Video 1 of 3 red eared slider custom turtle tank setup Deep Dive

[jamgabem]

I like you set up. But doesnt insulation have fiberglass in it? And you buckets and sump are made of oily plastic that put of toxins.

You have a awesome tank! Filter needs some fine tuning.

Good luck! I'm really not trying to be one of those know it all guys! Just have been messing with this stuff for a while

[grifloki]

@jamgabem Yeah i have learned much of this and this is not the latest setup. You should look at my later videos and you can see changed what i use for filtration and the sump. Its all food grade plastic now except the bucket which was dipped in resin to keep it safe. The sump is a food grade plastic so no worries there. Has been setup for years now without a single fish die except if eaten by the turtles. :)

[andreasandreas66]

i see you know what you are talking about. can i have your email. i would like to ask you something about my new tank.

thanks for all the good advice

[megolfer2190de]

How many scrubbies did you use

[grifloki]

@megolfer2190de probably about 50. Enough to fill half of a 5 gallon paint bucket if that helps.

[megolfer2190de]

how many scrubbies did toy use

[megolfer2190de]

Did you use pvc glue on the joints

[grifloki]

@megolfer2190de yes, food grade

[TheRES74]

is an aquarium light enough if i put aquatic plants in the turtle tank? Must i shine the light directly onto the plants?

[grifloki]

@TheRES74 the light needs to be something that is atleast 6100K (kelvin) or greater. They do sell lights at pet stores for this but are expensive. You can find indoor flood lights that produce 6100K for around 8 bucks. The light just needs to be above the tank and generally a good idea to place above the plants.

[TheRES74]

@grifloki thanks. I dont know what type my aquarium light is. Could you pleaseee do me a favor by going to by channel and watch my latest video? it has an aquarium light and pls help me see if its ok :) im planning to buy just about 2 small plants.

[grifloki]

@TheRES74 Your missing some things. You need a UVb light, for vitamin D for the turles shells, you need a day time basking light to provide direct heat to the turtles when they get out of the water to help dry them and warm them and optional is a night time basking light as some turtles choose to be out of water at night and need to stay warm. Also ensure as babies your water is in the 80's usually around 85 and when then get older you can put it down in the high 70's or low 80's.

[TheRES74]

@grifloki Yeah i know :( its hard to find them in Singapore. As for the heating of the tank, I do not think its needed because Singapore has a tropical climate. Shops dont even sell ZooMed turtle docks here. I will buy a UVB light soon in about a month's time. Is using plastic plants dangerous for turtles and do I need aquatic plants?

[grifloki]

@TheRES74 well dont worry about docks, make your own out of rocks and you can use a flood lamp if all you can get as long as it makes heat. UVb is the most important one though for growth. Per plants you can use plastic but most turtles will shred them and pull up. I used while they were young and learned the hard way.

[TheRES74]

@grifloki thanks! how can turtles shred plastic plants?

[grifloki]

@TheRES74 they pull the leaves off. THey love to eat plants, and if you buy right ones its great for them as they love veggies too as much as meat , if not plants you can put bell peppers, lettuce, carrots etc. anyways they think the fake plants are real so they pull leaves off, and when they realize they are not real it seems like they get mad, atleast mine will take the rest of leaves off (not eat) and then pull stump out of rocks. I grown real plants in my refugium and harvest for main tank.

[grifloki]

@TheRES74 also, per growing plants you need a buld that is rated for 6100k. The bulb you have in there doesnt seem light it will do the job but you can look at the base of the bulb and maybe it will tell you but if its just a reading light then its doubtful as a 6100k or higher bulb is meant to make day light like outside sunlight.

[chamerjr]

So I take it you have a lot of live plants?  I am curious how you maintain their growth? I just started looking into live plants last night. What else do you use to help maintain clean water? Sorry for picking your brain so much, btw.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr i have a 20 gal long refugium setup that my sump dumps into and then gravity back to main tain. It has about 6 or 7 diff kinds of plants in it, anubus, water grass java moss, etc. Nothing that is toxic to turtles incase a leaf gets sucked into main tank. I also have mollies and tetras as well as a couple alge eaters in there. In main tank I have java moss growing on the platform rocks now as well. In sump I replace the carbon every 4 -5 weeks. I buy carbon from water distributor.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr Its cheaper that way, then I take my wifes half panyhose after she wears them and use as carbon bags, fill to the point of about 12 inches long and 3 inches thick. So wet/dry, refugium, and undergravel water flow keeps it pretty clean and balanced. Havent had any issues in a long time. I think last winter I did a 30% water change just because but nothing was off per ph,nitrate,amonia etc.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr Oh and per growth I buy the following for lighting on refugium. Indoor fllow lamps high efficency. This is the glass floos lamp with a curled florestent inside. You can buy wha tyou want but they are the best and cheap. about 13 bucks. No heat from them and most important generate 6100K (kelvin) which is critical for palnt growth. You can buy 7100 bulbs from fish stores but cost is higher and not much diff usually, unless some very exotic plants. I leave on 24 hours a day in refugium.

[chamerjr]

@grifloki Thanks! I'll try and get it all setup asap and take a video. I got a lot of base ideas from your setup.

[chamerjr]

Grifloki, I'm starting to build this setup and I have some questions. What is the "bio media" under the insulation? Also, are you using standard house insulation? Lastly, what would you estimate your monthly electrical costs on this setup are?

[grifloki]

@chamerjr The media is literally plastic pots and pans scrubbies from grociery store. I bought them on sale for about 10 bucks. I no longer use insulation as I found a cheaper substitute. I now buy large rolls of Polyester Roll Filter, very cheap if bought from right sites online. The costs on this setup maybe 20 bucks a month to run.

[chamerjr]

@grifloki Did you use just a regular household sump or something that's meant to run continuously like a well pump? I bought a 1470 GPH sump for about 80 bucks. It says "not for aquarium use" in the directions, but it says, later, that it will run continuously as the water pumped will cool it.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr I bought a pond pump not a sump pump. Sump pumps need cool water to keep from overheating and generally need to have a break. Sump pumps also tend to heat the water making it hard to keep tank temps correct.

[chamerjr]

@grifloki I hope I'm not too forward in asking how much than cost you? I was really excited that this only cost me $80. lol. Looking online it looks like its gonna go another $200. But frequent water changes on a 90gal tank are out of the question.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr My pump off ebay cost about 50 ish bucks. It is a 1300 GPH. Next build will be a 2500 GPH but 1200 GPH is very good on 90 gallons which is about what I have for total water in the tank. Here is my pump:

Search ebay for "CA 4000 Pump Pond, Aquariums 1300 GPH"

I dont do water changes at all anymore. I put a refugium into the mix and built a bigger sump recently as well as changed the under gravel water flow so stays VERY clean!

[chamerjr]

@grifloki I can't find a good setup for a refugium. Do you have a diagram of your setup that I could get some ideas from? Also, do you have live plants in your main tank? If so, how do you maintain growth? I just started looking into this last night to help diversify the turtles' to be diets.

[grifloki]

@chamerjr I dont have a diagram. Basically i have the 20 gal long tank above my sump on other side of wall. I moved sump and refugium there but if you dont care what it looks like you could do right next to everything. Then drilled a 1.5" hold in side of 20 gal long about 4 inches from top and put bulk head fitting on it. Then a rubber fernco on that then pvc to main tank for return. I pump up from sump to regugium and gravity does the rest. Main tank is just java moss. I had others but eaten.

[Zacattackzak]

Hey mate,

Would you say a 67 gallon tank would do the trick for an Adult Slider?

Cheers.

[grifloki]

@Zacattackzak it depends on its size. for every inch of turtle its 10 gal of water to swim in. So it ghe turtle is fully grown and is 8 inches then its 80 gal of water to swim in so a 100 gal tank would be min or 80 gal filled to top with external swim platform etc

[Boneyman]

Scrubby pads, bio balls, and lava rock. Which one is better for bio filtration?

[grifloki]

@Boneyman i would say bio balls but cost wise scrubby pads. You want soething that you can clean off every 3 - 6 months.

[ReefAdvicer]

you have to switch the drip plate around with the insulation cause it wont drip properly

[grifloki]

@ReefAdvicer I think you missed something in the video. The drip plate is actually 4 inches above the filter media and drips very very evenly. There is a second drip plate below the filter media which is elevated by florescent light grill so about 1/4 inch and that then drips very evenly over the bio media under all that. Please re watch video and pay close attention to each component in the filter.

Thanks!

[pr3ttykitty1337]

won't your turtles eat your guppies or fish? why won't they eat them?

[grifloki]

@pr3ttykitty1337 They sure will but only the slow ones. I have had the same 4 guppies and 5 Tetras and 2 Chinese algae eaters in the tank now for well over a year but if I go and throw in 10 new guppies they are gone in a week or two. The ones that have lasted this long have learned the rules of the tank and are now kind of pets. I stopped gold fish a long long time ago as those are not good to eat and are very dirty in the tank.

[bboysavagerock]

what keeps your water so crystal clear? must be your filter?

i have a rena xp3 canister filter, its very good but obviously not as good as this!

do you condition your water with anything or is it just simply the filter?

and just to confirm, your scrubbies and pond filter pads are the only two filter medias you use?

do having all those guppies and other fish help keep the water clean?

i tried adding a few fish and they just get in the way with feeding the turtles..

thanks for your time

[grifloki]

@bboysavagerock Yeah the filter does it all, sometimes I have to wave my hand over the rocks on bottom to stir up anything tha thas gotten stuck but the current is strong enough and its gone in 5 minutes.

[grifloki]

@bboysavagerock Per filter yeah I have filter media then scrubbies for the live bacteria. IN the sump I have a pantyhose with carbon in it which I change monthly. The minnows and guppies eat the junk that turtles dont, some get eaten but i usualy have 10 always in there that have been in there for a year now. I also have chinese algae eaters, two of them to keep that clean.

[flowerpotproductions]

hey i have a question... how do you know how to build all of this.. like the whole entire filtiring system in the stand like the insulation etc?

did you get it off a site if so what one?

all this stuff seems so confusing.... like the filtering system the syphon sytem in ur 2nd vid and stuff... i wanna get someone to do it for me but i honestly doubt someone would do it

[grifloki]

Just a hobby of mine. Ive always loved aquatic stuff and I love the technical side of things. Its cheaper to build your own stuff and it does just as good if not better than expensive premade systems.

[2278turtle]

your a great turtle owner.

[bryanny]

hey whats up, i watched all your videos and i made something very similar. i just have one question! for the insulation- i went to home depot yesterday ( its a hardware/ lumber store) i thought i could of sworn you said they do not use fiberglass in the insulation- i couldn't find any package that didn't say fiber glass .. what should i do ?

thank you !

[grifloki]

I actually do not use insulation anymore. I only used it before as I was given truck load from old construction where it was nie and old. Being old gave it time to age where all checmicals were gone from time. Now I use Pond Filter Media. You can search google for "Bulk Pond Filter Pads" and you should find the rolls. You can get 25 ft long rolls about 2 fee wide and 1" thick. I cut to fit my filter and they work great. Only about $20 which lasts me 3 - 4 months. So about $50-60 a year.

[bryanny]

thank you! its finally up and running, I really appreciate your help.

[clydelee17371]

WHAT DO THEY EAT ?? PLEASE REPLY

[grifloki]

Mine mostly eat:

water plants like anacharis, water hyacinth, water lettuce, frogbit, hornwort, and duckweed. But I also try dandelions (the ones in your yard are good if there's no pesticides), carrot tops, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, carrots, bell pepper, and squash. They don't always eat the house hold veggies but the water veggies I cant get them enough.

[grifloki]

I still feed the turtle sticks and sometimes and only sometimes freeze dried river shrimp as that is mostly a candy for them and has no nutritional value at all. I keep about 10 - 15 Minnows or Guppies in the tank and replenish every 4 or 5 months. As they get older they are not too interested in meat but will eat on occasion.

[magoo51907]

how did you do the spray jets in the bottem of the tank to kick up the crap i can not figure out how to do it in my setup

[grifloki]

In this setup its just a few pvc pipes with ends capped off and cross drilled holes with 1000 GPH pump hooked to them keeping water moving through rocks. My next build I am going to box the bottom in with acrylic and drill hundreds of holes and have a single supply of 1000 GPH or higher pump to force water through bottom of tank and thus making is rise through the holes up through rocks. I have done on small scale and works great so will be doing in next build.

[magoo51907]

that is not hooked to your return is it because i did that and it worked great untill the power went out and my hole tank filled back in to my filter and then all over the floor do you have that on another pump ?

[grifloki]

In my setup it is hooked to a a pump in sump below. However, to combat the reverse siphon you just need to drill a hole in the return line about 1" below the surface of the water, only needs to be 1/4" or less so that it can suck in air when power goes out and water drops below that hole. I do not put ANY electronics in my water where the turtles are, just a bad mix in my opinion and not natural.

[grifloki]

In my next build i will be building a enclosure in one corner hidden from the turtles and acting like an internal overflow box but only the pump will live in there. This way as long as water is flowing over the edge into it then the pump will pump back into the undergravel system. Power goes out and it will not reverse siphon. I also want to have a few power heads hidden inside the portland cement rocks i am going to build so that they can blast a current in the tank but be movable for servicing

[grifloki]

I have never had issues with pumps but heaters have broken causing issues in the water etc. I have an inline heater for this so the return water to the waterfall is heated to 87* and tank stays about 84* constantly while air is between 85* and 97* depending on time of day.

Thanks!

[untsmurf]

you should fill up your tank more and take advantage of the space.

[grifloki]

Nope, I enjoy the interaction above water and this canopy is not tall enough to keep lights far enough away. them 100 gal of swimming area is fine for now, I will be building a 350 - 400 gal system with beach area for them over next year or so once I build my new house and have more area for the tank. I will be building a 50 gal filtration system with 25 gal refugium for extra cleaning area like marsh does but I an then harvest plants for them to eat etc. This is only a trial/temp setup.Thanks!

[skizzdawg]

Question is that fiberglass wall insulation?

[grifloki]

It is regular Wall insulation but is over 2 years old so has had time for chemicals to dissipate. I got idea from my uncle who has been using it for years in cleaning up ponds from contamination etc. He gets his from demolition of old buildings he does so its older. I use rock wool or filter floss if I have to and cant get insulation from him or rock wool.

[buddyguy1985]

So does the sump flow rate have to equal your return pump flow rate? If so, how do you get them to equalize. So for instance, in your case, your return pump is 1000gph.... is your sump around the same? And how did you get it to be the same?

[grifloki]

You can have a 2000 GPH pump supplying your tank if you want as long as your your siphon pipe is at least 1 1/4" - 1 3/4 - 2". That will handle almost anything you can throw at it in a tank (generally speaking). I basically have pump open full blast and the siphon sucks the water out pretty much as fast as it goes in. In my next design 300+ gallon I will have drilled bottom and a 3" pipe with (3) 1000 GPH pumps in sump area for waterfall and return lines. The sump just has to be large so all the

[grifloki]

water does not get pumped out before siphon gets it back down to bottom. If you had to adjust your flow then you would close off the return line slightly to lessen the return rate so siphon can keep up but if hte siphon is large enough there will be no worries. MOre flow in the end is best so try to go big and have max flow.

[buddyguy1985]

Cool, thanx. That helped me out a lot.

[chyeaaitskristyn]

I must say, this has to be the most bad ass setup ever.

I have a 125 gallon tank in my garage, but I don't have room in the house right now. I would love to do what you did. Is there anywhere to find details on how you built your filter, seems VERY cost effective and efficient. 5 stars my man, great vid, and great build!!

[gom1206]

i bought one turtle a long time ago but its shell got really weak and it died:( do you why that happened?

[Juxtaroberto]

No sunlight (or light bulb) causes Metabolic Bone Disease. They need the ultraviolet light to synthesize vitamin D so that they can use the calcium in their diet.

[2204sandy]

thanks!! do u think i need a filter too?

[Juxtaroberto]

Yeah, of course. Filter, water heater if it gets below 70 for long stretches of time wherever you live, heat bulb, and UV bulb. Taking care of any reptile, especially aquatic ones, is not something to be taken lightly. I don't want to discourage you from this, but I want you to be aware that it's not a stuffed animal, either.

[TattereDX]

Awesome setup. My red eared slider is giving me bad looks atm. I treat her well, but she always deserves better...and she knows it.

[DARKSINS696]

dude¡

very nice that tank but the turtles dont eat the fishes? please answer me

[grifloki]

They have not eaten any as of yet. They ahve nipped once or twice but they are all still there. The fish have lots of nooks to hide in and get away and I keep them well fed with live plants and turtle sticks so they are not oever interested it appears.

[Blondie767]

preaaron try using filter wool it is good.

[reptilefan100]

so does that keep it clean? how do you clean the tank lol :p sorry kinda dumb question

cool vid

[preaaron]

nice set up!!! what else can i use instead of insulation?

[grifloki]

You can use anything like it but need to make sure it wont hurt your animal meaning treated or chemicals in it. The filter floss from pet stores is expensive so you can use wadding from arts and crafts stores if its made of nylon. In the end insulation is the cheapest way to go though and with turtles i change my filter every 4 days so it adds up very quick.

[mclein1097]

I think 20 gallons tank is enough for my 4 one and a half year old turtle,is it ok??if not what is its minimum and maximum???

[grifloki]

I can say 20 gallons is not enough. The way you determine the tank size is for every inch of turtle its 10 gallons of water. So if your turtle is 3 inches then they need 30 gallons. If you have two turtles that are 3 inches each in length then you need 60 gallons of water. My tank is just the right size but when they get bigger over next few years it wont be, so my next setup is going to be a 250 gallon. Only if turtle is under an inch (baby) should you put less water in until they get strong.

[grifloki]

This video is in response to requests for details on my turtle tank setup. There is 3 in this series in all.