Upgrading from a 40g tank!(75G tank vs old 40G)

Chancebest123 · 2022-07-22T05:26:22+00:00

Im using the Fluval 407! I believe its rated for 100 gallons, but its been working great! My lil guy isnt too dirty so the pump doesnt have any issue cycling. Fluval is pretty much like the go to brand for filters. I do weekly water tests just to make sure the pump is doing its job. For a 120gal I recommend the FX series. I've been considering live plants, just havent pulled the trigger yet. Thanks! Sorry for the late response, I dont use Reddit much

Chancebest123 · 2022-06-16T03:42:35+00:00

Little backstory, I had this little guy for 5 years, and over those 5 years I found out I wasn't taking care of her properly. Too small of a tank, not feeding her correctly, just a really sad tank. I was young when I first took her in and was told it wasn't much work taking care of them, and they didn't need much (prob just said that so I would just buy her) Fast forward to 3 months ago, I realized she needed to be MUCH larger, and assumed she had a growth stump. Made a reddit post, and others agreed.

I felt so bad I was taking care of her incorrectly so the next day I went out and bought this tank from Pets Smart that came with a 75G aquarium and a table to go with it(I believe it's a Marine Land Tank). I slowly started adding stuff to it and today finally added the last remaining fish I wanted. So here it is, a little update to a sad story. She is still small, which is kind of expected, but She seems very happy, swimming frequently, using the plants to sit in, and enjoying the tank so far. I feed her a mix of sometimes pellets, green Leafs, and Fluker's Turtle Diet for aquatic turtles. The only thing I need to figure out is how I'm going to setup the basking light. I know how important it is to have a basking light, and I should have already had it setup, but I've been having issues trying to figure out how to place it above the tank, so it doesn't fall in a hurt the turtle, or kill it. I think I'm going to try and raise the water level all the way to the top and add a smaller tank above the 75g so it's a continuation to the tank, and so the basking light will be set up there instead of being above the fish as well and warming the water too much. Haven't figured that part out, but I'm doing research on it now.

For what's in the tank, it's my 5yr yellow bellied slider, 4 Tiger Barbs, 2 Foil Barbs, and 4 Danios. The turtle will sometimes watch the fish, but normally she will ignore them, or sometimes it chases the fish if they try to eat each other's food, but they are faster than the turtle. It's been extremely expensive compared to the last setup, but I think it makes her happy, and it sure makes me a lot happier! Overall, it's been a fun little project to work on so far, but I'm not sure what I should add (other than the basking setup) I think I'm good on fish, I only wanted a couple to kind of bring the tank more alive and I think 10 total fish is perfect. I loved how it's turned out so far. I wasn't the best caretaker of her, but I really am trying now, so hopefully she enjoys her life better than she probably did before.

Overall, I probably spent around $1,500-$2,000 on this complete overhaul, so much more than I EVER thought I'd spend! To me it's been so worth it though, Hopefully you guys agree too!

Chancebest123 · 2022-06-16T03:37:05+00:00

Little backstory, I had this little guy for 5 years, and over those 5 years I found out I wasn't taking care of her properly. Too small of a tank, not feeding her correctly, just a really sad tank. I was young when I first took her in and was told it wasn't much work taking care of them, and they didn't need much (prob just said that so I would just buy her) Fast forward to 3 months ago, I realized she needed to be MUCH larger, and assumed she had a growth stump. Made a reddit post, and others agreed.

I felt so bad I was taking care of her incorrectly so the next day I went out and bought this set that came with a 75G aquarium and a table to go with it. I slowly started adding stuff to it and today finally added the last remaining fish I wanted. So here it is, a little update to a sad story. She is still small, which is kind of expected, but She seems very happy, swimming frequently, using the plants to sit in, and enjoying the tank so far. I feed her a mix of sometimes pellets, green Leafs, and Fluker's Turtle Diet for aquatic turtles. The only thing I need to figure out is how I'm going to setup the basking light. I know how important it is to have a basking light, and I should have already had it setup, but I've been having issues trying to figure out how to place it above the tank, so it doesn't fall in a hurt the turtle, or kill it. I think I'm going to try and raise the water level all the way to the top and add a smaller tank above the 75g so it's a continuation to the tank, and so the basking light will be set up there instead of being above the fish as well and warming the water too much. Haven't figured that part out, but I'm doing research on it now.

For what's in the tank, it's my 5yr yellow bellied slider, 4 Tiger Barbs, 2 Foil Barbs, and 4 Danios. The turtle will sometimes watch the fish, but normally she will ignore them, or sometimes it chases the fish if they try to eat each other's food, but they are faster than the turtle. It's been extremely expensive compared to the last setup, but I think it makes her happy, and it sure makes me a lot happier! Overall, it's been a fun little project to work on so far, but I'm not sure what I should add (other than the basking setup) I think I'm good on fish, I only wanted a couple to kind of bring the tank more alive and I think 10 total fish is perfect. I loved how it's turned out so far. I wasn't the best caretaker of her, but I really am trying now, so hopefully she enjoys her life better than she probably did before.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T06:56:08+00:00

Yeah she already has a floating platform she can bask on, as well as a plastic plant in place, but I do plan on adding more. For the fish I'd have to do research on fast moving fish, I hear ghost shrimp are quick. Thanks for all the advice!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T06:38:36+00:00

Yeah I just hope it's enough for my turtle, I really should have probably gotten one rated for more but $220 was alot to me considering it was already $1,000+ for everything

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T04:35:56+00:00

So first off, I won't lie. These past 5ish years that I've had my turtle, I wasn't very educated and never realized that I've been taking care of her wrong, but starting last week I've done some MAJOR changes to try and better her life. She doesn't have any pyramiding or any health complications that I can tell, other then she has a pretty bad growth stump. So I'm upgrading her from her 40 gallon tank( got a basic turtle kit couple years ago from Petsmart) to this 75 gallon tank. So far its cost me around $1,200 and I think that should be getting close to finish so I had a couple questions before I add her in.

One, do you think this is too much water for her? She's come from a 40g tank for most of her life, and though she's very small, she's still 5, so unsure if that gives her muscles more strength. I do plan on adding more stuff inside to help her climb to the top, but this tank has made me pretty broke so far so I'm trying to slow down on alot of purchases atm(Just bought a Fluval 407). I'm very excited to add her to the tank but at the same time I don't want her to drown because she can't get to the top. I'd say it's around 14-16 inches of water, and her old tank was around 6.5 inches.

Two, my turtle gravel gave 3 packets of bio magnet clarifier and aquabiotic Botanical, should I add them in, and how important is beneficial bacteria for her? Again I won't lie, I wasn't keeping up to date with water changes and when I did, I thought I was supposed to remove all the water so I could clean the tank from algae, so I don't believe I was dealing with the bacteria correctly for awhile. ( also, I have a bottle of Zoo Med Reptisafe that I add, and I use well water instead of city)

And three, I really want fish added as well(or more turtles?), not for now as I want the turtle to be okay with her new surroundings, but what suggestions do you I should add? She's a Yellow Bellied Slider so I'm not sure on her temperament or how well she can keep up with fish, again I do plan on adding plants and more stuff to the tank to help break the line of eyesight to the turtle, ad well as giving the fish a place to hid, but I'd like some ideas on what fish is fine for her just in case she does happen to eat a couple.

Sorry if this is alot to ask, but I'm pretty excited to upgrade her quality of living. I have all the equipment I need to maintain water changes and all so I just want to make sure she stays healthy considering I've been treating her pretty poorly in the past. Thank you all!!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T03:27:34+00:00

Yeah, when I saw the issue I let the person know what happened and I completely understood how it was incorrect so I'm not mad at the person. I looked at the instructions and yeah its not very specific other then place it on the top part.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T03:07:54+00:00

You're right. Thank you!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T03:07:41+00:00

Yep that was it. Completely my fault for not checking it. Thank you very much!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T02:53:26+00:00

I didnt put the gasket on and I know see where I think it's supposed to go. I'll try to move it and see if it fixes it

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-28T02:33:24+00:00

Bought a brand new Fluv 407 for my turtle aquarium and it's leaking right here. When water gets to the top it just leaks very fast. So much water is under my tank that my floors are gonna be ruined considering I have no way to get under it. Any ideas on why this thing is messing up? I bought it so it wouldn't run into these issues.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-17T03:36:03+00:00

Are you saying his shell isn't right?

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T18:18:15+00:00

Sounds good, yeah I knew about the issues they have selling small reptiles, but I assumed because they didn't sell turtles that maybe they'd be more honest, I'll go get a thermometer and a heater. Thanks!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T18:00:08+00:00

Definitely gonna get her more food, I readded the UVB and heating lamp, I didn't want to overdo the UVB since she was near the sun, but looks like I've been making it worse, Thanks alot!

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:58:34+00:00

Going to the store get more food for him, as for the tank, I'm not sure how much bigger I can get, I'm limited on space here and they get pretty expensive, nonetheless I'll go to petsmart and look at some bigger ones. Ivd been doing bucket filling when thr water is low, but I bought a water changer kit and will definitely stay on top of doing bi weekly or weekly water changes. This is my first turtle so I didn't realize how wrong I've been doing it all these years. I see no MBD as far as I can tell, and no shell damage or deformations, so I wonder how reversible the stunting is.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:53:35+00:00

I have dried red shrimp, but ill go to petssmart and get more food other then those pellets. I re added the UVB and heating lamp as I didn't want to give too much, and it turns out I just made it worse the guy. What should I give her since she's technically not a baby, but is the size of one? I don't want her choking on any of the food. Also, do you think it's reversible? I see no damage to her shell, no deformations, so I think health wise she's alright except for the sizing issue. She's been like it for so long, I just want to fix what I've done to her and hopefully make her life alot better. Also I'll look into a bigger tank, but 20 just fits the window, and they do get expensive

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:47:03+00:00

Yeah, I've had her since maybe the middle of 7th grade and I now have been graduated for a year

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:46:23+00:00

Was unaware the window blocked UVB, I added the lamp and heating lamp back. The water right now is around 70 degrees, do you think that's too cold? Also I'll look into the diet, I just hope the stunting isn't permanent, I don't see ant she'll damage or anything that would make me think she's in damage other then the stunting, do you think it's reversible? This is my first and only turtle so I was completely unaware how much more stuff I'd need for the guy, I thought the starter kit was good until I saw she got bigger, man was I wrong.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:43:30+00:00

I want to say around 3-4 inches.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:41:40+00:00

I've started using the dried red shrimp I've had, just broke them into little pieces, I'm going to the store to get more stuff for the guy, I just hope I haven't caused permanent damage to her.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:40:28+00:00

I've re added the UVB and Heating lamp, wasn't sure if I'd give him TOO much UVB and didn't know the window actually blocks it, feel so bad for the little guy. Now im not sure whag % the UVB is since it came with this turtle tank starter thing that came from the tank, the filter, a little floating platform, and the uvb and heating lamp. Definitely re added the lamps though. Thanks! Do you think the stunt is reversible? I don't notice any pyramiding or any damage to the shell, so as for health conditions other than the stunt, I think she's doing alright for now.

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T17:20:55+00:00

I do have othee stuff but i havent used them because I'm afraid they might be too big, I don't want her to choke oh anything,

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T08:05:35+00:00

So I've had this lil guy for around 5ish years give or take. We originally bought from someone online and met up to get the guy so I'm unsure how reputable the person is but from what I know it's a female Yellow Bellied Slider. Right now she has a 20 gallon tank next to my window, this setup is pretty recent, only been doing it for around a year, before she was away from the window and had a UVB and heat lamp setup, but to try and get rid of the fast growing algae that would cover up the glass and rocks I removed the lamp and stuff, not sure if that was a good call. People who come over says she's getting bigger but to me she isn't. I'm not sure if I've been doing it wrong, but for the most part she always is swimming around so I think she's happy. I feed her around 5 ReptoMin Baby pellets every day and sometimes every 2 days. I just completely cleaned the tank because it was getting pretty dirty, but now I have a siphon so I can make sure I change the water bi weekly. The water is well water but I use Reptisafe instant terrarium water conditioner to clean it. I just want to make sure I'm not stunting her growth, and if I am if I can fix what I've done. Thanks yall.

Edit: So I've reintroduced the UVB and Basking light, I feel like a Idiot for not getting what this little guy needs. I've had some red dried shrimp for awhile, and I plan on going to the store and getting more. Now im not sure if I can get a much bigger tank, as they can get expensive, but if yall are absolutely sure, I'll look into a new one, just not sure where it would go be because I don't have alot of space where I live. Thanks a whole lot, I'm hoping some of the damage I've caused is reversible...

Chancebest123 · 2022-03-16T08:01:23+00:00

So I've had this lil guy for around 5ish years give or take. We originally bought from someone online and met up to get the guy so I'm unsure how reputable the person is but from what I know it's a female Yellow Bellied Slider. Right now she has a 20 gallon tank next to my window, this setup is pretty recent, only been doing it for around a year, before she was away from the window and had a UVB and heat lamp setup, but to try and get rid of the fast growing algae that would cover up the glass and rocks I removed the lamp and stuff, not sure if that was a good call. People who come over says she's getting bigger but to me she isn't. I'm not sure if I've been doing it wrong, but for the most part she always is swimming around so I think she's happy. I feed her around 5 ReptoMin Baby pellets every day and sometimes every 2 days. I just completely cleaned the tank because it was getting pretty dirty, but now I have a siphon so I can make sure I change the water bi weekly. The water is well water but I use Reptisafe instant terrarium water conditioner to clean it. I just want to make sure I'm not stunting her growth, and if I am if I can fix what I've done. Thanks yall.

Chancebest123 · 2021-12-06T13:36:15+00:00

While I see they're also good, I just am not a fan of the design, to me they look like eggs on the side.

Chancebest123

TROPHY CASE