New baby musk turtle setup...pics

brancasterr

I'm so excited to finally have this thing all set up! The hatchling should be here on Monday! :D
What do you guys think?

The water is about 4.5 inches deep.

Also, any ideas on how to lower the noise the filter makes? Since the water level is so low its causing a huge waterfall and it's rather roaring. Any ideas?

Also also, my new turt isn't going to burn himself on the heater will he?

Thanks guys!

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stevenjohn21

Thats a great setup , congratulations !

You could put the flower pot on the rocks so the water hits the top of it, or get some driftwood for the water to hit.

Thats the same heater as mine, if its set on 72-74 degrees then it wont be hot enough to burn your turtles feet.

brancasterr

Thanks! I'm very excited! The heater is set to 76 I think.

4.5 inches isn't too deep for a hatchling is it?

I tried the pot, it actually makes it noisier. Haha, I'll try some driftwood or something but I think I may have to come up with a better idea.

stevenjohn21

76 degrees is fine, it still wont be enough to burn him/her.
Are you getting a baby ? You will be suprised how long its neck will stretch ! Depending on how big it is , it may be able to stretch its neck right out of the water LOL

I dont know about stopping the noise, wait till your turtle arrives and then you will know if you can raise the water level, even if it was raised 2" it would help.

brancasterr

Yeah, I'm getting a hatchling. :D!

I don't think I'll be able to raise the water but we'll see. I reduced the noise quite a bit though. I added another pot right side up filled with rocks directly under the flow. It also reduced the current drastically as well, which I think will be a good thing for a hatchling.

On another note, I'm extremely paranoid my water isn't pure enough or may be contaminated. Haha, I always get paranoid before adding something live to a new environment. Even more so now that I'm getting a turtle and have never owned one before.

I don't know why I'm so worried. I used R/O water from my LFS, boiled the pots, put the rocks in the dishwasher with vinegar and then poured boiling water onto them, and cleaned the tank over and over with vinegar.

On yet another note, my filter does 170 GPH and there is only about 5-6 gallons in the tank. The turtle won't get stuck to the filter intake will he? The intake is right at ground level(you can see it in the picture) and I'm sure the turtle will swim by it. Lol, I believe I worry much more than needed.

EDIT: Curse those hard water stains on the glass you can see in the picture. Excessive amounts of soaking and scrubbing did them no justice. -_-

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Kazzy

Looking great! Can't wait to see pics of the little guy/gal :D
Don't worry! You did an amazing job cleaning the tank, as well as researching :)

stevenjohn21

you could get some filter floss and elasctic band it around the intake, that will give you peace of mind that you wont have a sucked up turtle which i doubt anyway. It will also act as a filter which will make life easier on your cartridge inside the filter.

Good job with stopping the "waterfall" i know how annoying this can be, i have 2 tanks in my bedroom and i hate it when ive forgotten to top up after evaporation !

Your water is fine , ha ha cant believe you bought LFS water ha ha !
You will wonder what you were worried about in a months time when you realise how much poop comes out of such a small butt !!!!

brancasterr

Thanks guys!

Lighting just came in today.

I got a 10.0 UVB strip light and was wondering how I should position that. Do I just stick it on top of the screen cover I got in the middle and then place the basking bulb directly over the basking spot? I think I would have a hard time getting both the UVB strip and the basking bulb over the basking spot. So is the UVB okay so long as it sheds light onto spots he may be sitting?

Kazzy

He needs to be able to get about 6" from the UVB. So I'd be sure it's over the basking spot as well as the heat lamp.

brancasterr

hmmm. My water level is to low for the basking spot to be 6" from the light. I wonder how I could fix that.

Also, my water got a little cloudy over night. I wonder if it's an ammonia spike. I did add some gravel from my already established tank.

EDIT:
Just tested my water:

Ammonia: 0.25 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
Nitrite: 0 ppm
pH: 6.7

So I have no idea what could be clouding my water. =0 Contamination?! haha paranoid?