Habitat - Indoor :: setting up my new tank... MY NEXT PROBLEM...(Fluval content)

[TurtleKeeper48]

I just had a thread about a sloping floor - one side is about 1/2 lower. A couple people responded and seem to agree that I better shim the stand to level it. I guess I'll do that... But I'm not excited to lose the 50+ gallons of clean water that are in the tank, just to even things out a bit, and then add back all that water. My water bill is killing me! I'll save as many buckets of the water as I have buckets, but that's only going to be like 15 gallons. The rest I guess I just have to waste?

ANYWAY - The real "next problem" -

I am NOT set up with an above tank basking area, and it'll take me a while to get there. I was hoping to use the tank and the filter soon... the idea was to use the tank about 2/3 of the way full which is still a lot of water, and that way there is about 8 or 9 inches from the water line to the rim which will keep the turtles from escaping.

PROBLEM -

The directions for my Fluval 405 say that the water line must be less than 7" from the rim and that the connection at the top of the intake pipe must covered by water.

Can I just make the hoses longer and cut the intake pipe down really short so that I can have the water level lower than the recommended level, but still keep the connections under water as they recommend? Or can I just have the connections above the water line (not recommended "for a water tight seal" - but what would it hurt if it dripped?)


SORRY this is so long - I am just beside myself, I've now spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on trying to do the right thing for these rescued turtles, and I'm no closer to having a good set up.


To recap - the left side of my tank is 9" from water to the rim and the right side is 8.5" - I want to use it as is, but apparently it is recommended that I drain it, shim it, refill it, install the 405 per the directions (water deeper) which will necessitate building a "fence" of some sort to keep turtles in.

I'm running out of money and time. I don't want to do all that right now. HELP!

[jenaero]

I just looked up the instructions for the 405 online, as I have the 404. Looks almost the same. I have a 125gal and the water level is definetly more than 7in from the top of the tank.. not sure what their reasoning is, but I've never had a problem. As long as the intake valve is submerged I don't see anything to worry about.

Not sure how much these pics will help, but you might get the idea. I've never intentionally taken a pic of how the filter was set up

[TurtleKeeper48]

AWESOME! That's good news for me - thanks so much for sharing!

BTW - The reason they give when they say that the hose connections must be under water is to guarantee that they are water tight.

A) How can you tell if it's leaking a little when it's under water? and B) Why would it matter it if it dripped a little at the hose connection - it would drip back in the tank.


ANYWAY - You've been a great help. Thanks!

[BullDog]

Yeah, there's lots of "play" room with the 405 in a 75g, don't worry about having to fill the tank up more.

I think the idea of the seals being under water (particularly the intake seals) is so it doesn't suck in air. But on my 404 the seals were incredibly tight anyhow.

[jenaero]

When the filter gets air in it, it'll make a pretty loud humming/gurgling sound and may stop running. I've only ever had this happen a few times in the 5+ years I've had the filter. To fix that, all I had to do was pop the hoses off from the top of the canister and add some water. It has leaked on occasion but that was from the seal where the canister fits onto the lid of the filter and all I had to do was add lubrication.

[TurtleKeeper48]

Thanks again guys - While I won't worry about having it under water, I'll make sure that intake connection is sealed so it doesn't suck air.

My brother in law is a plumber, maybe he could help me with that.

(reminds me of Fast Times at Ridgemont High - "We can fix this, my father is a TV repairman, he's got a gnarley set of tools")