Doing Up A Turtle Enclosure

[Ryefish]

We have a turtle enclosure at college that i have been working on making nicer over the past few months. Weve installed a new filter to improve the water condition for the turtles, added new heat lamps on the dry area and new light tubes around the edge.
I have a picture from before I started. This is taken at the left end of the enclosure

..its not very appealing to the eye lol.

Plans are to remove the current gravel and put a more natural looking and smoother gravel down, create a waterfall in the corner (top right on the pic) out of rocks glued together (mammoth task), add a ramp out of wood or rocks so the turtles can actually get out of the water lol, and to give them somewhere to hide.

The other students have also suggested real plants. I have found it rather difficult to find some that are turtle friendly. I have read that turtles won't really eat Java Fern so im going to try and get hold of some and a few pieces of bogwood to tie it to, and have it sitting on the shelves at the top of the pond where the plastic plants are.
It would be nice if we could also have some plants on the 'dry' part of the enclosure aswell, potted and hidding under gravel or rocks, but we need suggestions on what would be safe.

The turtles currently in there are a Soft Shelled Turtle, 2 Map Turtles and an Asian Leaf Turtle. Nothing else lives in there with them.
the inhabitants:

Any suggestions and ideas would be greatly appreciated
Im on summer holidays at the minute, but my tutor has to go in and feed the animals every day so im tempted to just go up there for a day every other week and do some work on it all

 

[Azeron]

Remove all the fake stuff, put some soft sand in instead or soil (if you can) add some plants (if they won't eat them) and make there ''mini'' pond blend in more also the red border doesn't mix, try adding a printed border or something with rocks on

 

[lordofthesea]

maybe some caves or something where they can hide and some leafy plants? bamboo or something maybe? it's easy to grow and animals do eat it...

 

[Ryefish]

I was thinking of those cork tunnels that you can get for somewhere to hide, what do you recon?

The enclosure was set up the 16yr olds which is where all the psychodelic things come from lol.
We were thinking about sand but werent sure as the turtles would be coming out of the water wet and it would just stick all over them. Substrate is definately something we want to change though

I didnt think about the red border ill have to find something to cover it over.

 

[rlhirth]

i would really watch the soft shell... they are not recommened to be kept with other turtles... it can get damage to its shell very easily... and as it grows can become VERY aggressive... and if its a female will need alot more room... Looks to be a chinese soft shell to me...

i have a florida soft shell male (males are alot smaller) in a 75 gallon tank to himself and i have been looking into a 150 gallon...

so just keep this in mind...

 

[Ryefish]

they just stay out of the way of each other he was being kept in a plastic storage container before we got him so its better than that. I dont know if he will stay or go, but its not up for me to decide. he has only been there a few months, the others have been around for years