Turtle cliff

[Philcw]

Thinking of getting one of these when i get my turt...

Any views on these?
I know they have a small filter in them but i will be using a proper separate one anyway.

They seem great to me, nice looking, practical etc...

[Graham]

A waste of money TBH! But if you're going to use a seperate filter anyway what's the point?

[Philcw]

I just think they look aesthetically pleasing lol
And look great for giving some land mass in a tank...

[scots_pine]

Originally Posted by Philcw

I just think they look aesthetically pleasing lol
And look great for giving some land mass in a tank...

Get yourself a big piece of cork bark - I've got a piece wedged in to a side of my tank and it gives a land area of just over 1ft x 1.5ft square.

My turts appreciate it and it looks natural

Also, as much as the turtle cliff will give land mass, it will also take away a good piece of swimming space - this isn't an issue with cork bark.

Furthermore, the height of the largest available would leave you with approximately a foot of water depth. Most turtles would appreciate more than this and depending on the size of your tank, this water depth may not allow you to run an external filter.

Edit: I also can see from the pictures that the filter comes out on to a slide ledge where a turtle could potentially sit - a wet basking area is a no no and could only cause complications in the future. They need to be able to get completely dry.

[Graham]

I agree, I use corkbark myself, it's cheap and looks natural, you can plant stuff in it, and because it's a shelf rather than a solid chunk it doesn't reduce the water volume.

If you really wanted something like this though you could get a few pieces of thick slate or similar stone, and just silicone them together into the size and shape you require, cheaper, more natural looking, and made to fit your tank.

[annsimpson1]

I can understand them needing to get dry but surely in the wild they'd be sitting on mud so would probably never get dry totally, mine have both the means to sit partially in the water and totally out of it but from photo's I've seen they don't like leaving the water's edge which would be permanently wet from them dragging water out and the water lapping the area. I assume then that as long as they do have a dry area a slightley wet one would be ok as well, plus they always jump back into the water at the slightest disturbance so rarely get dry anyway.

[scots_pine]

Still water is fair enough but running water isn't exactly ideal.

[cooljules]

Originally Posted by annsimpson1

I can understand them needing to get dry but surely in the wild they'd be sitting on mud so would probably never get dry totally, mine have both the means to sit partially in the water and totally out of it but from photo's I've seen they don't like leaving the water's edge which would be permanently wet from them dragging water out and the water lapping the area. I assume then that as long as they do have a dry area a slightley wet one would be ok as well, plus they always jump back into the water at the slightest disturbance so rarely get dry anyway.

mine like to be totally out so everything is dry

yes they slide straight back in but with time and t rust all mine will stay out so you can sit next to them in the pond and fine

[Philcw]

A foot depth is fine as the turts im looking at putting it in with will either be african helmeted or musk so fairly small species anyway...

Thats why i considered this cliff thing, i mean the main worry i had was that as the filter is internal, it could be a potential breeding ground for a fair bit of bacteria...