Red Eared Slider upgrade | Leopard Geckos | Page 1

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 12:38 AM

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Okay sooooo im upgrading my RES to a 300 gallon Stock tank!! And I wanna make sure my info is accurate

FX6 filter will be the filter for the tank I’ve been told it still works even if it isn’t directly below the tank, it just needs to be lower than the tank

Water heating wise, peachy suggested the jager 300 watts! Since it’s a big tank I’ll start with 4, 1 on each corner
Peach also suggested I build a protector for each one out of egg crate panels!! I talked to my dad and he’s gonna help me:3

I plan to use these grow lights: https://www.chewy.com/arcadia-reptile-jungle-dawn-led-bar/dp/1364486

Will they be enough?

And for bulbs I’ll be using 2x 100 watts to start, I may have to up or lower them depending on how well temps r reached

UVB will be decided upon once we see how close the chain light fixture will be to the tank

Andddddddd lastly, basking spot!! I was planning on rocks but I’m wondering if a hand made basking platform would be more efficient?

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@rain reef !!!

sturdy fable Feb 13, 2026, 12:50 AM

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watching and note taking myself BooNoted

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 12:52 AM

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holy fuck thats bigger than mine i wish i could fit that in the reptile room

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 12:53 AM

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YEYEYE

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 12:53 AM

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rain reef holy fuck thats bigger than mine i wish i could fit that in the reptile room

BSGSHAHAH THANK YOU
It was gonna be 270 but someone recommended the stock over an above ground pond which I originally had
And I was like
Eh might as well do 300

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We have an open area in our basement where we can put it

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 12:56 AM

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so for the fx6 all you need to do is just put it next to the tank. as long as the output and input are higher than the canister youre all good

you can probably start with one heater first, see where that gets you temp wise bc you may not need all 4. im currently only running 1 on my 100gal, but thats literally just a precaution for water changes bc slider temps dont actually need to be all that high compared to reptiles, and remember that you have a heat lamp thatll be putting in some work too

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btw choose black egg crate unless you dont mind visually seeing how disgusting the white one gets lmfao

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 12:57 AM

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BAHAH OKAY BET ty

My basement is around 68-70 degrees rn which is where she’ll be going
So u think 1 300 watt is enough for that?

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I can always buy more ofc

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 12:58 AM

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maybe 2? res only really need temps of 75-78

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 12:58 AM

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And 100 watts is good for 2 bulbs?

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Okay bet I’ll just put 2 down

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And see how it goes

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 12:59 AM

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how are you planning your basking spot?

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bc youll 100% be diying

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 1:00 AM

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I was in between building a basking platform

Or using rocks

Rocks ofc would have to be sealed to each other
I just didn’t know if they’d take up too much room

A platform I’d have to get my dads help and even he’s not the craftiest of guys so idk how well we’ll dooooo

So I’m debating between those 2 options

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I also def wanna get a large branch for her to chill on from outside, cuz we have a lot of good branches I’ve been using for my other reptiles

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 1:08 AM

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agile lintel I was in between building a basking platform Or using rocks Rocks ofc would h...

with how high it can be its gonna be tough to find rocks large enough to build a good basking area

my platform is literally a bin turned upside down and a slab of cement

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what you can try is get some pvc piping and build a structure, then line a lighterweight platform with slate or thin flagstone

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either way you go, 300gals is way above minimum so youre safe to take up whatever room you need

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just be mindful of how shes gonna climb up

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 1:53 AM

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rain reef with how high it can be its gonna be tough to find rocks large enough to build a...

That’s what I was thinking
I have
6?? Rocks about a foot- foot an a half each
But i doubt those would be enough, might be a good addition to a bask platform tho for natural purposes

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 1:53 AM

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rain reef either way you go, 300gals is way above minimum so youre safe to take up whateve...

GAYAY OKAY

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ty

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How would I attach the flag stone and pvc piping…

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Would it need a platform underneath

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 2:05 AM

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yeah id say so

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or depending on the strength of the pvc you can just stack it

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 2:08 AM

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Okay okay lemme look up videos to see if I can find stuff! Tysm!!!

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 2:28 AM

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Okay okay so I’ll need like
Zip ties
PVC pipes
Andddd Egg crate panels

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I’ll prolly do a double line of egg crate panels just to be secure

rain reef Feb 13, 2026, 2:32 AM

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and sand paper or a file bc anywhere you clip the egg crate is gonna need to be hella sanded down

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it gonna be sharp

agile lintel Feb 13, 2026, 2:36 AM

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Ah gotcha we have files already

agile lintel Apr 19, 2026, 8:08 PM

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Copying this here cus I’m too lazy to rewrite everything again

I’m going to be working on building my red eared basking spot platform today, and I wanted some guidance!

I’m going the Egg crate panel + PVC pipe method, but I REALLY want to add some rocks on to the top of the basking platform so she’ll be able to absorb more natural heat from the platform, and be able to gain better belly heat

I have spray foam to keep it place, as well as silicone adhesive, the rocks I’m using are Bio dudes Texas Flag stone, so a more RELATIVELY light weight rock

I would absolutely love for this to work cus I want her to have a more natural basking platform but I wanna make sure I get the extra measures to be able to stabilize it properly, currently I have 4 standing pvc poles, 2 on the back and 2 on the front, my sisters boyfriend who is helping me says it may be beneficial to get a clip to clip the platform to the side of the bin or alternatively drill the platform into the bin and screw it in (although I’m VERY worried about that cracking the material)

What are y’all’s thoughts, lemme know if I need to clarify anything / send pictures

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@rain reef I hope ur okay with pings </3 pls tell me if not! I’m sorry!

rain reef Apr 19, 2026, 9:16 PM

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yeah honestly it sounds good. pvc base would make it stable enough to hold a rock but you should in fact find a way to secure the whole thing to the side

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turtles are little bulldozers

agile lintel Apr 19, 2026, 9:19 PM

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YEA THEY R FRRR
do you think a like, clasp would be better? I know screw it in would be more secure but I’m so paranoid the bin will crack

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Lemme see if I have a picture of what the bin looks like

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Whatever material THIS is, idk I FEEL like it would crack if we drilled it?? But maybe not??

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Currently I have the plan that the back end of the pvc pipe will be hung over the edge of the bin and the front pipes will be in the sand

rain reef Apr 19, 2026, 10:05 PM

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if you dont wanna use a screw (i wouldnt either bc rust risk) you can just have someone help drill the holes and use zipties

regardless its not going to crack, and even if it does it wont be significant

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just make sure youre drilling the flat surface and not the curved lip of the tub

agile lintel Apr 19, 2026, 10:49 PM

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Okay! Wonderful!!! Thank you so much, I have PLENTY of zip ties, I bought so many so that’s good to know, def won’t be using screws

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And drylok painted over the spray foam and silicone adhesive will be good?

rain reef Apr 19, 2026, 11:52 PM

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i cant actually speak to that, i dont have much experience doing aquatic scapes for turtles + whats safe

my slider is a notorious silicone eater

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sunfish will prob know

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@hollow lynx

agile lintel Apr 20, 2026, 2:19 PM

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Ah gotcha gotcha

#Red Eared Slider upgrade