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We were able to snag a 200 gallon tank with stand, heater, and lights for $250! The stand needs to be restained a prettier color and the tank is getting a thorough deep cleaning today. So my husband thinks that we (meaning, me) should reseal it, just to be safe. The guy said he resealed about 5 years ago. He just drained it yesterday so we know it's watertight. Personally, I would really, really rather not unless absolutely necessary. I can't even reach the bottom of the tank without getting halfway in it. The silicone looks gross but it cleaned up pretty well with vinegar. So what do you think? Yay or nay?

I would probably reseal it... that does not look very good after 5 years. My RES took little nips on any silicone with algae on it, which accelerated my need to reseal my tank. I also made the beads a little thicker to hold better against any curious turtle.

That tank will look great once everything is setup. Great kids too

Haha, thanks. I'll keep 'em. Technically, the turtles belong to them, but...
And dang, about having to reseal. I despise caulking with a passion. But better to caulk now than to have 200 gallons of water on my floor later. Next series of questions. These are the lights it came with. It came with 2, and each one has 6 bulbs. They're programmable and can have two different kinds of bulbs. Right now they have UVA and "moonlight" (?) bulbs. I know they make T5 UVB bulbs but having them all be UVB seems slightly overkill. So how many of what kinds would you recommend? Since the tank is 2' deep front to back, there's enough room to hang these above the tank and then have a clip on heat bulb above the basking area. What kind of bulb do you recommend and how far away from the basking spot does it need to be?

Depending on the lighting in the room, I don't think I would have a need to use all the slots. All that light will probably give you algae problems too. I though you were going to an ATBA, or was that someone else?

I asked if I needed to do an ATBA but I probably won't for the time being. They're still small enough that I don't need the whole 200 gallons as swim area. And the room is very well lit, 5 windows plus standard lighting at night.

Any other pets/cats? What are your plans for the basking light?

I have a cat and a dog. I was going to use the same clamp light I'm currently using unless if you can tell me what to use instead.

Cats sometimes like to get to the basking lamp, so that might be a concern on how you have it setup. You don't need to make a full fledge ATBA, and there are many options available.

Those lights are generally used for reef lighting. Since turtles bask out of the water you don't need to worry about light penetration like you do for coral. A single T5 UVB bulb would do the trick for that. You then need UVA + Heat.

You're probably better off getting a single dome light with a MVB (does UVA, UVB & Heat in a single bulb). I would sell those T5 lights while you still can... reef and planted setups are moving to LED.

I just resealed my 135 gallon. It took me about 2 hrs to scrape the old silicone off, and hour to clean, and another hour to recaulk. I used just under a full tube of GE silicone 1. I say do it. After being moved and shifted and remounted, who knows what might happen to those seals.

You worked much faster than I did! It was a real pain, but it's been holding up great.

I resealed it. It is definitely not something I want to do again anytime soon, lol. But the turtles are happy in their new home. Now I'm designing an ATBA/canopy in SketchUp. Hopefully, I'll get it built here in the next few weeks. Wish me luck!

Post pictures of your work! We'd love to see what you're building.