Habitat - Indoor :: My setup/ future setup....hopefully

[Skittles]

Hey guys im new and wanted to share my setup and talk about hopefully near future setup. After reading alot of stuff on here i've been slacking and need help. My turtle "Skittles" is around 7 inches and is living in a 50 gallon "Turtle Tank". (Which really is a 20 gallon tank because it can only be filled up to where tho hole in the side of the tank is to mount a waterfall filter....i know now was a bad purchase.) Anyways, i realize that is way to small. I have the Aquaclear 70 waterfall filter. I've had this setup for about the last 2 years.

I was wondering what size would be alright to buy next(Regular tank....Not one with holes in the side...lol) that should last my turtle for the rest of its life. would a 100 gallon be okay for 1 turtle....more/less? Also say a 100 gallon was okay.....does that mean i need a filter that does 500gph? (I've been trying to read all the rules of thumb). Also i wanted to try a canister instead of the waterfall. would i probably need 2 to get that gph? The fluvall's sound like there good but the fx5 (hopefully thats right model) sounds expensive....and would 1 of those be okay on a 100 gallon tank?

Any imput on these questions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[steve]

Is Skittles a female? 100 should be enough, but I'd try to go a bit bigger, like 120. A large glass tank holds it a decent amount of resell value as well and you can always build something to accommodate Skittles. An FX5 should be enough for that, but there are several options you have for filters.

[Daniel3507]

120 gallon would be great. The Fluval FX5 can be bought off Ebay for $200 and puts out about 925GPH i think so it would be perfect. i does not come with media though so you will have to get that too. if your interested you could also get an MVB bulb with a thank that size. that way you wouldnt have 2 lights to worry about

[wendell]

I was in the exact same position as you a week ago! I got a preformed pond from Home Depot and my hubby made a "box" with 2x4's and 2x2's and One piece of 1/2 inch plywood. Its set up on cement blocks with the pond piece that was cut out of the plywood on top of the blocks. Then I got a Fluvol 405 filter for it which I just love mostly because it is so quiet. I have a ebo-jagger 250 watt heater that keeps the temp at 73 degrees right now. Im trying to figure out how to post pictures of it on this site right now. I did a chronical of progress on how it all came together. will post here if I can figure it out.

[Skittles]

Hey Daniel3507, did you buy the Fluval fx5 on ebay? I know somebody was on this site saying they bought one for around $200. Theres a guy on EBAY named "Bigfishdaddy2008" that looks like he's sold a lot of them with positive feedback. He has a $200 buy it now price. Just wondering if someone that bought it on Ebay dealt with him and had good results. (I've never bought off Ebay)

[speedynlucky]

Hey Daniel3507, did you buy the Fluval fx5 on ebay? I know somebody was on this site saying they bought one for around $200. Theres a guy on EBAY named "Bigfishdaddy2008" that looks like he's sold a lot of them with positive feedback. He has a $200 buy it now price. Just wondering if someone that bought it on Ebay dealt with him and had good results. (I've never bought off Ebay)

Just read the sellers feedback and if he has great reviews from buyers then you know the seller is legit. I've never been ripped off once as a buyer but someone has tried to rip me off when I was the seller but eventually they sent me the money for my auctioned item. Just read the feedback then read the description and make sure it says new or works great if buying used and make sure it doesn't say needs repair before placing a bid.