[RisingSun]

"The End" (2021)

"Peak" (2020)

"Monte Carlo Iwagumi" (2019)

"Ebay Starter Stems Pack" (2016)

7 Months:
The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post - High Tech Turtle Tank

4 Months:
The Planted Tank Forum - View Single Post - High Tech Turtle Tank


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Original Post:

Sup everyone. I thought I'd share my first attempt at a planted tank. I've been keeping a turtle and a couple of fish in a 20 gallon for over 2 years. The turtle has outgrown the tank so I finally decided to upgrade, and also try my hand at planted tanks. Here's my progress so far:

Day 0: Planting / Dry start:

Day 60: filling up after dry starting

Day 80: adding fauna. Was getting lots of diatoms and some green hair algae high up on the mountain so really need those ottos

Day 87: ottos went to town on the diatoms. Some browning on the DHG

Plants:
12 packs of petsmart dwarf hairgrass parvula
random stems

Fauna:
Charles the Cagle's Map Turtle (AKA poop machine)
4x Cardinal Tetra
4x ottocinclus
2x ghost shrimp
1x red beta
9x espei rasbora
25x amano shrimp
20+ red cherry shrimp
5x nerite snails
3x crossocheilus langei SAE
1x crossocheilus atrilimes SAE

Equipment:
48 Gallon 90cm x 45cm x 45cm off-brand 90P tank from AFA
Eco complete
Finnex Ray 2 @ 10 hours a day + 3 inch leg risers by planted tank member Fuze
100W Mercury Vapor Lamp (for basking) @ 7 hours a day
Viv 13mm outflow
Ebay 16mm intake
Rena XP4 Filter
Ista max mix large
GLA pro regulator
Hydor 200W inline heater

Fertilizer:
PPS Pro

 

[HybridHerp]

I thought turtles would eat most fish, especially as they grow, and rip up plants as they move around and such...so this is actually pretty cool if it works longterm.

It doesn't need any special lighting or anything? And how is it not trying to escape/crawl out of the rimless top?

 

[devilduck]

How large is your turtle? It's a excellent chance of him tearing up your very nice scape. Any light spilling off the basking platform will cause an algae outbreak.

 

[Duck5003]

I think this is great! Best of luck on it all working out. Judging by your photos it looks like the first week went well with no real signs of damage, hope to see that continue :thumbsup:

 

[RisingSun]

I thought turtles would eat most fish, especially as they grow, and rip up plants as they move around and such...so this is actually pretty cool if it works longterm.

It doesn't need any special lighting or anything? And how is it not trying to escape/crawl out of the rimless top?

Charles is very lazy. He chased the fish around when they were first put in but after he realized they were too fast for him he gave up. These fish have been living with him for over a year.

He needs a mercury vapor lamp that keeps the basking platform ~90 degrees and puts out UVB. There's about 1 inch of sheer glass all around so he can't get his claws over it without a foothold. There's an acrylic sheet blocking escape from the basking platform.

How large is your turtle? It's a excellent chance of him tearing up your very nice scape. Any light spilling off the basking platform will cause an algae outbreak.

He's about 3 inches in shell length and fully grown. In the first week he's uprooted 1-2 sprigs of DHG. He doesn't really dig, but as he treads over the grass the loose strands will pop out. I also see some turtle sized bite marks are showing on the ludwigia, but they're still growing fine.

From my experience in the previous tank, the basking lamp will induce algae on the basking platform and the filter pipes near it so yeah I'll have to deal with that. I try to keep my lighting and fertilizer lean.

I think this is great! Best of luck on it all working out. Judging by your photos it looks like the first week went well with no real signs of damage, hope to see that continue :thumbsup:

Thanks!!

 

[gt turbo]

Dude, i have so many thoughts about this tank, some of them cautionary, but truth be told, I'm stoked that you are trying something so different and it seems to be working so far.

I would suggest that you up the numbers on your schooling fish to make them more comfortable.

Best of luck.

 

[lamiskool]

Dude, i have so many thoughts about this tank, some of them cautionary, but truth be told, I'm stoked that you are trying something so different and it seems to be working so far.

I would suggest that you up the numbers on your schooling fish to make them more comfortable.

Best of luck.

all of what turbo said, and man not only is this cool but I also think its a beautiful scape as well! Great job!!!

 

[RisingSun]

1 month update:

I stupidly increased my photoperiod from 7 hours to 9 hours which caused an outbreak of hair algae. I've since dialed it back down to 5 and uped the CO2. I also purchased some finnex leg raisers from Fuze (here). It's stopped growing but there's a lot of tiny pieces left over. I've recruited a pair of black mollies to clean up the rest. Other than that everything's been going well. Oh, and it's a bad idea to keep cherry shrimp with turtles. They're too small and they stand out too much. I bought 12 of them and they're almost all eaten. Amano shrimp are ok though so long as you have a lot of places for them to hide. They camouflage well and have excellent evasive maneuvers.

 

[Agent69]

I used to have a male cagles map too unfortunately for me he liked nipping at plants. When I see yours it makes me miss mine :icon_cry: btw 3" is not full grown mine reached 4" in 16 months but I guess it was probably because I fed him many protein rich food so he wouldn't like plants but just ended up fattening him up. Good luck nice scape btw

 

[Bserve]

That's a sweet scape!

 

[thelub]

That is absolutely stunning. What kind of turtle is it?

 

[RisingSun]

Thanks guys!

And it's a cagle's map turtle. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-cagmap.htm

I used to have a male cagles map too unfortunately for me he liked nipping at plants. When I see yours it makes me miss mine :icon_cry: btw 3" is not full grown mine reached 4" in 16 months but I guess it was probably because I fed him many protein rich food so he wouldn't like plants but just ended up fattening him up. Good luck nice scape btw

Mine is 2 years and 5 months old. He's probably larger than 3" I was just guestimating. What happened to yours?

 

[Siddhartha Saive]

This is awesome

 

[Agent69]

Thanks guys!

And it's a cagle's map turtle. http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-cagmap.htm



Mine is 2 years and 5 months old. He's probably larger than 3" I was just guestimating. What happened to yours?

View attachment 321026
He passed away when he jumped off his basking rock because I had the water level too high I had the same basking area as you. It was my fault because I got too confident he would not jump off since that's how I had him since hatchling when he was smaller than a penny :'( ...

 

[dprais1]

I love this tank! great job!

I think this is the first turtle tank and well planted tank I have ever seen.

Excellent and kudos to you!

 

[jcgilmore2]

Nice! I had saw the thread before but never clicked until now.. Didn't expect a turtle tank to look so awesome haha. Well done. Look forward to updates.

 

[etk300ex]

Nice! Good for you breaking the turtle mold, there are far too many turtle myths out there.

 

[RisingSun]

This is awesome

I love this tank! great job!

I think this is the first turtle tank and well planted tank I have ever seen.

Excellent and kudos to you!

Nice! I had saw the thread before but never clicked until now.. Didn't expect a turtle tank to look so awesome haha. Well done. Look forward to updates.

Nice! Good for you breaking the turtle mold, there are far too many turtle myths out there.

Thanks guys!

View attachment 321026
He passed away when he jumped off his basking rock because I had the water level too high I had the same basking area as you. It was my fault because I got too confident he would not jump off since that's how I had him since hatchling when he was smaller than a penny :'( ...

That sucks... I'm sorry for your loss. He seemed like a cute little guy. You should get another one!

 

[Dugsul808]

this is pretty neat i like, nice placement and choice of plants! your turtle looks happy haha keep it up !

 

[MABJ]

This is fantastic!

Only thing that would make it better is if your rock magically turned into a platform where it breaks the surface lol.

Congrats on a beautiful tank.