What media to put in my Eheim 2262 for RES turtles

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Kristen, that is the same way I have mine installed. My cat relocated some of the filter parts under the couch when I unboxed it. Good thing I was familiar with what I was supposed to have!
 
You are very welcome! If you get a chance, try and post some pics of the stand and tank and your set up when it's done. You will need to use a photo hosting website such as photobucket, imgur and others.

Hi, Dee! It could use a little tweaking, but here is a photo story of my upgrade to a 125 gallon tank. I couldn't have done it without you. You were a godsend. Thank you!!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilsis_kris/sets/72157635511823667/
 
I'm glad things worked out well for you. I looked at the pics but I couldn't quite tell what you ended up doing for the basking area for the turtles. Is that part finished or do you plan on building an enclosure on top of the tank?
 
Took me awhile to figure out how to link just one photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lilsis_kris/9754323294/

the tank itself is 6' x 18" x 22". On top of it sits the turtle condo, which is 6' x 18" x 12". The condo has sides, but no top and bottom. It has structural dividers at the halfway and quarter points. In one section is a plexiglass base, with a short plexiglass ramp. The basking light and UVB light are in a deep, double dome, and that sits on top of the condo on a screen which is 6' x 18". The turtles were afraid of the ramp, and it seemed too short, so I used some materials from Home Depot to extend the ramp at least 5" into the water. My smaller, 6" turtle can get up it pretty easily, and my larger, 8" turtle has done it by herself, but has chosen not to for two days. This morning I lifted her three times but she immediately dove for the water. Frustrating. I will give her a chance to get used to everything before I worry too much about it.
 
I did see your most recent picture and understand it is still a work in progress. I'm sure you will come up with a good solution eventually.

Do you plan on decorating the aquarium portion of the tank in any way? It looks a bit sparse.
 
It does look pretty sparse, doesn't it? My female RES is 8" long, 7" wide, and that's just her shell. Her neck is about the size of a baby's wrist. My male RES has a 6" shell. I'm finding they really like all the space they have to swim in, so I took out the thing that was bothering her from Saturday. I just ordered some duckweed and some anacharis. I was going to put someething short in it for them to "rest" upon, but that just gets in the way of their swimming, so I think for now I will just go with a few plants. If they were smaller, I could really go to town with decorating. But they're big. Really big.
 
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