Habitat - Indoor :: 2part question. Filter and tank cover net

[ILUV_Rocky]

I have an Xp3 for my 75 gallon tank. I notice that the water is clean but it doesnt pick up little particles, for example my turtles dropping will accumulate in a corner or on the edges. Why is the filter not sucking it up? I got the filter without all those extra things that come in each little basket inside the filter, they look like rings and stars. Should I get them? What do they do?

Also does anyone know where i can get like a net cover for my 75 gallon tank. or atleast one big enought to cover one side where I would put his lights. Thank you.

[Daniel3507]

i dont know much about the xp3s so i'll leave that for someone else

the best think you can use for a screen is egg crate light diffuser that can be found at hardware stores. you can cut it to fit your tank and the holes are big enough so they dont block UVB

[marisa]

Filters are not vacuums---they don't suck up debris (especially in corners), they filter the water. The vast majority are made for fish, which are not as messy as turtles. If you want to pick up the debris that gathers in corners, turkey basters work well.

The rings and stars are biomedia, which, along with the sponges, are the most important media to have in the filter. Beneficial bacterial colonize on the biomedia and break down harmful substances, which helps maintain water quality.

[untsmurf]

I agree with both marisa and daniel, get the media, turkey basters help, and egg crate is awesome.

Max had great success with his powerhead. It circulates the crud around so the filters can pick them up.

[Chrisbarnett]

Heres an eggcrate "screen" i did on my moms 55g fish tank. Cut it to size to fit on the inner rim, sits flush with the top of the tank.

[blackforces get you]

go to your pet store and ask if they have waste degrader. my dad came with that and i noticed that after about 3 hours their waste is gone. i dont know how it works
but it works

[untsmurf]

Do you know the brand name? I've never heard of it...

[steve]

Could be TurtleClean, though I do not recommend using it. I generally avoid any product that has a "Turtle" prefix.

[untsmurf]

Oh, is this that chemical stuff that you add to the tank and it's supposed to break up the waste?

[Chrisbarnett]

Yes. I don't use it either, waste never sits long enough for it to be any good.

[ILUV_Rocky]

Thanks the egg crate looks like a great Idea! and I will get the media, the turkey baster thing too.

[ILUV_Rocky]

one more question can I lay my uvb light and basking light directly on top of the egg crate. I used to do that with the wire cover that came with the tank. Will the crate burn?

[Chrisbarnett]

I cut a hole in mine for heat to go through under my heat lamp. works good so far. the uvb can lay right on top.

[ILUV_Rocky]

arent you afraid that water would splash on the light bulb. I was going to do that but got scared. So the heat light will burn the egg crate?

[Fuzzy Hamster]

Whether the heat lamp will melt the egg crate may partly depend on the size of the light fixture (i.e. how far away from the crate the bulb is in the fixture) and the wattage of the bulb.

In our case, we cut a hole in the egg crate for out 60W heat lamp. One day recently, I moved it to put some cuttle bone in the tank and neglected to put it back in the same spot. At night, just before the lights turned off, I was very relieved to find that while the egg crate became very hot, it did not melt or even become soft. I was surprised because I know that the crate is made to be used with cool fluorescent lights.

I would still recommend cutting a hole just to be on the safe side and to allow the maximum heat to get to your basking area.

Our tank isn't completely filled with water, so splashing on the bulb is pretty unlikely. If we had a completely full tank, then we would also have an ATBA (above tank basking area), so again the bulbs wouldn't be anywhere near the water.