Habitat - Indoor :: 300 gallon Rubbermaid stock tank

[DavidG]

We purchased a 300 gal rubbermaid stock tank and have a proposed filter system.
1000 gal Aqua Ultima II with a Pondmaster Hy-Drive 6000 .
1 1/2" plumbing from pump to filter and 7 l/ft of 2 " slotted drain pipe from http://www.conservationtechnology.com/
W/ gravel/ river stone over the slotted pipe.
Making water changes easier with backflushing and vacuuming weekly.
Our RES is about 8 " shell living in a 150 gal Rubbermaid stock tank.
Hoping to add one or two more turtles.
Basking , 100 watt solar glo, & zoo med ReptiSun UV
Please feel free to critique .

[litefoot]

David , that match up could work together. Should handle the load of two adult turtles (females) with no problem. To me three adult turtles (females) would need the ultima 2000 model . The 1000 only has .75 cu ft media area compared to a 1.5 cu ft media of the 2000 model that would handle the messy / large bio load of three adult turtles much better.
Really more pump (6000) than the 1000 Ultima II needs. It only requires a 1000 gph flow rate at a 10' head. Also most sites say a max flow of 1200 gph for that 1000 filter !!! The 3200 pump would work well even the 2600 pump and still be oversized . Like me I always went over size but maybe not that big with the 6000 pump for the 1000 ultima filter. The 6000 pond master pump would be a much better match on the 2000 filter which has a max flow rate of 2200 gph. More media area cleaner water better water parameters . May want to check into pump size a little more for a better match up ? Also depend if you plan any waterfalls … down the road ? With messy turtles I always look for the most media area first to help with maintenance then would match a pump to that. With all your tanks you know already how we all just love doing maintenance.

I'm not a fan of solar glo but a big fan of Mega Ray's much longer useful life. Solar glo is good , just to me Mega Ray's have much better output. https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=UV ... ORM=VRDGAR
Good planning ! Once done a few photo's would be great for the forum to see.

[steve]

I would go with what litefoot recommends on the pond filter.Skip the Solar Glo/Reptisun and check the Mega Ray site/Facebook page for discount codes. Keep in mind that not all female RES get a long and males almost never mix well, so have a plan in case it doesn't work out.

[DavidG]

Thank you for your input and advice, I have just order a 100 watt megaray,
" May want to check into pump size a little more for a better match up" This pump size has been recommended the backwash of the filter.
We will use a filter box over flow as a return and a bulkhead below the surface to bleed off more flow.
We all know how dirty RES are.

[litefoot]

Info I used came from the Aqua Store on that 1000 filter. There site recommends minimum and the maximum flow rate on a pump for 1000 filter to work efficiently.
http://www.aquauvstore.com/Ultima-II-10 ... p-103.html

Your call on using a pondmaster 6000 pump , thats a big pump , way over the maximum rate for that 1000 Ultima filter. Only reason I suggested use on the 2000 filter better match up on flow and also 2000 better for three turtles with the larger media setup. Good luck.

Recommend using "documented research" on backwashing and pump sizing for Ultima filters.