Hi Robert,
First off, you do not need to heat the water if you only have a few inches of water. The basking lamp will warm the water gradually through the day. As long as your home is about 70 degrees it really isn't necessary. Allow them to cool at night without any light at all. The lights should be on for 12 hours and off for 12 hours. I never used a filter for my hatchlings and just cleaned the entire tank every few days. In that size tank it is very difficult to regulate the filtration. Make sure they having a basking area they can easily climb on to. Your light should be directly over the area and should be no more than probably a 25-30 watt making it 85-90 degrees. Place a thermometer on the area to see what your temps are. Make sure you have a Reptisun 5.0 over the length of their tank. This is crucial so they can metabolize Vit D3. If you think of sliders in the wild, they are use to swings in temps and no where is their water heated. It has been a long time since mine were hatchlings as they are now 12" inches shell length and weigh 4 lbs (11 years old) I have never had a sick turtle and raised them exactly like my directions above.
Keep in mind that these turtles get big and eventually you will have to buy a very large tank or watering trough.
Hope this helps and feel free to email me if you would like
Linda
