Turtles in the Tank: Further Examination.

So I thought I'd delve a bit deeper into a couple of points that I've mentioned before about the impact of turtles in a freshwater aquarium.

I'll be referencing a video I posted via the AquaticAdventurA Youtube channel.

Here it is imbedded. Use this link if the stream is non-functional. "A Day In The Life: 75 Gallon Freshwater Aquarium"

As you can see, there are several elements here. In the top left, you can see the bottom of my floating dock for basking. The bright light above it is a UVA emitting bulb. To the right of that is a UVB emitting bulb. Below the dock is a rest station for the turtles (you can see Isabella, a Map Turtle, standing on it if your eyes are good!). The central area is clear , allowing ample swimming space. To the right is where all of my Hornwort seems to collect. This area provides space for fish to hide, and a secondary "rest" spot for the turtles if they tire of swimming. There is duckweed along the surface of the water also adding to the level of "safety" that can be felt by the tank's inhabitants. There are 3 pieces of driftwood along the bottom. The turtles rearrange these however they feel and I make no effort to manipulate them besides to clean under them. Notice that the water level does not reach the top of the tank. There are products out there (and some do-it-yourselfers!) to help your turtles bask above the tank should you find that preferable.


Now that you've become acquainted with my tank, lets take a closer look.


Basking Dock
The dock is made out of Cork Bark. It was purchased for a small fee at a local fish store that I've come to love called "Big Al's". The fee was very reasonable compared to the prices for brand name docks created from man-made materials. Something to note about using natural woods in your tank is that it changes the chemical values in the water and will turn your water a "tea" colour. More on how to deal with this in the future.
This dock is great not only for the turtles to get out of the water (which the species kept in this tank needs), but also for some of my fish to feel more at home. Hanging out below and near this part of the tank you'll generally find my Boulengerella Maculata (common: South American Spotted Gar) and Ctenolucius Hujeta  (Common: Rocket Gar; Silver Gar). Both are timid ambush-type predetors.

The Drift Wood
As mentioned above, adding "real" wood to your tank will have an impact on the water parameters and "stain" your water a tea colour due to the release of tannin. The natural woods provide safe zones for fish to hide and help break up the bottom of the tank into "zones" to reduce agression.

The Plants
The plants in this tank are all chosen for their ability to survive while uprooted, torn appart and otherwise abused by turtles. I have included a flourecent light above the right half of the tank to provide essential lighting for live plants. I wouldn't say I have a real green thumb, but these plants have proven hearty additions.

Hornwort is a great little plant that grows uprooted just fine. It can be torn in the mid-section and both halves still seem to grow fine. The leaves and shape provide great cover for smaller fish to dart through when running from larger ones, and at this stage in my turtle's life still provides enough bouyancy that they can rest on top of it and float near the surface without putting in any real effort!

Duckweed is another top-pick from me for addition to a turtle tank. It has a few benefits but also a few drawbacks, so beware.

Benefits include:

• Fish and turtles will use it as a source of food, and it produces quickly so while you'll likely run out of it eventually, you do get some value from it. Some people even like to grow it themselves in a separate tub so they don't need to buy it again. 
• It provides surface cover for fish  and turtles and helps to feel like they can hide. This reduces stress and helps to maintain good health.
• It looks great if you're going for a "swampy" feel to your tank!

Drawbacks include:

•  It can get a bit messy. Syphoning out the tank leaves me with an arm covered in duckweed every week! I try to save as much as possible, but I lose some down the drain inevitably. Both results can be somewhat annoying.
• It can clog your filter. I find that, especially with lower water levels, duckweed seems to find its way into the filter intake and easily clogs up mechanical filtration.
• If you keep turtles in a tank it's advisable to leave the top open for air cirulation. In my 75 gallon (4' x 1.5') with a caged top I lose 1-2" of water level every week. As the water level lowers, duckweed will be left behind clinging to your aquarium's walls. This can be somewhat unsightly, thought is relatively easy to clear. I use a dish brush (this is all it's used for!) to clean the surface while performing water changes.

The Substrate
While I haven't spoken a lot about this, chosing the correct substrate is very important. Not only is it one of the most annoying things to try to change later after setting up a tank, it has a big impact on your weekly maintenance and the feel of the tank. I think that we can all agree that a fish tank with natural sand has a different vibe than one with pink and blue painted gravel!

River Stones were purchased at a local garden center in large bags for a very reasonable price. After looking at garden supply prices a trip to the local pet shop to look at the price of their gravel will be painful! The river stones, while looking great in my opinion, also offer two benefits.

1. They don't fit in a turtle's mouth. Sometimes turtles will swallow gravel and stones that are a bit too big.. this can cause a lot of damage to their digestive tract and is called "impaction". We don't want to give them the opportunity to hurt themselves!
2. The stones create a two-tiered leveling to the bottom of your tank. They offer many spots for your fish to hide when they don't feel safe.

Sand is also included. I like sand as a secondary substrate for my stones. It brings a couple of valuable features.

1. It acts as a "filler" between the stones. This makes cleaning a bit less taxing as a LOT of gunk will build up below the stones when you include as many natural elements as I try to. Dead plant matter, feces, uneatten food and parts of prey animals that did not get fully consumed will build up down there. While having these things in your tank isn't the end of the world - having too much can cause problems.
2. The sand can be eatten by your turtle without causing too much harm. Unless they eat a lot of it at once, it's small enough to pass through their system without blocking everything up. On a side note - I did not use sand in my aquarium while my turtles were still genuine babies. 

It should be noted that if you use a sandy substrate you'll want to make sure that it gets moved around a bit. It will settle and pack itself pretty tightly. This can allow pockets of gasses to form beneath and cause problems for your tank's inhabitants. Just be sure to include something that'll dig around and disturb the surface of the sand to counter this. Doing it manually is also viable, of course!