Do I Need To Get A Filter For My Turtle Tank

Pet turtles need both state and water to alive. Some turtle species spend effectually 75% of their fourth dimension in h2o, so they need enough of pond infinite to be able to move effectually comfortably.

They also need a completely dry area, known as the basking area, to get out of the water and warm upwards.

Well-nigh people don't fully understand the needs of turtles, as a event many tank ready-ups just aren't suitable.

The good news is you're hither, and y'all're doing your research, so you'll exist providing your turtle with the best possible setup.

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This article is going to accept you lot through everything yous need to know near turtle tanks, including setup ideas, equipment, tank sizes and much more…

Turtle Tank Types and Setup

The tank is usually the near expensive purchase you lot'll make for your turtle.

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Turtles crave space to swim and infinite to bask. If you're wondering what size tank you're going to need, the general rule is that turtles demand x gallons of water per inch of their shell. So a fully grown eastern box turtle of around 6 inches would require a lx-gallon tank.

Given that the FDA doesn't allow the sale of turtles with shells of less than 4 inches (due to wellness implications associated with salmonella), this ways your minimum tank size should be xl gallons.

Larger turtles can grow upwards to xiv inches long, then if you're planning on buying a starter kit like the one we mention later in the article, exist enlightened that yous'll need to upgrade this every bit the turtles grow. Turtles abound on average effectually 1 inch per year until they attain full size.

You should also brand sure that your tank is deep enough for the water depth to be betwixt ii-2.5x the length of the turtle's shell. And so for the half-dozen-inch eastern box turtle, y'all'll need a water depth of 12-15 inches.

Whether you want to cull an acrylic, or drinking glass, the tank is down to personal preference.
Acrylic is lighter than glass however, information technology'due south more than expensive, and is easier to scratch (this is something to behave in listen with your turtle's claws).

Nearly people choose to buy a regular fish tank and so add together in a basking dock and lights.

Alternatively, if you're running on a budget, you might want to consider ownership a second-hand tank from eBay/Craigslist. These are a lot cheaper and often in good condition. Y'all'll only need to bank check that the tank is watertight.

Turtle Tank Kit Package

Best Turtle Starter Kit

If you're looking for a starter turtle kit with minimum hassle, then this kit is for y'all. You'll merely demand to add together gravel, water, and a heater!

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If yous want to make life easy, you tin buy a consummate kit. This is an platonic starter kit, but due to the size, you volition somewhen demand to upgrade it, as the turtle grows.

This kit comes complete with everything you need to gear up up their habitat upwardly including the tank, a filter and filter media, a basking platform, two lamps, a 60W heating bulb, and a UVB bulb.

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It also comes with food, an artificial plant, and a screen summit with clips to secure it on. You could always replace the artificial plants with existent plants such as hornwort or java moss.

Turtle Tank Equipment

Filters

Turtles produce A LOT of waste, so you lot demand to utilise a proficient quality filter. If you don't invest in a decent filter, your h2o volition become dirty and your turtles will get sick.

There are specific turtle filters that are made to handle the amount of waste that turtles produce. Besides, a lot of the larger aquarium filters are fine to use every bit long as they take mechanical, biological and chemical filtration.

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If you lot're choosing an aquarium filter, cull i that is 2 or iii times larger than the tank size. For example, if you have a 50-gallon tank, become a filter that is suitable for a 100-150 gallon aquarium.

Y'all accept a few different options when information technology comes to choosing a filter for your turtle tank. The commencement is to employ a canister filter. Canister filters are external units and whilst they are usually the most expensive they are subconscious abroad and kept out of sight.

They do accept longer to maintain than other filters, every bit the unit is bigger and has more types of media that need changing.

Cull an external filter that can plow the water over at least v times an 60 minutes, ideally ten times per hour is better; it will as well need infinite for betwixt 3-5 forms of media.

The 2nd pick is to apply a hang-on dorsum filter, they are relatively inexpensive and don't take upwardly too much infinite.

They're efficient, but they demand to be placed at the water level. This can be difficult in a turtle tank equally the water level is often much lower than in an aquarium and most hang-on-back filters are designed to hang on the back of aquariums which are filled up to the fill up line.

The final selection is an internal, or a submersible filter, although these tend to be designed for smaller tanks. They are fastened to the inside of the tank using suction cups. These filters are but ideal for starter turtle tanks as they aren't designed for use with tanks larger than 50 gallons.

They also don't let for much space for media so you'll observe yourself replacing the media frequently.

Overall, the all-time pick for filtration is a canister filter.

Best Turtle Cascade Canister Filter

This filter is 1 of the most highly recommended ones for turtle tanks. It'south durable, has a strong plastic casing, comes with a self-priming feature, and has a multi-phase filtration system.

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Lighting and Heating Lamps

In the wild, turtles will exist exposed to around twelve hours of sunlight per solar day; they rely on ultraviolet rays to strengthen their shell and for heat.

When in a tank, they will need twelve hours of light per twenty-four hours, but this should not be direct sunlight.

Turtles require lite for three reasons:

Encourages feeding, breeding, and their mood (UVA low-cal)
To strengthen their beat and os growth (UVB light)
They also demand the rut from lights

Y'all have a few options with lighting, you tin choose an all-in on seedling which combines UVB, UVA, and rut. Or you can choose two split lights; ane for UVB and UVA light and another basking lite to employ for heating purposes.

All-time Combo Pack Turtle Lamp

This basking and UVB combo pack includes a Turtle Tuff 50W Halogen Lamp and a ReptiSun 5.0 Mini Compact Florescent (13W) Seedling.

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UVA/UVB Lighting

When you choose a light, fifty-fifty if the box says the calorie-free emits a full spectrum of light, make sure that it emits enough UVB light. Your turtle will need between a 3 and eight% concentration of UVB calorie-free.

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Merely because a package says it is total-spectrum or sun spectrum, doesn't necessarily hateful they produce both UVA and UVB light.

If you're choosing between the desert and tropical UVB lights, choose the tropical one. They aren't as intense and are better suited for turtles.

Fluorescent lights are best for providing UVB light. They should be placed at the correct altitude from your basking area; this is dependent on the percentage of UVB the light emits. Place a UVB ii.5% lamp 12 inches from the dock, and a UVB 5% lamp 18 inches from the dock.

A lack of UBV will cause a softshell and metabolic bone affliction which tin can kill your turtle. It's too important to notation here that UVB lite won't go through glass or plastic, and then don't employ a drinking glass embrace. If you want to apply a cover yous can employ mesh hardware cloth.

UVB lights need to exist replaced every six months, even if the light is yet working.

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Basking Lite

Turtles are coldblooded, which means they can't produce heat for themselves, so they require a calorie-free source to heat them upward. You'll ofttimes run into turtles basking directly under a light.

The best type of basking low-cal is an incandescent seedling. You'll need to identify the basking light effectually 12 inches above the basking area, which is usually a apartment rock, rock, or tile.

Your tank needs to have one warm side and ane cooler side. The warm side should be between 90 and 95°F, and the cooler side should exist betwixt 75 and 85°F. By creating a range of temperatures, you're giving your turtle the option to movement effectually and savor in different areas depending on how much they need to warm up.

When the lights are switched off overnight, the tank should exist kept at effectually 70-75°F.

Combined Lighting

The dazzler of choosing a combined bulb is that it reduces the amount of lights yous need to identify over the tank (you merely demand 1 calorie-free, one wire, and one plug). Still, they do tend to be more expensive.

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Combined lights should only exist used in larger setups, as they commonly produce likewise much heat for pocket-sized tanks.

You might desire to consider putting your lights on a timer so your turtles are given the same lighting as they would in the wild.

Always secure the lights to foreclose them from falling into the tank and hurting your turtles.
Any lamps that get hot, such as incandescent, halogen, or mercury vapor lamps will demand a screen underneath them as they are prone to exploding if they go splashed by h2o.

Fluorescent and LED lamps very rarely explode.

Tank Heater

Best Aquarium Thermostat Heater for Turtles

This fully submersible heater will go on your tank water at a consistent temperature for your turtles; it's made of shock-resistant drinking glass and will automatically turn off when water levels dip too low.

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As well every bit the land surface area of the tank is kept warm, the water section volition also need to be heated.

Some species of turtles spend up to 75% of their lives in h2o. If the water is also cold it will slow downwardly their metabolism and they tin can quickly develop infections. If the water is too hot, it volition discourage them from basking and cause them to develop fungi and bacteria.

That'southward why it is important to continue the tank water at the right temperature. The ideal h2o temperature for most species of turtles is between 72 and 80°F.

Yous can use a regular aquarium heater; either a fully submersible heater or an under-tank heater.

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Submersible heaters are usually long in length and cylindrical; they are relatively cheap and very efficient. They don't take up much space and are usually the most accurate type of heater.

Y'all can also become under gravel/substrate heaters, and whilst they don't take up much space and stay out of sight, they are nowhere well-nigh as effective equally submersible heaters.

The wattage that you will need depends on the size of your tank, you lot tin can read more about determining the amount of wattage you need in our heater article.

Basking Dock

Best Turtle Basking Dock

A durable plastic basking area that allows you to go along all of the tank infinite below. It has piece of cake open grills which let heat to pass through and requite you piece of cake access to the turtle.

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A basking dock is an area the turtle will use to climb up onto and get out of the water to warm upwards under the basking dock low-cal.

If you desire a simple and quick pick, the easiest way is to buy a pre-built dock like the one above.

Some people want to keep a very natural look, then opt for driftwood or half-cut logs for the basking area.

Yous can brand your own DIY platform using stone, rocks, tiles, or acrylic sheets. Y'all'll need to make certain you include a ramp to permit the turtle to climb up onto the platform, and it needs to be big enough for them to move around on.

Are You Ready to Ready upwardly a Turtle Tank? (Summary)

At present you've read through this article, y'all'll start to understand merely how important information technology is to have the correct tank size, the appropriate equipment and enough fourth dimension to dedicate.

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It'due south not difficult to set the turtle tank up once you have all the right equipment, but it is of import to ensure all the equipment you practise take is suitable for turtles.

In particular:

Tank size should be a minimum of 40 gallons.
Lights need to emit UVB.
The filter should bicycle the water at to the lowest degree 5 times an hour and have space for enough of media.
Finally, the basking dock should exist large and sturdy enough for the turtle to get up onto and move around.

Are you thinking about setting your turtle tank up, or are y'all looking to brand changes to your current tank? If you have any questions, make certain to leave them in the comments section below.