Posted: Wed Feb 19, 2014 1:07 am Filter Ideas?
I have a big 150 gallon tank half filled in my basement that I keep my male and female red ear slider along with some pond fish. Just as some background I got the male about 4-5 years ago from a fish auction. My Dad attended it and this guy was selling 4 turtles, and brought one home. He was small and is still 5 inches with a slightly deformed shell, most likely from his fungal infection on the shell (covered a third of his shell), but that disappeared within a week or two with some Sulfa-Dip and a basking spot. The female is 8 inches and got her from the Humane society for $5 CAD, and had her for 2 years, with this summer being her 3rd year with me. Again, she had an infection (shell rot), but managed to fix that with no evident scar. They go out in the pond in summer, but in winter they come indoors into the 150 gal. The problem is, the dinky little internal filters clog up fast, and I clean them and the water once a week. However, with a recent injury I have been failing to keep up with this demand, and the tank starts to stink. I need new filtration, and was thinking of two things. Either a canister filter, DIY or bought, or a DIY wet/dry or trickle filter. However, this tank sits directly on the floor, and is not exactly too level either. Plus, the tank is 18 inches tall, but with only 9ish inches of water, I worry a canister filter that's too tall might not work well, and a trickle filter would have to be above the tank unless their is another way. With this in mind, please tell me which route I should take?
