General Care Discussion :: Question about canister filters.

[SteveM.]

Hi everyone, my first post here. I have a question about filter canisters. Right now I have about a 30 gallon tank for my RES turtles (I have four). Im having trouble keeping the water clean, so I am going to invest in filter canisters. Instead of buying a canister filter suitable for my tank size, I want to buy a filter thats fit for a much larger tank. Although a smaller canister filter would do my tank just fine, I think I should probably move up to a much larger tank considering how many turtles I have and how big they tend to get. Im wondering if there would be any harm to my turtles if I used a canister tank meant for a much larger tank in my 30 gallon tank. My turtles are still rather small (the largest is about 4-5 inches long). Oh, and Im looking into Eheim canister filters, unless anyone suggest a better line of filters?

[VanishingReality]

Your tank is too small for even one of your turtles. You want ten gallons per inch of EACH turtle. So if your turtles had a total length of ten inches you would need a hundred gallons.

Filter specs:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=17250

I personally love my XP3.

[SteveM.]

Yeah, I was figuring I'd need a much bigger tank. Reality is that I only took in these turtles because a cousin of mine had bought them originally and her kids were handling them too often. I doubt they give them appropriate care. So I took them in and did the best I could. Its only recently that im learning more about what my turtles really need. If I had a choice I would've only really had one or two turtles as pets. I realize four RES is going to be a hassle.

[bently11]

You could get a 100 or more gallon stock tank at a farm/tractor store. Although they don't look as nice, they are cheaper. Also, I've got a fluval fx5 filter which isn't up and running yet. A lot of people use those or the Rena star something like that. Good luck!

[BullDog]

It's great that you could take the RES out of a bad situation, and it's totally understandable that you wouldn't have everything you need right away.

I equate Eheims to the Mercedes of the filter world. They're supposed to be high quality. They're more expensive, of course, but I don't think I've heard any complaints from Eheim owners.

Since, as Kat mentioned, you'll need a monster tank, I think you're eventually going to need 2 filters to do the job, or a pond filter.

Myself, I've got two Fluval FX5s. I haven't seen anything else in the canister filter world with higher gph. They've got some nifty features. I use one each in my 75 and 90 gallon tanks. With multiple turtles, you'd probably be able to get away with using an FX5 in up to a 150 gallon. But remember, 4 turtles means 4x the mess!

I don't think there's a filter you can get that will work in your current tank and in a new monster tank. The FX5 would turn a 30 gallon into a blender! A XP3 would be OK in a 30 gal, but you'd probably end up needing more filtration in any new tank you get.

Whatever filter you decide on, you'll want to get something with at least 3x the gph of the size of your tank. With multiple turtles, you'll be better off with at least 5x the gph.

If you don't think you're up to the challenge of 4 RES, you could look at rehoming a couple of them. Sometimes you'll be able to find a good new owner locally. If not, there are a couple of rehoming sites, or humane societies that will take them in.

[VanishingReality]

I didn't mean to sound condescending if I did. I was just stating that keeping it clean and that small isn't really feasible. Have you looked into rubbermaids?