Turtle dock

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Krystle

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jul 17, 2012
Messages
70
My turtles have seriously outgrown the dock I have for them now. I have tried the magnetic ones as well as the floating and they weigh both down because when one gets on the other has to join in. I would love to build them a wooden dock with ramp for different water levels .but not sure what kind to use that would be safe. If there Are other materials that would look natural in the tank as well I'm open to all the help I can get.
 
I think your turtles need to go on a diet:lol:. You might try slate, i dont know how it would really work, but i never owned turtles. Sorry
 
Yeah they are definatly spoiled lol and I never thought of slate thanks for the idea :)
 
I don't have turtles, but the slate does sound like it could work. It's easy to clean and could act as natural nail trimmers.
 
Or you could get a pond designed for turtles. My pond is 60 or so gallons with a shallow end for turtles to hull themselves up and bask in the sun. Just an idea.
 
Really wanna try and do something in the tank I have now because of my space limitations. Would love to get them something like that in the future though :)
 
Yeah they are never tall enough. I have my tank pretty deep so that the turtles can swim to their hearts content ( and to give the fish some room to run if the turtles get frisky). Will find out tomorrow if I am getting a 55 gal. If so then I am going to build them a cave and landing spot based off the 3d background idea. So excited!!! I have about 20 fry gettin bigger n bigger each day it feels like, so it's about to get crowded ?
 
Krystle said:
Yeah they are never tall enough. I have my tank pretty deep so that the turtles can swim to their hearts content ( and to give the fish some room to run if the turtles get frisky). Will find out tomorrow if I am getting a 55 gal. If so then I am going to build them a cave and landing spot based off the 3d background idea. So excited!!! I have about 20 fry gettin bigger n bigger each day it feels like, so it's about to get crowded dde04

Check out something called a turtle topper. I actually built my turtle topper but the sell pre made ones too.
 
If you want something easy just cut a piece of Styrofoam out of 2" then trim the top at a slant and silicone on a piece of slate to stick into the water. Or do the cave 3D background wait is this the article I wrote?
 
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my turtles are huge so i stack up rocks and find a long rock for the ramp. its easy to do and convenient
 
Yeah was worried the styrofoam wouldn't hold. But found some flat rocks gonna incorporate that with the styro and make something. Gotta reseal the tank before I do anything which SUCKS!!!! But it will be better in the long run. Thanks everyone for the ideas never knew there where so many options :)
 
Krystle said:
Yeah was worried the styrofoam wouldn't hold. But found some flat rocks gonna incorporate that with the styro and make something. Gotta reseal the tank before I do anything which SUCKS!!!! But it will be better in the long run. Thanks everyone for the ideas never knew there where so many options :)

As long as you cover the Styrofoam with slate it should still float and that way their claws wouldn't be able to tear it up. ;)
 
Saw where someone used thick clear fishing line and tied up the slate where it floated as a basking spot might try that looks good
 
K Ofcourse changed my mind a million times and now I am mounting slate rock on PVC and enclosing the bottom to make a cave :) will post pics soon getting my cut PVC tonight yay!!!
 
The best 20 bucks I spent for my turtle was an "Above Tank Basking Area" I built myself. She basks more than ever now that she knows what it is. I'll post a picture tomorrow.
 
Yes that would be awesome! That's what I'm wanting to do for them because the other idea I had is gonna take up so much room.
 
Here is something i know i can help with. I have just started a guppy breeding program for my college program. Prior to this date in the past three years i have run a turtle rescue out of my home. As well as this being my time breeding aquatic life this is also my first joined forum. So anyways. From the size of the tank you are describing i can guess they are fairly small. Definately not adults. They are obviously aquatic so im best guessing red eared sliders or yellow bellies. I have had a total of 7 rescue small aquatic turtles and definately alot of adults. So my best adice to is to give them a well balanced setup thats feels like there natural environment. If you feel exceptionally comfortable setting up an all rock and gravel aquarium setup for your turtles then i highly suggest doing so. However if you dont feel exceptionally comfortable doing so, it is dangerous due to the high risks of unevenness that can and will be detrimental to the little guys. If feel uncomfortable the least bit of doing so then my next suggestion is to, outside of the tank, setup the rocks as desired and seal them together with aquarium silicone which you can buy from your nearest pet store. Let it dry, remove ALL critters from the tank and place inside. Before replaceing the turtles use something twice as heavy as them to test the strength of their basking zone to make sure it will hold. You do not need much to make them happy. Just as ling as they have places to swim under and an easily accessable basking area where more than one csn stretch out at the same time. Also i personally reccomend a basking lamp and a uv lamp to give them the uv nutrients they need and the basking light/heat they need. Do this and feed the proper foods and i guarantee your little guys will be the happiest you have ever seen them. If you have any further questions feel free to let me know. Thank you.
 
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