Couple DIY Tank questions.

[Dekroken]

Hi, I'm pretty new to this whole aquarium thing and even more new to the 'do it yourself' part, so please bare with me!

Okay first of all, this aquarium is for my Red Eared Slider (see 1st pic below) and his Mississipi Map friend, I wasn't really expecting them and they quickly outgrew the only tank I had so I got this new one (biggest I could find on my tiny income) for £50 on an internet classified. . . Anyway, it's 4ft long, 2ft high and 1ft wide/deep which by my reckoning is ~60USGallons, right? Ideally I would've liked it 2ft wide/deep but, hey we do with what we can.

But my problem is I have this external filter (see 2nd pic below) that hooks onto the side of the tank and flows down all nicely-nicely. I just thought 'oh hey that'd fit' but when I got the new tank it has these rims, I believe they're called braces? They're 5cm wide (see 3rd pic below) and have these weird massive (31cm in length!) glass sheets siliconed onto their ends (see pic 4 and 5 below). These do not fit into the plan of my tank and I don't like them one bit!

See I would prefer a rimless tank, but I hear they bow and just end up exploding everywhere, so I don't want that. So here's my question (finally):

Can I have a rimless tank if my glass is 5mm thick (unknown type) and only filled to about 2/3s? Say 45-50USGallons?

If no, is there any way I can brace the tank in a different manner than this/ get rid of those awful side... Brace things... They take up a good massive chunk of the above-tank space and I'd like to make a DIY Background and they'd definately get in the way (more so than the length-rims, but they're also a bit wide). The tank is also in a cabinet (see final pic) if that helps, I'd rather not have an in-door swimming pool.

Now I've got this external filter:

Pictures:

My Red Eared Slider - 4.5 inches long, right now

External filter -

Example of rims that run along length -

Example of side-braces(?) -

Cabinet, shoddy I know -

 

[Fishfur]

In UK gallons that's closer to 50 than 60 gallons by the calculator I used.

Two thirds full, it would be, roughly, 35 gallons of water, and I doubt it would burst. Those braces look home made, I've never seen anything quite like them. Clearly someone was concerned the tank might bow when full. It might have been home built, for that matter. So long as it holds water, should be ok.

But as you aren't going to fill it full, I'd think you could safely remove the lengthwise bracing, at least on one side, to allow for the filter and background if nothing else. But you may find the rim needs to be cleaned up and smoothed out once you scrape the silicone off.

Autobody sandpaper [ aluminum oxide] or emery cloth wrapped 'round a bit of 1x2 would let you smooth it and make sure you aren't going to cut your arm in half if you lean on the open edge.

I used to keep turtles, back in my high school days. Several RES's, a Painted turtle and a pair of Yellow Spotted Amazon Side Neck river turtles, which are totally aquatic. Several of the RES were adopted from bad homes. One had a terrible shell deformity from soft shell disease.. but though he never looked normal he recovered his vitality once I got some decent food into him and got him good lighting. I fed them live snails and turtle food, even raw liver now and then.

They eventually went to live with an architect who built his own office building, with indoor/outdoor pond that had a huge glass wall that divided the pond in winter, and kept the inside warm enough. He needed snail control and having got a job, I needed homes for the turtles. The architect promised them homes for life.

Worked out nicely for us all.

 

[Dekroken]

Thanks for the response, Fishfur Yeah I've had a couple of tanks but they've only ever been small and the rims were just a couple of glass strips either side. Anyway, thanks for the response and I'll make sure my Terrapins get into their new home asap! And thanks for the tips on smoothing the rim down (I probably would've just chopped my arm in half otherwise)!

It's really nice about that architect by the way. Mine were practically rescues, their original owner was just going to throw them in the local shipping canal and I gave her a good shouting at and took them myself! I know the life I'm giving isn't perfect (that pool sounds perfect!) but it's better than nothing. Hope the tank makes them a bit happier

 

[Fishfur]

Good luck. And I was very fortunate to find that architect, I know. I see ads all the time offering turtles free to good homes.. so many get them and then find out later how big they get and how long they live and then they think, now what. Like the one you shouted at..

We have a local nursery chain that has turtle sanctuary ponds in all their greenhouses, but I am not sure if they are still taking in new turtles. They don't allow any of them to be adopted so far as I know, but provide them a good home and food, indoors year round so they don't have to hibernate. Very good of them to do that.

 

[bminnow]

Good thing you didnt allow them to dump them in a canal. The species you have ate not native to the uk to the best of my knowledge. This is a huge problem in the pet industry. I used to keep reptiles a while back including turtles. (Red ears are common here in canada).
A few points on keeping them long and heathy. Feed a wide varitey of food not just the peletts you get from the pest store. Mine loved dew worms (big fat night crawlers), and veggies to dark leafy greens carrots cucumbers ect.... do some reading on this. Most importantly and i can not stress this enough get a good qality calcium supplement for every feeding and a good quality full spectrum bulb. Full spectrum emitts vitmine D3 which is needed for calcium absorbtion. They should be rplaced every 6months if memory serves correct. If you do nothing else get these two items and you will have them a long time. Easily 30+ years
For dyi backgrounds i just use a black grabage bag scrunch it all up, for the ripple affect, and tape it to the back. I have used wrapping paper to when i someting of colour or pattern. Thats as cheap as it gets for those of us on a tight buget.
Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Fishfur]

You are quite right a full spectrum bulb is needed, and plenty of calcium, as well as a good varied diet.

The light will allow the turtles to make their own Vitamin D.. but just to be clear, no light emits a vitamin of any kind, including D.

Vit D is made within the body by many, many animals, IF they get enough sunlight, humans included. If sunlight is not available, full spectrum lighting with all the UV spectra is needed to allow them to make their own Vit D as they would in the wild, OR, adequate supplementation with Vit D. Many humans use supplemental Vit D, as sunbathing in winter in many places is not much fun .

Many reptile owners supplement with both calcium and Vit D, just to be on the safe side, but dosage should be watched. Too much calcium can cause issues, and too much D can cause issues too.

Vit D is a fat soluble vitamin. In too large a quantity it can, potentially, accumulate in fat tissues, leading to an overdose situation. But lack of sufficient Vit D also causes a lot of problems, among them, affecting the ability to properly metabolise calcium.

 

[bminnow]

Very well stated Fishfur. When i was doing reptiles and anphips. Most of my speciminse where rescues and the most common ailment was metabolic bone desise, due to lack of calcium. Some where so bad i had to do injections, not fun and very costly. Ime i added calcium according to directions and changed spectrum bulbs frequently, and they lived long and healthy lives. Two iguannas that i thought would die, recovered paired off and bred for me.