Mech Lab-150 gallon Turtle Tank

[MechLab]

Hello All!
My colleagues and I have received funding to construct a "turtle tank" for our office! We are all very excited about it.

So far we have: a big pump, a 40gal sump with bio-balls, a stand, nets, turtles and fish and shrimp, but no tank

We are waiting for a deal on craigslist for a tank, lights, and more goodies. We should know by this sunday or we are going to be making it with plywood.

I'll post pictures of the construction/purchases when I get pictures.

I would like suggestions for types of plants to include in this tank. Many thanks!

[Futurehabitatcreator]

Sounds like a lot of fun!


Just out of curiosity, what are you holding the turtles in now?

[MechLab]

petri dishes lmao


naw, we're holdin' 'em in a drainage ditch. we just got to go catch the suckers with the nets. We caught some before, but we released them cuz we didn't have everything set up yet.......

suggestions for plants? im really stumped--i've never had reptiles as pets--only fish and dogs

[Futurehabitatcreator]

Well, for a begginer (of plants) I'd just go to petco and buy some of the terrarium/aqaurium plants they sell there.

[sinflspeed]

Yes, I think that Petsmart/petco would be your best option as well. I know there are alot of places in Houston that sell plants(orange/red tents) but not sure if they do aquatic plants.

[MechLab]

Okay cool. I'll stop by there. I guess I'll just ask them for plants for palladium/vivarium/whatever? Any tips on hardy easy to care for plants that don't need MetalHalide lights?

[sinflspeed]

Most plants don't need those type of lights. That type of light is generally for a saltwatere tank with live rock and inverts. They just need light. If you go with a t5 65k light set up it should do the trick. I would check the care sheets for the type of turtle, possibly need a uva/b bulb.

[Green Ghost]

won't turtles tear up the plants though? Even babies are pretty hard on thier environment, no?

I'd suggest floating plants. Duckweed is very popular but it will stick to the turtle's shell and dry up there when the turtles get out of the water to dry off. So maybe something floating but large enough to stay in the water and not get dragged out.

I agree with sinfl; dual T5's with an electronic ballast (instant start) will work.

[sinflspeed]

True, it also depends on the size of the turtles. Nothing wrong with going with a fake plant either.

[MechLab]

Well, I thought that MH would be overkill anyway. As for the uva/b bulb for the turtles, what do you mean? Do they really need uv light? We were thinking of red-eared sliders and a soft shell turtle. We were gonna get really small ones and just get new ones when they got too big. Look, we really don't know much about turtles, but we know how to make the habitat. We were planning to use ad dual strip fluorescent light fixture on it with grow bulb.

For the plants:
We want to have some on the wall(s) and few in the water (crypts and java fern). Like maybe some of those tropical plants that I see in alot of people's vivariums with frogs. Are they called bromeliads?

Another question: For the walls that people have on the back of their tanks that they construct with foam, does anyone know of a good method to use when trying to silicone it and sprinkle dirt on it, or do i just have to use a ton of silicone and a lot of dirt?

Thank you guys so much for your advice. I forgot my camera today, but I'll try to take pictures of the sump and table and pump that we have.