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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

What is the best and cheapest way to make a pond for my aquatic turtles?

Ok, I have two adult red eared sliders. I was given them by a friend who couldnt keep them. I upgraded there tank to a 50 gallon, but they smell bad! I really like them and cant afford 15 bucks a week in filters. I thought it would be cool to build them a pond in the back yard. Does anyone know the cheapest and best way to make my little guys a nice outside home? Is using pond liner a good idea? What about a filter? Will they run away?

What is the best and cheapest way to make a pond for my aquatic turtles?
I have a water turtle that lives in my front water pond. the pond has liner and my turtle seems really happy in it. I have a filter that the water runs through before it is recycled.I recommend a small shelf for your guys to sit on if they are like normal turtles and like to lounger around. the filter helps to keep the water from becoming stagnic. if you make the sides of your pond at an slope the turtles will not be able to climb out. I have large stepping stones on the top side to keep everything in its spot. when you are done setting up the pond you can do some landscaping around the outer edges with plants or whatever you may want.
Reply:i,ve seen this done on t.v., dig a nice size hole, more wider than deep. then put a plastic tarp which can be purchased at any hardware store over the hole. then get some dirt and cover the plastic around the hole with dirt to make the pond blend into the ground around it. i would put some rocks for the turtles to climb on in to the middle of the pond. go to a store that has fish aquariums and get one of those pumps with a filter and put it


the water but onto the side so it won,t fall over. i,ve seen places that actually specialize in pond building that have everything needed for ponds, even the fish, rocks and trees around the out side. if you,re worried about them crawling out


put up a fence about 10 in. high or higher around the perimeter. have fun with your easy hobby !!
Reply:I made one for the kids turtle years ago using their wading pool. It was quite large,10 feet in diameter with about an 18 inch side wall. I divided it into three areas using stones gravel and sand. I built a swimming area, underwater cave (so he could hide from cats), a beach, another cave to get out of the sun and a big shovel full of cat tails to make him feel at home. As far as maintenance, all I did was siphon the water out and refill once a week in the summer. In the winter he lived smaller version in the basement. I would compare price to a pond liner, but my guess is they're cheaper. If I was to do it again I would dig it in and landscape and garden around it. We kept it two summers and one winter, then one morning it was gone. I told my grief stricken daughter it decided to go back home to the river but it was probably a coyote or raccoon. RScott



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