Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: So New at This - Let's Get Started

[OrganicRusty]

Okay, as stated in he subject, this is all very new to our family. We adopted two RES (each about 6-7 inches) in a bare bones set up of a 50 gallon glass tank, with gravel and a ExoTerra FX-200 filter, UV light and heat lamp, and a suction-cup sun deck. Before I go too far, I'm a DIY kind of guy so I'm happy for that type of advice. Well, less than one week in I've learned a lot - such as our current setup stinks horribly. What I know - get rid of the gravel and go bare-bottom, upgrade the filter to something rated for 150 gallons, and focus the filter on the biological filtration. To add to that, I am planning on building an on-top-of-tank basking deck so the turtles can get all the way out (currently they can;t seem to get out of the water) and so that I can utilize the full 50 gallon capacity of the tank (currently only filled 15 gallons).

Where my knowledge really lacks is in the filter. I'm reading up on all this but would like to hear recommendations for a what filter and name brands are best for my set up. Any luck with sand filters? Sump filtration. My main goal is to control oder while providing the best water quality for the turtles.

Thanks for any advice.
Rusty

[steve]

Welcome to the site! First, figure out the turtle genders. If there is male in the mix, then you will need to look at rehoming one the turtles or find a way to keep them physically separated. Pool filter sand is a pretty popular choice for a substrate. As far as I know, odor is not a real big issue with any decent filtration. With 2 turtles, you will be needing a canister filter. Fluval FX5 and FX6 are probably the best values for powerful filters. There are also generic brands like an Odyssea from aquatraders.

[OrganicRusty]

Thanks for the recommendation on canister filters. Would it make sense to dedicate the new canister filter to biological and physical filtering, and my existing too-weak filter to chemical by filling it with carbon and other control medium? Or would this be overkill. I removed the gravel and started doing regular partial water changes (just using the shop vac to suck out 8 gallons at a time), both of which seems to have helped with the odor.

Any recommendations on building a sand filter? I saw one video that used a glass pasta cooker cylinder that sat in the tank, but it was intended for fish. Do sand filters work well for turtles?

Thanks again.
Rusty

[steve]

Most "made for turtles" products are junk, especially hardware. As far as running 2 filters... I probably wouldn't bother. I don't know what a sand filter is and how it would be used in an aquarium. Would it be a prefilter?

[OrganicRusty]

Sand Filter - also called a fluidized bed filter - uses sand instead of bio"chunks" (ceramic, sponges, etc) for which to grow the bacteria on.

Update - the horrible stink is back. I thought I had it under control, but am realizing it may have been do to the tank running cool. The heater broke so the tank was running at blow 70 deg for a few days until I got a new heater. Now that it's back up at 78 deg it's smelling horrible again. Still have not settled on a better filter yet, but am thinking of just buying a cheap canister filter until I can build my own better one.

[Kansasslider]

I like the FX6 filter myself. As you can see in my SIG. As for water changes you should do 50% once a week. Are you using carbon ? It might help with the smell but I think a large 50% water change might do the trick as well. I also don't know much about fluidized filters other than what I have read. Their claims are interesting thought. Here is a link so everyone can read about fluidized filters.
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com ... ilter.html

[OrganicRusty]

Can’t seem to get rid of the smell. I am doing 25-50% water changes every couple of days and cleaning the filter, which gives a day or two of no smell. But then back it comes with a vengeance. Finally settled on a Cascade 1200 canister filter rated for 150 gallons – comes on Monday with lots of hope it will address the smell. I'm hoping this will hold me over until I can design my own. The design I'm toying with is a 5 gallon bucket fluidized sandbed filter. Still just in design mode, but I’m thinking of filling a 5 gallon bucket half full with pool sand, followed by a layer of some sort of filter foam or bio-glass to keep the sand in place and improve surface area, and then maybe some polishing medium to remove any odor. On top of that I’m trying to figure out how I might place the return pump so it sits in the bucket. Challenge is getting the power cord out such that the bucket will still remain sealed. I’m thinking a gravity siphon feed, but am not sure there would be enough water pressure through the sand bed. More research is needed. I could always position the pump to push water through, but that would require a stronger pump to push the filter and the head back up to the tank (about 3 feet). Any DIY gurus out there with advice?

[Kansasslider]

Your water shouldn't smell. Do you suction the waste out of your gravel? Do you have a fresh water test kit? You could just be cycling the tank over and over with cleaning the filter and water changes. But it still shouldn't stink.

[OrganicRusty]

Good to know it shouldn't stink. Hopeful the filter upgrade will help a lot. Tank is bare bottom. Don't have the fresh water kit, but sounds like I may need one. Learning as we go.

[steve]

Since the sand filter will be separate, I guess it can work though most of us just use a canister with rings.

What are you feeding the turtles and how much? I haven't had real issues with smell and I don't change my water as frequently as some of the others. The bigger the tank, the more water you have, and the better filter you have will reduce smells and maintenance. Do you know their genders?

[ljapa]

Any chance you have a blue green algae problem? That can cause an odor. I know from experience.

I'm not sure you'll get the advantages of a fluidized sand filter with the five gallon bucket system you've described. As I understand it, the fluidized sand filters need lots of suspended sand.

If you're a DIYer, look into refugiums. I've got a 55 gallon tank with an FX6 as well as an overflow into a three chambered refugium made from a cheap 55 gallon I picked up used. The first section has more than twice the biomedia of the FX6, the second grows plants that suck up nitrate and feed my turtle as well as red cherry shrimp for treats, with the return pump in the third section.

I grow Anacharis and duckweed in here refugium. The duckweed sucks up nitrates and is great food, high in calcium.

[OrganicRusty]

Problem solved. It was definitely the filter being too small. The folks I inherited the turtles and system from must of had the filter from when they were much smaller turtles. Bigger turtles = bigger poops. I added a Cascade 1200 rated for 150 gallons with biorings and upped my water to 40 gallons (in a 50 gallon tank). Also added a hanging PVC basking area and now the turtles are happy and the stink gone.

I feed my turtles in their tank with pellets. I only feed once per day and just enough that they eat it all before it breaks down. I'm trying them on fruits/veggies by placing it on their basking platform, but so far they seem to not touch it. I also added 20 feeder fish as we were leaving on vacation for a few days and wanted to make sure they had something to eat. They only ate about 5 fish, mainly because they were hard for them to catch with all that volume of water. Need to train them to eat in a separate area, but one of the RES is very shy and skittish.

[steve]

Try using some lettuce with a veggie clip.