Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello Everyone,
My family has taken in a Stinkpot in Sept when my wife found it in the driveway. We think that it came from our newly layed sod. I told her to drop it into a local pond but some how it made it into the house. A local pet shop told my wife that it should be kept until motherdays because of its size (smaller than a quarter) and the time of year. We bought a 15 gal tank, a dock, heat lamp, a little filter and thru in two rocks. Every weekend replacing the water in the tank. Thick algae became a problem in Jan. when the heat in the house came on alot. I'm allergic to molds so hours after the tank cleanings in Jan. I started w/ sinus infections. I started looking for better tank designs and came across the link below. I've followed the information given last weekend and set everything up. So now I've got about $260 invested into this Stickpot (not including the cost of food and water "Shoprite Spring water" )who now bears the name Snappy and is the first pet but 6th member of my family. All of this said, I'm looking for your thoughts and concerns about the setup I'm using. Pictures to follow. Thank you all for your time in advance. Drew
One effective setup for aquatic turtles in small tanks

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(1) StinkPot

The setup you posted seems just fine. If you follow that you should be alright. Your haveing algae blooms because of the fact your changing the water so frequently. When you do this you introduce new minerals and what not into the existing water, which interm "shocks" the water. If you have ever kept fish you would know what im talking about. But, ways to reduce this is instead of changing all of the water, just change 1/4 of it every week. Also make sure you do not have the tank by a window. Sunlight makes algae go crazy. Keep the water at about 76 degrees, with the use of a submersible heater. Also be sure to have a good filter for the tank. They will help keep the water clean and help cut back on algae due to the biological bacteria that grows inside the filter media. If yah have any more questions just ask!

-Chris
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Currently in the US Navy so I have sold off my collection. But over the years I have had dozens of turtles, fish, geckos, and other lizards. Cant wait to get back in the hobby once im out though!

I've used variants on that canister/undergravel combo for awhile, with no trouble. I've also had good luck with plain UG filters (using a powerhead, NOT the traditional arilift which isn't strong enough for turtles). Never tried the Magnum, I've been using Fluval all the way. I've use the big Fluval (400 series) in tanks up to 65 gallons with a trio of painteds with great success...I also had a common snapper temporarily in a 55 gallon tank using just the UG & 2 powerheads and it stayed clean. Turtle was maybe 4-5 inches long.

Agreed w/Chris re: algae & water changes. If your tank is near a window and you don't really want to move it just cover the side that faces the window - that should help. Also with a small turtle like the stinkpot you might be able to add a plecostomus fish (to clean the algae). Try to get a decent sized one (bigger than the turtle) and he should be safe. Stay away from the small algae-eater as the turtle will likely have a go at eating one of those; the pleco is armored, and gets bigger.