Habitat - Indoor :: Filter questions

[twdc2]

Hey all, first off I wanted to say that this forum has given me a lot of ideas on how to improve on my turtle tank. I got 2 RES's from my brother along with a 40 gallon size tank. He only had the tank filled up quarter way, and I am planning on filling the whole entire tank up with water. The only filtration system that he had was a Fluval (don't remember the model number) but it has only 2 sponges (one on each side) and basically filtered mechanical. Also he only had a head lamp and a regular bulb that lighted up the tank. Both the turtles are doing fine without the UVB/UVA light, however I am trying to improve their living quarters so I will pick up a UVA/UVB bulb. I am in the process of building an ATBA, new equiptment (filter, lightning, heater), and new decor for the tank. I purchased a Marineland Penguin Power 350 GPH and also a Fluval U4 underwater filter. Would the two mixed together be too much filtration for the tank? Or should I just use the Marineland and also the old Fluval that only took out the mechanical? Any tips/suggestions would be grateful. Thanks!

[VeipaCray]

You cannot over filter your tank. (well technically you can, but the only negative is you waste a few dollars a year on your power bill) Do you have a test kit to test for ammonia nitrite and nitrate? Two turtles produce and awful lot of bioload and need some heavy duty filtration to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels at 0. The test kit, your eyes and nose will tell you if your filters are keeping up. The water should have no detectable odor, should be crystal clear and ammonia and nitrite should stay at 0 once the tank is cycled.

Combined, the marineland power penguin and the fluval U4 will be close to their limit for filtering a single turtle in a 40 gallon tank These two filters combined will be fine if your turtles are small juveniles. They will outgrow these filters and that 40 gallon tank quickly. Most turtle keepers on this forum will opt for a large canister filter over HOB or submersible filters.

If you're serious about keeping RES the least expensive option in the long run is to bite the bullet and buy the large canister filter now. I know they seem expensive, but when you buy multiple smaller filters that take expensive media and the turtles keep outgrowing them... the large canister becomes more economical.

[VeipaCray]

Oh, and welcome to the forum!!! Post some pics of your new turtles if you can, we'd love to see them. Thanks!!!

[twdc2]

Ah okay, thanks for your input VeipaCray. The only reason why I got the HOB is because the tank is located on the bottom level of the shelf. And from my understanding is that the canister filters needs to be lower than the actual tank in order for the gravity to feed the water back and forth (correct me if I am wrong). The RES are about 5 years old now, don't know if they will actually grow any larger than that. Are the test kits the same from the fish tank test kits? The water that is actually in the tank will be crystal clear for about 2 weeks and it starts getting green and you can actually smell the aroma that the turtles give off ( then that's when I actually change out the water ). I just might need to get a larger tank and also a new shelf in order to hold up the tank. It's currently sitting on the gorilla shelf that I purchased from costco a few years back....

[twdc2]

Thanks for the welcome! I will surely post some pictures and the progress of the ATBA build. I am gathering most of the stuff this coming thursday! =)

[VeipaCray]

Even if you have the canister sitting next to the tank with short hoses... they usually work fine.

The test kits are the same as the fish test kits - just make sure its a freshwater and not saltwater test kit. You also want a liquid drop based one like the ones made by API or Salifert. The multi-test dip strips are completely inaccurate and worthless.

Yeah you should be able to go much longer than 2 weeks with the proper filtration. I maintain my filters monthly out of habit, but I could easily go 4-6 months with no odor, crystal clear water and ammonia/nitrite at 0.

[twdc2]

So it looks like I don't have room for a canister style type. Do you think 2 marineland penguin 350 will have sufficient filtration for the turtles?

[PridgNYC]

I'm up to 3 1/2 months on my FX5 now on the 75 gallon, haven't touched the filter yet, and water is crystal clear with no odor.

VeipaCray didn't say you couldn't use a canister, as he said most will work pretty well even if they are alongside the tank. I think the most important consideration is that you want to keep the top of the canister lid below the top of the water level. The FX5 recommends a minimum 7.8 inches from the top of the water to the top of the filter. I'm not saying to get the FX5 since I don't know how many inches it is from the top of your water to the floor, but you should be able to find a canister filter that will work within your space constraints even if you have to push it a little.