Caution when using slate in your tanks!

[jacquisunderland]

I feel such an idiot and I might be stating the obvious but I just want to warn other owners so the same doesnt happen to them. I have had large chunks of slate in my main 5 ft tank which I inherited from a rescue.. the turtles seem to love them.. using them to climb onto the basking areas and to lie on, popping they heads out of the water without actually getting out. Although I've always tried to be careful when handling them, I got complacent and accidently dropped one while cleaning them out.. cant tell what I called myself!!! Now I've got a crisis.. despite my best efforts at the moment I cant find a replacement tank big enough and I cant afford to buy a new one.. got all 5 of my turtles in a 4 ft tank and having to clean them out every day..my pennance for being a numpty!.. mind you the only little boy in the group thinks christmas has come early, hes got his own hareem! So if you posess anything rather heavy and have a glass tank take heed.. get rid at the first opportunity because its only a matter of time before it happens to you.. I said to myself I would be careful and if I'm careful it wont happen to me.. gona have to get couple of cheap smaller tanks till I can get big tank again...

[Turtle Rescue UK]

Sorry to here about this.

We all have problems, my filter leaked when i was on holiday and i left my parents to see to my turtles when i was on holiday.

They had no idea of what to do. I made them phone up Wayne, as he is always around to give advice. (thanks again Wayne). When i came back the room stunk and the tank was so dirty you couldn't even see a 1inch into it.

At least your turtles didn't have to put up with a dirty tank.

Hey try and look on the positive side of things, you and your turtles are all OK, and no one got hurt.

Dan

[wayne020668]

hi Jackie, there is a site called "freecycle" that offers people the chance to recycle things from cups to cars and it costs nothing to join or use... one mans trash is another mans fortune etc... basically if you have something to get rid of you would place an ad saying "OFFERED" but once joined you can ask for something "WANTED" hence a large fish tank... you will need to join your local one so for anyone reading this then if you live in Liverpool then you would join "FREECYCLE LIVERPOOL" etc... and read the terms and conditions but its cool... if you see something you want then just reply to the e-mail saying can i have this please... collect it and say thank you... it's all free, we have got so many new or nearly new tanks from here and things we could sell to raise a buck for the centre... yeah i know but when the needs must... we have even got stuff by simply replying to an "OFFERED" e-mail simply saying can we have this please and sold it to raise much needed funds here OR TO GET WANT WE WANTED.. FINALLY WE DON'T USE GRAVEL OR SLATE HERE AS WE HAVE DONE THE SAME AS YOU... and gravel only offers any tank the chance to harbor uneaten foods or waste that will harm any tank set up for the novice keepers or even health problems to any turtle / terrapin if not maintained properly, but as a last resort you could have your tank double skinned, this means you can take your tank to a glass maker to have the damage section repaired or replaced and this is sometimes very cheap depending on where you live etc... just a thought...

hope this helps you and all our members... ;D

regards Wayne..

[jacquisunderland]

Thanks Wayne I'll give it a go...and I'll keep you all posted.. I've tried the local Ad- Trader and Gumtree, other than being too small, there was a fab tank I would have loved 8ft x 2.5ft x 2ft for £125!, I considered getting rid of my dining room table but I wouldnt have been able to carry it!! .. Could you use the lump of slate for your outdoor ponds, if so I'll send you it x

[turtlegirl]

Been there too. in my case it was just a small pebble barely 2in diameter that rolled off a table, bounced and crashed right in the middle of my tank smashing the bottom. A few suggestions
1. try Gumtree and Ebay for free and very cheap tanks. Got two 4ft tanks plus stand for £70 on Ebay!
2 it may be possible torepair the tank by placing a piece of glass cut to te interior measurements of the tank and glueing it onto the cracked bottom Make sure you use AQUARIUM GRADE silicon from petshops or Ebay to stick it on . Don't use use ordinary bathroom sealant as it contains toxic substances to prevent mould which will slowly dissolev into the water
3. 5 turtles in a 4ft tank isn't that bad.You should be able to keep the water quality acceptable without daily water changes. Try using the filters from both tanks together in it. This will also keep the good bacteria that metabolise waste alive. Without a constant flow of water, these bacteria will die in a day or two and it takes a few weeks for them to grow back again inside the filter medium.

[jacquisunderland]

Cheers Turtlegirl.. a dont feel such a looney to know am not the only one.. I'll try adding the other filter if a can fit it in..lol x

[neilb]

Repair the tank (remarkably easy to do), and only ever do maintenance on a full tank as the water will take the worst of any force from dropping something.

Turtlegirl - decent grade bathroom silicone is perfectly safe once cured, especially as it will be under the glass and the water will be (should be!) having regular partial changes, it just takes longer to fully cure and isn't quite as strong as aquarium grade silicone so is unsuitable for tank making.

Five turtles in a 4ft tank being ok or not depends on the other two dimentions of the tank (you can have 4ft tanks ranging from 100 - 400 litres of water!), and the size of the turtles, but it's definitely not a long-term solution, and needs a well set up filtration system to keep the water quality decent.

"Acceptable" isn't a word that should be used for water quality, and daily water changes will do more harm than good.