redearslider.com

I am extremely new to the turtle parent scene, and I just got myself this new slider! I want to make sure that this is a good layout for her.

I have a heating lamp over the left side and a UV over the right
That rock thing is my filter (hopefully she will bask on top of it as well, but it looks kind of hard to get up on)
There is a little rock arch that I believe may have been meant to be a basking area but the water is too high and so it is covered by water
The log is in there to hopefully be used as a basking area, though I'm not sure if it will hold up under her weight

I still need a water heater and thermometer!

Does this all seem alright for a broke beginner? Any tips or ideas? Thank you in advance!

Hi, keep the heating and UVB over the basking area as UVB cannot really penetrate the water surface.

You will need a better filter, how big is your tank? Removing those rocks will probably help with your water quality. How big is your turtle?

Welcome to the forum!

She is about 4 inches I believe, and the tank is a 20 gallon. Supposedly this filter is an alright one, and I've read a few places that it is alright that my water is foggy since it is a new aquarium (something about good bacterias) and it is less foggy now!

Yes there needs to be a cycling period but the tank is already technically too small. At some point we have to bite the bullet and get an appropriate sized tank. At 4", you should be able to confirm if you have a male or female.

Yeah she is female as far as I can tell, and what size do you think I should aim to get?

Adult female RES should get a tank around 90-120 gallons but you still have some time before she gets that big. It's more cost effective to get the final setup than do incremental upgrades.