What media to put in my Eheim 2262 for RES turtles

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I bought the tank and stand off Craig's List. They are both 6' long by 18" wide, or closer to 19" if you count the outside of the glass. The stand is about 29" high, the tank about 22" high. The stand disassembled into pieces, and because it had been in a shed for a few years, I scrubbed it with bleach over two weekends and after a thorough rinsing, let it dry in the sun. I am going to reassemble it in my bedroom this weekend, and plan on putting the 2262 in the stand, and the tank on top of the stand, so the 2262 will be completely below. I want to fill the tank up 2/3 of the way at least, since my biggest turtle is big.

I just checked, and it looks like the 2262 will have about 6-7" leeway at the top. I've not assembled it yet, so I hope that is including the pump.

The stand has an open back. I figured I would give at least 4-5" from the wall to the tank, since I don't have enough space in my room to give it enough to walk behind.

i would like to build some sort of turtle condo on top of the tank, to give them as much water space to swim in. Haven't figured it all out, yet. Today, I pick up the screen lid. The ex will drop over Monday to hoist the tank up the stairs with my son, unless I can do it with just my son. I keep telling the turtles how wonderful it will be.
 
I actually could leave more than 5" leeway batten the tank and the wall. Do you have any suggestions on that? Once I set it up it will be too heavy to move.

Do most houses hold up with a 125 gal tank of water?
 
Kirsten, the pump on the top of the filter can be easily rotated 90° and this should give you enough room to install and remove the filter for maintenance. You don't need the gray cover for the top of the filter, I store my extras in the garage and if you rotate the pump, the cover won't fit anyway.

The only reason to move the tank that far away from the wall would be if you plan on using power filters (Hang On Back) as they need clearance for the filter housing and they won't work with the lower water level. I would just leave enough room behind the tank to allow easy access to the Quick Disconnect fittings that you hopefully got with your Eheim filter.

Do you plan on heating the tank water at all? If so, the Hydor ETH external filter would be a good choice, I use the 300W model on my Eheim filters as it fits well on the return/output hose.

You should be able to build your own turtle basking area in the aquarium and locate it at one of the short ends of the tank rather than on top of the screened lid. A turtle forum or another area on MFK might give you some good suggestions on how to accomplish this. Note: I briefly read some of the suggestions on turtle basking areas and see that the top of the tank is an excellent way to provide this so disregard what I said.

Here is a link to some basic info regarding RES care http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
 
Awesome filter. Your RES will enjoy it. And you will love the cleaning intervals. I wash mine out once a year...

HarleyK


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
Dee, that looks like a brilliant way to heat the water. Thank you. The ATP page suggests 72-76 degrees for adult RES, so I guess the 300 won't have to work too hard to keep it warm, at least not for most of the year. And if I spend $4 more at Amazon, I can get it with two day shipping with Amazon Prime. Prime has really worked out well for me. This is really a big help, as I wasn't sure which one to get. Do you use a light in your tank? I'm going to get the UVB and the basking light, but do you use an in water light just to light your tank? Do you have any turtles, or only fish?

I exchanged the 2217 filter pads today for more Substrate Pro and mechanical stuff. They didn't have the Eheim brand so I gut the Fluval Pre-Filter, 3 750g boxes, which he said worked the same. They didn't have any Seachem Pond Matrix.

HarleyK, I'm looking forward to having it all set up. Little intimidated at the thought of putting all the parts together. I wish Eheim had included a more extensive instruction manual, but I guess I'll figure it all out! Really thankful for this forum.

i did find this video on set-up. She put pot scrubbies in the canister! http://youtu.be/k4rzJema4m4
 
Kristen, I do not keep turtles, only fish. I do use lights on my aquariums but can't offer you any suggestions for lighting or UVB for your turtle setup.

I did view the setup videos that you linked to and it was better than some I've seen. Warming the hoses in hot water does make it easier to assemble them to the connectors. Many people do use plastic pot scrubbies in their filters but I have not tried them.

I do recommend checking out HarleyK's post on setting up his filter Here. I also posted some commments in his thread about rotating the pump for better clearance under the stand. There are also some other great suggestions in that topic also.
 
Yep, I was reading HarleyK's post this morning. Good stuff. And the links you provided in your comments on that post. It's good to know that different options still get good results. My Poret comes in toward the end of the week, so I should be able to get the filter working Friday night or Saturday.

I know I need a UVB and a basking lamp for the basking area of my tank. I am going to buy the ZooMed Combo Deep Dome which will have both UVB and basking. I was also thinking it might be nice to gently light up the other side of the tank. Still need to finish reading ATP's page on lighting.

I got the turtle stand set up in my bedroom and will get the tank up here on Monday. One of my cats is a wee bit upset since I had to move some of her cat towers, but she's also very curious about the turtle stand. I hope to assemble the filter parts on Sunday.

You have no idea how much I appreciate all the advice you have given me.
 
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! I've got most of the hoses hooked up thanks to the muscle of my son. The larger ones defeat me. I hooked the heater up in a vertical position, with the arrow pointing up. Then I looked around the room and realized I forgot the two, small quick release valves. One of my cats was using them as a pillow. Do I put them between the heater and the filter, or after the heater, or does it matter? The instruction booklet doesn't say. Sorry if it is posted elsewhere in this forum.
 
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