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i've decided to take my 2 RES out of their tank and into a new above ground pond that's going to be in my backyard, they're both about 6 years old, my female is about 8" and my male is about 6", the pond project should hopefully be completed by next month and they'll be ready to move in

i haven't completed the pond yet but i finished constructing a majority of the filter, i used ideas from the skippy and doc filter, and came up with this

parts list:
(1) 5 ft long 1" PCV pipe - $6 @ lowes
(3) 1" 90* elbows - $0.44/ea @ lowes
(1) 1" T junction - $1.20 @ lowes
(1) 1 1/2" bulkhead fitting - $15 @ lowes
(1) 1" male adapter fitting - $1.50 @ lowes
(1) 32g trash can with lid - $25 @ lowes
(1) milk crate, found it in my garage

i installed the bulkhead for the output of the water onto the side of the trash can, and then used the 1" male adapter fitting inside of it so the water will overflow out of the filter
i took the 5ft PCV pipe and cut (3) 6" pipes, and (1) 3ft pipe, attached the T fitting in the middle and (2) 90* elbows on the ends, then i cut the milk crate down to about 6" height, and shaved each corner down so it would fit into the trash can easily
i drilled a hole on the lid of the can so the 1" PCV pipe can come out, and i put the last 90* elbow on there, i put the remaining 6" PCV pipe on top

i will be using poultry fence for the filter media, lowes has a 25ft roll that's 24" wide, so i'll be cutting that in half to get 50ft of 12" wide material, that's about $12
i need 1.25" ID hose to connect the pump to the input of the filter, i'll need to step the pump fitting up from 1" to 1.25"
for the pump, i'm buying a tetra garden pump rated at 1000gph, for a 150g pond from amazon for $50

Looks very cool. Be careful about using garbage cans... I think one person used it had continual oil (or chemical) residue leach out into his pond.

The skippy filter works best with a stock tank as the sides are much stronger and are designed to handle the pressure from the water. I can tell you that the garage can won't last very long. When I had my skippy filter, I used floor scrubber pads for the filter media. I cut them up into different shapes and just tossed them in. Its also a good idea to install a flush valve on the bottom of your skippy filter so you can flush out the gunk that collects down there. Your outflow needs to be at LEAST 2.5 times bigger than your inflow pipe because you are forcing water in from a pump, but allowing gravity to have the water flow back to the pond. If you have the room, I would strongly recommend a bog for your filter. I have had my turtles outside year round for the past 2 years in my pond. I have a plant bog for my filter and you can see all the way to the bottom of my pond with no issues. My pond is just a tad over 3ft deep. I have koi and goldfish that live with my turtles no problems at all.

i'm modifying the outlet to be larger, going with a 3" bulkhead

just ordered 60 scourer pads from ebay for filter media, and i've already installed a drain valve on the bottom, i'll probably use some bio balls on top