Starting A Turtle Tank

[Kamek909]

Ok so i juss bought a 30 gallon fish tank and im making it into a turtle tank. Im going to get a ouachita map turtle because they stay pretty small i will get a male i found out their smaller. I have a couple questions. I will fill the tank with water and make an above tank basking area with the uv ray light and behind it i will put a double led marineland light and i was wondering at night when i go to sleep do i need to have the uv light on? What fish can i put with my turtle? I do know he will try to eat them and its fine im juss wondering what type of fish. How do i feed the turtle and the fish? Will the turtle eat the fish food? I will only get one turtle for the tank so he can have alot of room for himself and i found out they dont need other turtles. Im going to order him from turtleshack.com or is there another site you guys recommend? I know tanks are messier than fish so i was wondering if i can get a biowheel filter? Maybe one thats for 60 gallons?

 

[Autumnsky]

I haven't kept Map Turtles specifically but they like a varied diet and plants. I also read they like lots of water flow and need a good basking area. I love turtles...so following your build.

As for the turtles, store food is alright to use if you can find one with quality ingredients. I think minnows and fish they might normally eat in the pond, as well as invertebrates. You could also buy frozen prepared foods for him. Just know that any uneaten food like that will turn into ammonia, so you would need to watch the tank parameters closely.

Also you might want to start the cycle for the tank asap, before you even get the little guy. I would check about all sorts of options.

Usually a filter states what size tank they will filter in gallons per hour and the info for fish tanks are very under rated, I would imagine since the tanks will get so much more polluted with a turtle than in a fish tank, so check it out because I don't think it would hurt you to have more than 10x (used for Goldfish tanks)(tank in gallon size) as gallons per hour. Pardon me if my calculating for a turtle tank is incorrect, maybe someone else might know better. 30 x 10 = 300 gallons per hour.

You don't want him to be sick from poor water quality. Read and learn any and everything you can about them to make sure you will do the best for him you can. You will need to do partial water changes to keep the water from becoming toxic to your little guy. The filter will help after it is cycled. Do you have the information about fish keeping you need you can go to the home page of this forum and find articles.


Also here is the link for the turtle section here on the forum

Freshwater & Brackish - Aquatic Reptiles, Amphibians & Herpetology - Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community

 

[jetajockey]

You can run the UV just like you would an aquarium light. As for tankmates, just pick some stuff that you won't be upset if he eats, like feeders, or whatever. Faster fish can usually keep away from them, but most will be eaten if given the opportunity. Turtles can eat regular fish food, pellets are preferred (they eat a lot compared to fish), and fresh greens are always good. They love to eat duckweed also.

We have a mississippi map turtle and he's been super shy but is starting to come around in the last month or so.

 

[Kamek909]

Thanks @autumnsku and @jetajockey

 

[fishyd]

Also, go dig through the reptile forum when you have time, there are lots of good threads and information for care.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f136/