Answers to Your Questions: Indoor Water Bassin for Turtles

Question

I want to create a water garden in the house for my two fish and my turtle. I would like some advice and details about equipment, the pump and filter, and cleaning products.

Answer

There is nothing very complicated about creating an indoor water feature, except that the lower light levels will greatly reduce your choice of plants. Water lilies, water hyacinths and water lettuce, which are typical of outdoor water gardens, struggle to survive indoors, unless a very powerful lighting system is added. Instead, use semi-aquatic tropical green plants such as dwarf papyrus (Cyperus alternifolius) and aquarium plants, many of which, such as anubias (Anubias barteri) and Java moss (Vesicularia dubyana), tolerate low lighting.

The tank itself can be a tub, a half-barrel or a pre-formed tank. As it will probably be relatively small, aquarium pumps and filters sold in pet shops will be suitable; you should give the sales assistant an idea of the volume of your tank or at least its dimensions so that they can suggest suitable models. As the light will inevitably be low, there should be few algae problems, which will greatly reduce maintenance and also eliminate the need to use products to control their proliferation.

Find out about the specific needs of turtles! They may require a more powerful filter, water heating, and a UVB lamp in some cases. A partial water change from time to time is essential for a clean environment, especially in an indoor water tank.

Beware!

Be careful, however, of the water jets, which always cause splashing. This is acceptable in the open air, but not always desirable in the house. Finally, you will of course need to provide a fixed or floating platform for your turtle, as well as a barrier to prevent it from escaping.

You will find that a water garden in the house is particularly easy to maintain and will give you years of pleasure.

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Larry Hodgson published thousands of articles and 65 books in the course of his career, in both French and English. His son, Mathieu, has made it his mission to make his father’s writings accessible to the public. This text was originally published in Le Soleil on March 3, 2007.