New to turtles, multi tank habitat

[sparhawk817]

Hey, I'm setting up a turtle habitat with four large aquariums side by side, and a large above tank basking area spanning all four tanks. I plan on having pvc overflows keeping all four tanks water levels level, and using a large sand/gravel filter for the majority of the filtration, as well as two canister filters and two hob filters that I got for free. I'm gonna be keeping a red eared slider, a yellow bellied slider, and a painted turtle. I know that I should probably be using a pond, but I can't do that due to weather, and the fact that I rent and don't have the money for a pond right now. Also there are many predators in the area and I don't wanna lose a turtle to something I could easily have prevented. I have guppies breeding, and I also keep plecos, goldfish, and an Axolotl. I'm posting some designs in the morning, hopefully you guys can have some ideas and such. I currently have a gravel siphon, but I'm also getting a "python" and other turtle supplies when I pick the turtles up. The turtles are sub adult it looks like, and I'm taking care of them because I have the space available.

 

[sparhawk817]

general idea of layout

 

[ascott]

general idea of layoutView attachment 148600 View attachment 148601

That is fricken sweet...love to see it when up and running...

 

[sparhawk817]

I'll be posting pictures, and thank you! i plan on using Masonite for the basking area, do you guys think that'll work? It's impervious to water, and i can put fake grass, sand, or gravel down.

 

[Moozillion]

WOW!!! Very ambitious! I can't wait to see it!

 

[thehowards]

Loving this two thumbs up

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

That sounds amazing!!
WOW.
Masonite should be okay, but I'd give it a little lip on the front so sand/rocks don't go falling everywhere. I'd also advise against using sand unless you're making it deep enough for them dig in. Which would be awesome. Are you going to have ramps into the water that they can easily access the water/basking area from?
Gravel is going in the bottom of your tanks? You will love your python! What kind of light system are you thinking about? Tube UVB's, MVB's?
What kind of painted turtle is it? Sliders are generally larger than painted turtles when they grow up, so the little guy may be an outlet for aggression.

Your design looks INCREDIBLE, and I really hope it works out!

 

[sparhawk817]

I'm buying an 80 gallon on Friday too, and rescuing a 14 inch Oscar, hopefully they all get along, but if not, that's why I've got space to separate them. I'd love to be able to put digging sand in, I'm just worried as all my sand came out of this pool so it's got gunk in it(leaves and such) as well as having little bits of gravel in it. I won't have cash for sand for a little while yet, and yeah I'm gonna put river rocks in the bottoms of the tanks I think. I'm planning on putting an undergravel filter in the seventy five gallon tank, and using those powerheads to help the overflows from losing the siphon. I'll have wood going down into the water obviously, I'm probably gonna look for some more driftwood soon anyways.

 

[sparhawk817]

For lighting I'm starting out with some little halogen heat lamps I picked up for growing plants with awhile back, a lighting fixture that holds seven bulbs I think with uvb florescents and some ordinary incandescent lights to start, and I have a big 42 inch florescent aquarium light I plan on taking to an lfs to see if it works and whatnot.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Sounds great. You are going to have some super happy turtles

 

[sparhawk817]

Hopefully! How wide do you think I should make the basking area?

 

[sparhawk817]

I put the whole thing together with stuff I had lying around, right around 8pm was when I finished patching escape routes, and I put the turtles in right away as they'd been in a Rubbermaid tub all day trying to get out, and as of nine thirty they had not escaped yet... We'll see how long it lasts before i have to buy/build a better fence. Tomorrow I'm planning on buying the pipe connections to plumb it to the big filter, as well as river rock for the tank bottoms... So far the Oscar and the turtles are getting along, though they're both really stressed from the car ride, new people, new tanks, and the water not being warm enough (i need to buy better/bigger heaters, these ones seem to take a very long time to heat it up.

 

[sparhawk817]

Also, these turtles have a bit of shell Rot(why the owner realized they needed to find a better place), do you guys know where to find the drugs for it? My local pet stores only have "turtle fix" which is basically distilled water clove oil, and tea tree oil. Which I mean, it looked like it was helping a little over the day, but I'd really rather get some norozan(sp?). Do I have to take them into the vet for that, or can is there like, a product intended for livestock that you can find that? Like horse dewormers are used for mites and fleas?

 

[sparhawk817]

I also have a tiny bit of some sort of... Like lotion? The owner gave it to me, it's supposed to help with dry shell, but these guys had the opposite cause of scud I think. They didn't look like they could get all the way out of the water with the zoo med docks

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

Hopefully! How wide do you think I should make the basking area?

Wide enough to allow room for turning. How big are the turtles?

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I put the whole thing together with stuff I had lying around, right around 8pm was when I finished patching escape routes, and I put the turtles in right away as they'd been in a Rubbermaid tub all day trying to get out, and as of nine thirty they had not escaped yet... We'll see how long it lasts before i have to buy/build a better fence. Tomorrow I'm planning on buying the pipe connections to plumb it to the big filter, as well as river rock for the tank bottoms... So far the Oscar and the turtles are getting along, though they're both really stressed from the car ride, new people, new tanks, and the water not being warm enough (i need to buy better/bigger heaters, these ones seem to take a very long time to heat it up.

Pictures, please

Also, these turtles have a bit of shell Rot(why the owner realized they needed to find a better place), do you guys know where to find the drugs for it? My local pet stores only have "turtle fix" which is basically distilled water clove oil, and tea tree oil. Which I mean, it looked like it was helping a little over the day, but I'd really rather get some norozan(sp?). Do I have to take them into the vet for that, or can is there like, a product intended for livestock that you can find that? Like horse dewormers are used for mites and fleas?

I'm afraid I've never dealt with shell rot, but @Anthony P could probably help.
You may want to take them to a herp anyway, to test for any parasites.

 

[sparhawk817]

I'm a little afraid to take them in as apparently all three kinds are illegal in my state and if the dep of wildlife is aware, they'll take them away and "dispose of them" which... Isn't something I want. Also I've picked up three more res in the process. Lots of turtles need homes!

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I'm a little afraid to take them in as apparently all three kinds are illegal in my state and if the dep of wildlife is aware, they'll take them away and "dispose of them" which... Isn't something I want. Also I've picked up three more res in the process. Lots of turtles need homes!

OH. I think @Yvonne G could probably help you out there.
Good job

 

[sparhawk817]

Thanks for the quick replies and support! I'll post pics as soon as I get the whole thing working the way I want.

 

[sparhawk817]

The biggest turtles I have are probably 6 inches long, carapace. I haven't measured, but that's about what it looks like.