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Hi all,

My turtle has been living outdoors for two years and I am way out of the loop WRT the best aquarium filters and heaters. My sister, however, has recently acquired a wee hatchling and needs to buy his stuffs. So please give me your recommendations for filters and water heaters that you like.

The little guy is currently in a 10G tank but I hope she will move him to a rubbermaid soon- we'll need a filter that can work in both of those setups. I like internal filters but if you have a suggestion for something different and as good I am all (metaphorical) ears

EDIT: I am aware of filtration and circulation needs, I HAVE been doing this for more than a decade. I am asking specifically for recommendations of BRANDS or MODELS of filters and heaters that you like.

a lot of people here like the visi therm stealth heaters. i havent had any problems with mine and they arent that expensive.

with the filter any filter that would work in a 10 gallon wouldnt work in a larger rubbermaid. canister filters do the best job cleaning so i would go with one of those. a lot of people like the Rena XP series. what ever filter you decide to go with make sure that it cycles the tank AT LEAST 3 times an hour. the more the better though

Why wouldn't a filter that would work in a 10g work in a rubbermaid? I've used internal filters in both, no prob.

I like to go for something that circs at least twice the volume of the water per hr, but realistically I always go for more.

I do think it's a myth though that turtles need more filtration than fish, or that they pollute the water more than do fish; having goldfish convinced me that this is just not true I don't know how that myth got started! But I do think more filtration is always better

Well, 1 turtle can eat about 100 times more than 1 fish = more poop = need for more filtration.

If she's going to put him into a rubbermaid stock tank (which come in sizes of about 60 gallons +), then my personal recommendation is a Fluval FX5. I've got two of them, one each in my 75 and 90 gallon tanks. It's got some really nice features.
Also popular recently has been the Fluval 404, but the good deals that many people were finding on eBay aren't around as much now. They were selling for $60-80 brand new, but I think many of them got snapped up.
Another popular filter with turtle keepers is the Rena XP3 or XP4.

Generally for RES, you want to go for a canister filter as opposed to a internal or water

The most important point is to make sure whatever filter you get cycles at least 3x the volume of water in your tank. So if you had a 50 gallon tank, you'd want something rated at minimum 150 gph. The more filtration, the better.

For heaters, many people use the Stealth heaters because they are shatterproof. Me personally, I've got a couple of Hagen heaters (under two different brand names, "Marina" and "Elite" I think), and I've had no problems with them.

I like the Hydor Theo heaters. Never had problems with them. I had a stealth and the thermostat broke after a while.

I've given up on Stealths (out of 3 purchased two stopped working), and have a Hydor Theo heater, which, after a year of use developed a stuck thermostat---it's on when it's plugged in and won't go off until it's unplugged.

I'm partial to Ebo-Jagers (I'm using 5 of them currently). For me they've been quite accurate and they're made of a durable glass. For larger turtles or tanks with rocks, I use them with heater guards just to be safe. I've got two hatchlings in a tank with one that's guardless.

i just bought 2 Hydor Theo heaters and they work great! and you need a lot larger of a filter for a rubbermaid tank. cannister is a really great way to go. can be pricey. but totally worth it!

do the hydor theo heaters have a light that shows when they are turned on? cause i gotta be honest, if it has a light on it, i'll probably end up buying it just for that reason.

Yes they have a light.

Caphits wrote:Well, 1 turtle can eat about 100 times more than 1 fish = more poop = need for more filtration.

The truth of that statement depends on the size of the animals involved. I have had both turtle and goldfish in the same pond and the goldfish pooped far more than the turtle did.

My pond stayed very clean until I got goldfish, they are pooping machines.

I didn't believe it when other turtle people told me, either, but seeing is believing.

Thanks for the recs, people, I'll pass them onto my sister.

When I say "a rubbermaid", I don't mean s stock tank, but a storage tub of the sort that many RES keepers use for small RES.