Habitat - Indoor :: Is it safe to leave my filtration tubes open w/ no strainer?

[DerekMetal]

I have an adult RES, and have had him for almost 3 years now. I was never able to afford a good canister filter for him until now. I decided the best way to filter would be to just put the tubes straight into the water with no strainer or anything.

My question is, is this this safe to do?
Could the sucking action on the intake possibly hurt the turtle, or is he too big for this to make a difference?

[Kemul]

Just to be on the safe side, it's better to have a "strainer" on the inlet tube in the
tank. Turtle's foot can get stuck and can cause drowning.

So, leaving the inlet tube open is NOT safe to do. Better be safe than sorry, right?

[DerekMetal]

Yeah your right. Better safe than sorry! Thanks for the input.

[jawsspeedymrt]

Trust me, leave the strainer on. My female speedy got caught in in once. I caught it in time before she had any real damage. But I know other's RES haven't been so lucky .

[steve]

I completely agree with Kemul. People have had their turtles drown or become seriously injured without guards in place -- even sometimes with them.

[jozzep]

Agreed with all of the above.
I lost the intake strainer on one of my filters, so to reduce suction from the bottom, i drilled about 20 holes along the sides of the tube in one of my tanks.Problem solved and it sucks water from all levels of the tank.Just leave 5 inches from the top to allow evaporation without your filter sucking air.
Hope this helps.