Habitat - Indoor :: powerhead flow

[danjm]

I just setup a new tank for my turtles and wanted some more flow in the tank for everyone. I have a 55 gallon with Aquaclear 50 filter. My 4 turtles are 1-2 inches and healthy. I have a bubbler, but don't like it because its noisy and vibrates anything its on. I want to use a powerhead, but don't want to stress the turtles out from too much current. What GPH would you guys recommend for my setup? Does it matter how i position it?

[PridgNYC]

I'm running around 600+ GPH on my 75 gallon tank through the filter. Turtle has no problem with the current.

[danjm]

Alright now that I have funding to finish building my turtle tank, I was looking for some suggestions.

My setup is the following:
55 Gallon tank (48" x 13" x 21")
300gph Aquaclear filter 70 (always on full)
2500cc Maxima air pump w/ 1ft bubble bar (being replaced)
125w Exo-Terra Solarglo (older, using as UVA/heat bulb)
26w Zoo Med ReptiSun 5.0 Compact Fluorescent Lamp (UVB)
50w heater (being replaced)

These are being shipped now:
Hydor Koralia Evolution Pump 550 (need some flow, will be replacing noisy air pump)
Jager Thermostat Heater 150W (old heater is way too weak)
Horizontal temp strip

I've had 5 medium tiger barbs, 4" pleco, Chinese algae cleaner, juvenile convict, and electric yellow African cichlid with all 3 of the RES for about 8 months since they were babies. I got my concentric diamondback a little over 2 months ago and he seems to be getting along fine with everybody. I feed him and the younger RES separate to make sure they get enough food. I recently put in 4 juvenile convicts. The bottom of the tank is covered in smooth aquarium stones, some slate, and shells from Florida. I would like something to to cover the bottom of the tank so the dirt won't show but hate small rocks as the turtles can eat them. I'm considering sand.. I have plenty of hide spots and decoration on the bottom, but would like the top filled up a little too. My experiences before are the turtles shred almost every plant I put in there with the exception of this medium sword plant.

My tanks are always completely filled w/ above-the-tank basking area. The basking area in the picture is small and temporary. I had to throw something together while I build a permanent solution. My old one was solid hardwood. It was fine but color of it would fade with age. I would like to build a granite slab top. I have access to diamond circular saw and granite slabs at work so I'm going to make something nice, just gotta pick a color. Then probably notch/ cut plexiglas and silicon as a ramp. I prefer the Aquaclear's because they are convenient and easy to clean, but will switch to canister on my next tank.

[steve]

Looks good, so I would make some minor changes. I'd try a different substrate, I'm not a fan of glass rocks. I've seen a few of them leech color and crack. Make sure that if your turtle can fit into the decorations, he can easily get out. RES like to go into tight spaces, so some decorations can be dangerous. You might want a background, which would help keep the daylight out. That could cause increases in algae and water temperature. I'm not sure if that stand covers the bottom rim of the tank, but it really should for stability. Looking forward to seeing the dock!

[danjm]

I think I'm done setting the tank up until I move to a 100+ gallon permanent solution.

* Removed all the pebble rocks and replaced them with Crayola green sand.
* Added 6 fake plants and a few cheaper real ones.
* Added plant-themed background to block sun. Took out the smaller hiding spots that they could get stuck in them.
* Added another temp strip and in-tank PH/ammonia reader to make sure things don't ever get too far outta whack.
* Finished granite basking area. (sides are unpolished but diamond pads to buff it are expensive)

I'm going to make a plexiglass ramp, and replace foil around lights, besides that I've ran out of things to do. Any more suggestions?

[steve]

Looks nice. First thing I noticed was the stand... is that one made for your tank? The sand looks pretty good, was it dusty? Good idea with the background... I would probably also close those blinds. Glad you removed the tight spaces... also keep an eye out behind the filter intake.

I haven't tried those PH/ammonia readers, let us know how it works. I know they're not as accurate as the digital ones or ones form test kits, though hopefully it gives you a ballpark figure.

Has your turtle been using the ATBA?

[devilduck]

Nice job on the tank! Just a couple of things I noticed:

I'm a little concerned about the stand also. From the picture it looks like the tank is hanging off the side. Tanks need to be fully supported at the bottom or else the stress from over 650lbs of water will eventually cause catastrophic failure.

You have a extremely heavy bioload with 9 good size fishes and 4 turtles. At some point your going to need large canister filter to keep up with water quality.

[danjm]

Yeah I've been looking for a stand on craigslist but haven't found one, I guess I'll just weld one together..

[steve]

My brother used tube steel to make mine.. works great. There are some diagrams online to make stands out of wood, I would check those out too.

[andrew45]

The powerhead plays a very important role in circulating the water flow in 55 gallon tank. It will not hurt the turtles if it is well adjusted at some proper place.