. Just make sure it's cleaned regularly because turtles can poop a lot and make the water really bad really fast. If there is any issue with the water, change it all and refill the tank with dechlorinated water.

It's a good idea to wipe the inside of the tank down and change all the water every week even with a filter. The only time you don't do this is if there are fish or shrimp in the tank too but I don't recommend that because turtles usually eat shrimp and fish. If you have fish and shrimp in the tank then do a 75% water change every week.

If the water smells bad, do a complete water change.

I'll come at this very low tech. I have one red eared slider female who is now 40 years old. Her sisters (I assume) died at 37 and 38 respectively. They were bought in 1984, and I inherited them 30ish years ago. They've done okay.

My survivor has piled bricks with a flat stone on top to haul out on, a regular light (but the tank gets direct sunlight for an hour or two in the morning for her health). It's air filtered and unheated. The cycle doesn't matter as they are air breathers. I dechlorinate, but she gets included in my regular water change routine. The fish get 30%, she gets 60%. Again, the cycle means nothing to her.

A red eared slider eats high protein food when young, but as it ages, it goes for more plant based foods. She gets a commercial green stick turtle food, dried black soldier fly larvae sold for chickens, pest snails, zuccini, peas - a varied diet is important.

Cost beyond what you have? Some kind of basic filtration to keep the swamp smell away, a clip on lamp with a warm light, and food.

In your set up - beware. They are resourceful escape artists, so keep the water level where she can't climb out. And don't fall into the BS about friends. My 3 fought for 35 years, and I learned turtle first aid as a result. Add a goldfish, and you have added water pollution issues. Add something smaller, and eventually, it gets eaten. Do not add a common pleco, as turtles and plecos will compete to see who can produce the most poop. And be ready for 30 plus years of an interesting, grumpy pet.

My situation is very (frighteningly!) similar to Gary's. A Red Ear Slider (RES) is a long-term commitment. Unfortunately, Arizona has a kill on sight for RES unless you can prove it was purchased from a pet shop. Given your situation, In my opinion, I would try to rehome the turtle...legally. You might consider contacting the Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital for assistance. They have offices in Mesa, Phoenix and Tucson. I am sure they can provide some assistance and guidance. If the turtle was dumped out, it most likely is in poor health and needs professional attention. azeah.com

Hello everyone!

So, just a bit of an update on this one. My brother's girlfriend had an old 75 gallon she was going to throw out, but I was able to snag it right before she did, talk about a lucky catch with perfect timing! I did take the turtle to a rescue near me and they did a checkup on him. He seems to be pretty healthy, considering his previous environment. He has a little bit of shell hardness issues, but they informed me of just needing proper uvb exposure, assuming I was going to keep him, to which I did. So I went a head and set up the tank, got a proper uvb hood, heat lamp, a proper basking area for him, (as you can see on the right), and put in some temporary substrate. Might keep the rocks and driftwood, or might go barebottom, not sure yet. Other than that, he's been doing great! He was a little timid at first and spent his whole time in the basking area, but he's pretty much tends to be a bit more active now. He eats a lot more, I've got him on a variety of leafy greens and berries, with some bananas mixed in and pellets once a week for now. He seems to be enjoying the fresh greens more right now, as you can also see with the leaf almost finished on the clip, It was a full huge leaf just two days ago, haha. I got a proper canister filter that is meant for a 250 gallon tank and it clears up the tank nicely. The basking area stays consistently around 92-94 degrees and the water stays at around 75 -77 degrees. If you want more updates, just let me know and I might end up making a diary for him but other than that, I am glad to say I am a proud caretaker of a RES! I know, it looks a bit cloudy, but the tank wasn't in good condition when I got it, it looks clear with proper lighting, I swear, haha.