I painted all of the wood with Rustoleum Leather Brown gloss paint to protect from water damage. I would prefer a satin finish, but I wanted long lasting protection from splashes and spills. I chose brown so it would blend in with our other furniture and make the colors in the tank really stand out. I painted the back of the tank with blue Krylon spray paint.
I removed all of the pea gravel so the 80 gallon tank will stay cleaner. Turtles are just too messy for gravel. I potted the plants using washed river rocks from Lowes and dirty filter pads for the nutrients. There are some larger river rocks on the bottom along with a few pieces of slate and had to buy the paint ($13) and plants ($15). Everything else, I had on hand to build the basking area and decorate the tank which I designed and Clint built. I am going to replace the white PVC with black to protect the heater. This is the only way I have found in nearly 30 years of keeping turtles to keep them from breaking the heater. It has worked great.
Our turtle Magalie and plecostomas Tank are happy in their new home. We have two smaller turtles named Pinecone and Fluttershy in the tank too, but they are not very visible in the picture.
Psalm 100 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship theLord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.
