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I just scored a 135 gallon tank for a dollar a gallon ($135 ), and will be setting it up a few months from now when funds are more plentiful. I have always liked the waterfall filters because they add bubbles to the water as well as filtering it - I was wondering if two AquaClear 110 filters would be adequate for the setup? The product sheet for the 110 says 500 GPH, but from my experience in the past this will probably drop to 200-300 GPH once the sponge has had some use. The 5x rule places the requirement at 675 GPH, but that is also the "new, unloaded, and media-free" rating that is given on the product box. Do waterfall filters slow down much more than canister filters? That is, will a 500 GPH waterfall filter be comparable to a 500 GPH canister filter?

I will turn the entire top of the tank into a basking/land area using light diffusers, so the tank will be filled to the top.

really you need a canister filter. they do the best at circulating the water and filter the best.

Daniel is right, canister filters are better. They are more equipped to handle the amount of waste turtles produce. And if you still want bubbles, you can get air stones. They're really cheap and turtles love them. They have all different kinds.

I agree. A large canister filter is the way to go. I would recommend the Fluval FX5. If you want, you could supplement with a waterfall filter, so you still get your bubbles, but the waterfall filters just don`t have enough media room.

Got it. I might just go get an FX5 then; know of any cheap sources in Canada?

How much do they cost retail (like in a pet store)?

retail they can go for $300. i got mine on ebay for 200

That's actually a lot cheaper than I had expected. $200 is around what it would cost me to set up two AquaClear 110s as well.

The problem is that I have no stand yet, and don't plan on making one soon. Would a canister filter work well if the tank is on the floor? Any special considerations?

Thanks.

You'd want to set it up so that it would work once you do get a stand. I don't know how it would affect the suction in the tubes though.

How tall is the tank? They say it needs to be something like 7" below the water line. It'll work if it's not below the waterline, but it won't be as efficient.

You could do a cinder block stand. Just use a piece of plywood on the bottom, 6 or more cinderblocks for legs, and another piece of plywood on top. That's what I used for my 90 gallon for the first few months.


Ebay is where I got my FX5. It came to about $220 cad with shipping. (Note - you may have to pay about $11 for customs fees, depending on who it's shipped though)

If it were me, I'd get the stand now.
There's no way I'd want to have to move that 135 gallon tank again in a few months when you do decide to get the stand. I say get it all now, set it all up at once, and then just deal with tank maintenance. That is of course, if you have the funds for a stand. Maybe you can even get a good steal like you got on the tank

The tank is 24" tall, and the water will probably be filled to around 20-21 inches. The floor is tiled, so I don't want to focus the weight on a few "legs" and have the tile crack. I won't have time to design and build a stand for a year or more, so right now I have it resting on an inch-thick piece of pine right on the tile. It is very close to our door to the yard, so I can easily empty and re-fill the tank for moving. I recently moved a 75-gallon tank by myself, so two people handling the 135-gallon seems almost....easy.

Sq-shy -- The FX5 would be a good way to go. I will pump about 800 gph and make a little swirl in the water. You may want to put a couple of suction points and a couple of discharge to slow down the flow a little. Make sure you have the suction ends covered with a grate so not to get them stuck in it. M.

I have two follow-up questions:

- What kind of filter media is recommended for a turtle? Just the standard mechanical-bio-carbon filtration?

- How often would the media need to be changed for one turtle? Do I get any indication from the canister that it needs to be cleaned or changed?

For media, I only use mechanical and biological. those are the only ones you really need.

but for mechanical I would go with Fluval Prefilter, and foam pads, then for biological, Fluval Biomax, Eheim Lava rock, or Rena ceramic rings or stars.

You'll find that you can clean out the media many times before it needs replacing. You wont get any warning about cleaning from the canister, but i'd say once a month to give it a good cleaning.

I'm just like you i like waterfall filters i have 2 Aquaclear 110 and 2 Cascade 100 filters in a 120 gallon aquarium. The total is about 1200 GPH.