Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi fellow turtle lovers,
I have 2 RES since January. I just bought a 20 gallon long tank for them and had a few questions.
Now that it is getting colder, (I am in NY, LI) I never needed a heater but I noticed at night the water temp can drop down quite a bit, the night bulbs just are not doing the trick. What type of heater do you recommend?
I also have 2 filters running not such good ones, a whisper and a duetto. They are doing the trick, but I have to clean the tank more often then I would like. I wanted to know what canister filter is good for 20 long tanks?
Since I have had them since January is that enough time to feed them everyother day? They have grown a lot since then.
My last question also relates to the lighting. I currently have 2 clip on lights, one for the basking bulb and the other for the day bulb that I switch to the night bulb. However I am sick of them. I have had 2 bulbs EXPLODE, (scary cauce the pieces went into the tank!) not sure if they got too hot or are just poorly made. I thought about buying a 3- light hood, one for a Reptisun 5.0 (is that the right one) and room for a basking and night bulb. If I were to buy the hood would that provide enough heat instead of a heater. Cause hte air would stay in longer.
I know this post is long SORRY! I just am frustrated with going into pet stores and they selling me something that is not "the best" -as they tell me it is.. (the filters and lights)

Any help you can give me is GREATLY appreciate by me, scar and snoozy (my babies)

I'm sorry but you need to stop spending money on useless bulbs and get a heater for crying out loud. I'm glad your turtles are still okay but you live in NY and it gets really cold there. Anything below 70 is not good for a RES in fact.

You said you had a night bulb for them? What in the world for! I don't know what your night bulb is, but if your referring to one of those black bulbs (that give out like purple rays or something) I've read stuff that it doesn't improve turltes and if left on long enough, it actually hurts them. Their eyes and their health.

So please get rid of that thing. It's useless. At night you want the turtles in the DARK. They aren't fish so you don't even want to think of leaving a light for them all day 24/7.

With the money you spent on useless things, just use half of that to buy a 15-20 dollar submerssible heater. Set it to 70 or some like it higher for younger turtles, so maybe 75, then let it go. All you need is that Reptile 5.0 light and a basking bulb. Both of those should only be left on during day light (not the entire day, note!) so some say 8 hours or so a day.. I personally just leave it on 6.

So good job but just do the normal thing and get them a heater. They will definatley need it.. I'm suprised they didn't need it when you baught them in janaury! My turtles didn't even eat without my submerssible heater and I live in California.

I live in New Jersey, and I have never had a heater for my turtles. I have a 55 gallon tank, and during the day the temp is about 78 degrees. At night it doesn't drop very low, because it is always warm in my house, our heat is set to 72 so the water doesn't cool off that much. They don't have any nighttime bulbs either, since it is normal for the temps to drop a little at night.
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Chill out dude, first of all the night time basking infared lights do work and do provide heat, supposively turtles eyed cant even see the light, I use one on my sick turtle to keep him warm. Second of all nobody ever needs any type of reptisun 2.0, 5.0, 8.0 or anything of the sort to raise a healthy turtle, They just dont require it and I know a lot of people may disagree with me but owell its true. last, you dont even have to het a basking light from the pet store just het a bulb preferably a spot lamp type as they provide more heat than normal round, another thing is yes you do need a heater for the water if the water gets to a temprature where your turtles seem to slow down or stop eating.
So all you really need is a filter, heater, basking light and area with a warm hardware store bulb, and thats about it to raise a healthy turtle.

A good water temp is about 78 and a basking area of about 85. Again some may disagree but your turtles will definately not get sick and will always be burning fat because they stay very active.

Hi -

First of all where on LI do you live? I am in Islip.

Second of all -- how cold does your water temperature get in the tank?

I agree that if you are keeping your sliders indoors for the winter you should have a heater for your tank. The water is best above 70 degrees . The basking light is only necesary during the daylight hours. As far as the reptosun 5.0 blah de didle dee dah -- I am not going to sit and debate about the whether it is important or not (why take chances and cheap out though?). Here is what you should do and you will be fine. Get a Mercury vapor type bulb (t-rex or reptisun makes them) This gives you heat and the UVB rays etc. for your basking area all in one bulb. Put that in a fixture and the ceramic fixture on a timer. Let them have about 8 hrs of that light and when the lights go out and the air temperatures cool off they will retreat and sleep at night in the heated water.

This will be ideal for them.

Sliders are a very cold tolerant species it is just that when you keep them indoors you must maintain them at temperatures that will keep them functioning optimally.

My animals are currently in water that is beginning to drop down into the 40's and most are already hibernating. This is the luxury of keeping them in outdoor ponds. Indoors you should have that water at around 72 - 73 degrees and they will be fine.

Steve