Red Earned turtle

Question
I am trying to have the best enviroment for my turtles, should I have rocks, sand, or what types of things should I have in my tank?

Answer
Assuming the basic cares are rock-solid (food, light, water quality, etc.), the tank decor is rather unimportant to the turtle.

The issues to consider are:

1. Cleanliness. What substrate (floor liner) lets you keep the  tank the cleanest and is easiest to clean?

2. Health and Safety, Related to cleanliness, but also looking at things like how likely is it to be eaten or to harm the turtles?

3. Encourages natural behaviors in the turtles.

OK- in general, the comclusions most keepers reach are:

Substrate: pea-sized gravel. Relatively cheap, hard for the turtle to eat (like they can with sand), easier to clean than sand, and looks pretty good.

Land/basking surfaces: smooth rock, driftwood, or good quality imitations. Good looks, tough surfaces, natural materials that are easy for the turtles to grip and climb. Rock holds heat well for basking. Can be expensive and hard to work with however.

Cover: Plants or other materials can be used to create shady areas, cooler spots, hide-a-ways, caves, and so on. Turtles like the sun and light, but also like being able to find hidden places and cooler spots.

The fun part of this is that none of it should interfere with free swimming space or cleanliness.

You CAN go minamalistic if you want- nothing on the ground, a couple nice basking rocks secured to the wall, and a couple potted aquatic plants for cover and shade. The turtles won't care much, but it looks funny to most visitors.