Habitat - Indoor :: Filtration, new tank

[Cyndera]

Hi all --

I adopted my two RES from an ex-coworker about 3 years ago; she got them when they were just hatchlings, so I assume that they are about three years old now. By now I think that Blinky is male and Bubbles is female ... Bubbles is about 7", Blinky about 5.5". I tried to determine their sex otherwise as well, but they make it difficult *lol*. They look pretty much the same down there, and I don't see significant differences in the length of their claws.

I recently moved, and now it's time to upgrade tank as well. The one I got is about 55 gallons, and way too small by now.
I intend to purchase a new tank within the next few weeks, and I'd love some suggestions on the proper size.

Also, for some reason I started having trouble with filtering the water. I have been using a Cascade 700 Canister Filter, which used to work just fine. It's working fine in regards to pumping etc, but still, the water gets dirty really quickly, resulting in me having to change it every three days. I bought a Aquatop IFE-30 Internal Filter w/ Spray Bar, and now I am running both filters ... still, the results are mediocre at best. I did not change their diet; the only thing that is different is the gravel.

Any ideas/suggestions re the filtration issue and the correct size of a new tank are appreciated.

Cheers,
Cyn

[steve]

Welcome to the site! A male's claws would be fairly noticeable, so it's possible both are girls. Can you post any pics of them? Properly sexing them will give you a better idea of the tank you might need to get. An FX5 filter will be great for a tank that is 75 gallons or larger.

[MEandYouPhoto]

First of all I want to commend you for taking on these little guys into your home and wanting to provide care for them. I struggled with water filtration when I first inherited my turtle. Based on your post there are a few helpful things I would like to point out.
Currently you are using a Cascade 700 Filter which by the manufacturers web site states that is is rated for 65 gallons of water. and the Aquatop IFE-30 Internal Filter w/ Spray Bar which is rated for 60 gallon of water. in total you have 115 gallon of water filtration....

However filters advertise their gallons of filtration based on liquid gallons, not "Turtle Gallons"
1 turtle Gallon is equal to 3 gallons of water. So your 115 gallons of filtered water has been shrunk down to 38 Turtle Gallons.

As Turtles are extremely messy but lovable creatures they require more filtration than your average fish tank.

For each inch of turtle it is recommended that you have 10 gallons of water for them. with your two turtles (Bubbles being 7 inches and Blinky being about 5.5 inches) you have approx 12.5 inches of turtle, so given their CURRENT size you would need approximately 120 gallon tank or larger to accomodate their needs.

Here is the kicker though. If Steve is correct and you have two ladies in the tank they will EACH get to be about 12 inches or so. so that would be about a 240 gallon tank to house both of them together or 120 gallon for each of them.

As you can see this can get to be rather spendy and space consuming to proper care for our little shelled friends.

But Do not fret.

There are so many helpful and caring people here on this site that have DECADES more experience than I do about caring for turtles that they can help guide you along the way.

Steve stated that the Fluval FX5 is the best fitler you can get and many here will agree. I recently saw the FX5 on sale on the Petco website for about $240.00 with free shipping. There are always good deals out there.

Craigslist is filled with people who want to get rid of their tanks and subsequent filters. Keep an eye out.

Thanks to this site and the helpful people here I also went through this journey.

Here is a link to my history, take a look and hopefully it will help you

viewtopic.php?f=14&t=33545



Oh and since you pointed it out, GET RID OF THE GRAVEL!

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=12532

Read that thread too. It explains why gravel is bad.

[PridgNYC]

Just a slight correction to the tank size rule of thumb, it is 10 gallons/inch for the first turtle, and 5 gallons/inch for the second turtle in the same tank.

[Cyndera]

Dear all --

Thank you so much for your elaborate responses. I'll read through the threads that were suggested, and I'll post some pictures soon.

Cheers,
Cyn