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I just moved last weekend and was able to rearrange my tank since I had to move it anyway. I took out my driftwood basking area and went for a cleaner setup. Pretty simple, just a piece of that plastic screen from w@lm@rt, attached to a piece of plywood that sits on the rim of my 120 gal. The plywood is a temporary thing tho, I will eventually cut a piece of acrylic once I get everything unpacked. The plywood is 16 5/8" wide and 7 inches long with a 4 3/4" hole cut out to fit around the 4" ABS outflow siphon for my filter. I havnet been able to get a pic of them basking yet, but I do find water on top so I know theyre using it.

Also, heres some other pics of my very basic setup for now. Im down to 1 fish, 3 crayfish, 1 mussel, and my RES and cooter.

And this is the 20 gal planted prefilter. Still need more plants tho.

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Out of curiousity, what happened to the painted turtles you had? You are the guy who had the obese turtle right?
BTW, I am so jealous of your set up. It RAWKS. I wish I was not a dirt poor student so I could get a huge set up for my babies like you have.I've seen your hood set up that you built before, and again, nice job.
What is a prefilter?
...Anne
2 RES hatchlings (Theresa and John)
1 anklebiter 16 months

>>Out of curiousity, what happened to the painted turtles you had? You are the guy who had the obese turtle right?

The painted turtles I had returned to my pond where they were collected.

>> BTW, I am so jealous of your set up. It RAWKS. I wish I was not a dirt poor student so I could get a huge set up for my babies like you have.

The 120 gal aquarium was $220. I built the stand which was about $40 in parts.

The filter on the other hand was a major project.

>>I've seen your hood set up that you built before, and again, nice job.

>> What is a prefilter?

The 20 gal long I use for the prefilter is a tank with lava rocks and soon many plants. This tank will contain all particles before they enter the filter. I have a couple small crayfish in there now to feed on small matter, and will soon have lots of snails as well. The plants will get the best pick of nutrients in the water before it is filtered. Also, I will probly put my mussel back in there, he does a decent job of filtering the water too. All of these plants and animals will lighten the load on my filter.

The idea is that if you have a tank with lots of plants and few fish, you probably dont even need a filter. In the wild, ponds with lots of vegetation usually have the clearest water.

>>...Anne
>>2 RES hatchlings (Theresa and John)
>>1 anklebiter 16 months
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A group of students and I created a pond set up, but our RES slider (shell length 6 inches) is chasing all the fish bigger than her (i.e. white perch). She leaves the sunnies alone.
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1.2.1 Leopard Geks
1.0.1 High Yellow, 0.1 Blizzard, 0.1 Normal
2 White's Treefrogs
2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
1 Spotted Tail Warty Newt
Fish:
0.2 Parrot Cichlids
1 Upside Down Catfish
0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
1 Geophagus jurupari
1 Fire Barb
0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
Goldfish

Herpin since 93'

Ive only seen the turtles catch sick or injured fish or really small ones.

>>A group of students and I created a pond set up, but our RES slider (shell length 6 inches) is chasing all the fish bigger than her (i.e. white perch). She leaves the sunnies alone.
>>-----
>>1.2.1 Leopard Geks
>>1.0.1 High Yellow, 0.1 Blizzard, 0.1 Normal
>>2 White's Treefrogs
>>2.1 Fire Bellied Toads
>>0.0.2 Red Eared Sliders
>>1 Spotted Tail Warty Newt
>>Fish:
>>0.2 Parrot Cichlids
>>1 Upside Down Catfish
>>0.0.2 Bullhead Catfish
>>1 Geophagus jurupari
>>1 Fire Barb
>>0.0.4 Blue Gouramis
>>Goldfish
>>
>>Herpin since 93'
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