Habitat - Indoor :: Missy's new setup

Turtle tank setups and other indoor configurations.

Post Posted: Thu Jan 20, 2022 6:47 pm   Missy's new setup

My third post; worth a new one for this new setup. Short background: My wife and I have six other fresh water fish tanks totaling 500 gallons with goldfish, parrot cichlids and plecos. Missy and Junius were in a 90gal for her first five years running the C-530 and an Eheim 2217. I just finished this Marineland 125gal setup and wanted to post. There's no chemical media in my setup; I experimented with Purigen for awhile but couldn't convince myself it was worth the effort. Running two filters and changing water at least once per week has been good for us. As they continue to grow, I may have to reconsider.

Equipment:
    Marineland C-530 (55 turtle gals) under tank in 10gal tub; normal setup; lower foam pads > empty tray > small bio balls > ceramic rings + fine filter pad; flow center back of tank to front left corner
    Fluval FX-6 (150 turtle gals) beside tank in 16gal tub; modified normal setup; outer foam pads > blue pad + 750g ceramic rings > 75 large bio balls > 150 small bio balls; flow left back of tank to right
    Hydor Koralia Evo 850 circulation pump; flow bottom back of tank right to left
    Eheim Jager 300W tank heater; maintaining 76-78F
    Exo Terra 100w daytime heat lamp in compact dome; 12hr cycle maintaining 88-90F
    Exo Terra 26W UVB 100 in deep dome; 12hr cycle
    Intermatic TN311 mechanical timer running the above lights
    Marineland Advanced LED strip for general dawn/day/dusk lighting (internal timer)

I have four C-530's in the house and I really like them for ease of cleaning and media basket volume. I don't like they are heavy to lift (no drain) and the handles that break suction of the lid tend to break. This is one of two FX-6's in the house; slightly more painful to clean because of the outer foam but the drain makes it lighter to carry and they run well. I have one Eheim 2262 in the house (awesome filter!) and I wanted to buy one for Missy, but wife and I decided we couldn't afford that when we had this FX-6 doing nothing (it and this tank were keeping goldfish until two years ago). I have four Eheim 2217's in the house and they are great for their size; I am a fan of the Eheim design.

Lighting scheme:
    Exo Terras on at 730am
    Marineland blue LEDs on at 9am
    Marineland white LEDs on at 10am
    Exo Terras off at 730pm
    Marineland white LEDs off at 8pm
    Marineland blue LEDs off at 10pm

I've had the Intermatic timer since 2008 running heat lamps for dogs first and now turtle; it's been very reliable. The Marineland light is excellent except when the power goes out, it can't remember any custom times you've set. It defaults to the times I'm using... which is why I'm using them. I just have to reset the clock.

I have setup a Wyze Cam Pan v2 in front of the tank so I can keep an eye on things and check to make sure she's not basking before I barge in on her (she's a modest basker). I have two Wyze Cam v3 on the way which I will put on her basking area so I can enjoy her sunning. I'm pretty happy with this first camera.

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Wyze Cam view

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Overall view

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They like their sand and rock setup

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Opened up basking area and new filtration outlet keeps the surface swirling

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All electrical is now drip looped and main plugged in away from tank
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DaddyFlip
 
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Post Posted: Fri Jan 21, 2022 7:41 am   Re: Missy's new setup

Wow! Very impressive set up! You've done a great job.
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Longhorn
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 2:33 am   Re: Missy's new setup

I agree with Longhorn, very impressive! The sand and rocks really are a nice touch. Did you paint the background of the tank? I think I forgot to mention that it's also important to have a GFCI outlet with all these devices.

Purigen is somewhat of a luxury. I use it with carbon which is more important as it helps pull out chlorine and chloramines in addition to odors, tannins and other impurities. If you don't want to deal with it and are doing a lot of water changes, this might be suitable: https://redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=33171
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steve
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Post Posted: Sat Jan 22, 2022 7:06 pm   Re: Missy's new setup

The sand, small rocks, and clay pots are from her old tank. The flat rocks are new to her since there's plenty of room. The back of the tank is indeed painted black as this was originally a fancy goldfish tank (we used to have a large collection of various types from Dandy Orandas). We've always used Seachem Prime in all our tanks with good results. I like the carbon filter idea in the link. If I start doing that, does there need to be a slow transition from Prime or just do it all at once? I was thinking it would be even better to put on a dedicated pump to circulate tank water through one of those canisters... maybe.
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DaddyFlip
 
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Post Posted: Sun Jan 23, 2022 4:20 am   Re: Missy's new setup

I don't think a transition period would be necessary. I think the carbon filter is great for water changes, not sure if it's efficient to use for circulating water. For carbon media, I just buy it in bulk then I can bag it myself, rinse it, then drop into the filter. One container can last a couple of years or more.
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steve
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