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i have only had my turtles (5 red ear sliders- 2 adults 3 babies) for a few months and am still leaning all about their care. I am in need of a good filter for my 30 gallon tank, but am on somewhat of a budget. IS there anything that someone can suggest? [/img]

**if you are keeping them together in the same tank,i apologize if you are not**


Your tank is much to small for one adult turtle,let alone two of them and three babies! And it is a bad idea to have adult turtles with babie turtles the adult can get realy agressive and bite at the little ones or even kill them.Just because they are calm now doesnt mean they arent going to fight with each other.I have read sad storys in which people keep adult turtles with babies in the same enclosure and in this one case the bigger one bit the babies leg so hard that it turned the baby handicap! And if your on a budget i suggest you to give away 4 of them and stay with one because turtles arent cheap.I mean by the time they are ALL adults you are going to need a 600 gallon tank! Thats like what..1000$ dollars? Im not attacking you or anything so dont think i hate you or anything,because im sure you probably didnt know any better when you first got them and the store clerk or whoever told you that it was allright to keep them together in a 30 gallon tank.Well the rule of thumb suggests that for every inch requires 10 gallons meaning 2 inch turtle=20 gallons 3 inch turtle=30 gallons 4 inch turtle=40 gallons 12 inch turtle=120 gallons! Please,please separate them...you are going to need an expensive filter to keep up with theyre mess...

Although I've read on other sites, that you can take the size of the first turtle.. and multiply it by 10 (10 gallon rule) then do half that of the second turtle... either way your tank is way too small for even your smallest turtles. You seriously need to upgrade their tanks. I also agree with xsavingsaturdayx in that you shouldn't keep turtles of drastic size differences together. The larger turtles can hurt or kill the smaller ones. There is no maternal instinct or need to socialize with turtles as with other pets. Even if you get the a large tank, you could still end up with major territorial issues with adult turtles.

Just an FYI.. an adult male RES can grow to 9" and a female up to 11"+.

As for your question regarding filters, what you need is a filter that is rated for 3 times the size of your tank. Although I personally go by the gph not the filter ratings on the box, I know others don't.. I never had a problem with my Aquaclear 110 keeping a 75 gallon tank crystal clear and with no water quality issues. I know others who use that same filter for much smaller tanks. It's rated at 500gph..

TurtleTattoo, who exactly is in that 30 gallon tank? It's really not good to keep adults and hatchlings together, and depending on how large your adults are, a 30-gallon wouldn't be big enough for one of them...And at some point, allotting X amount of space for multiple turtles does not apply (I think you're over this point if you do have all of those turtles in one 30-gallon tank).

As for a filter recommendation, no filter is going to work efficiently if with the number of turtles in that size tank. Please do some reading on a good habitat for your turtle would be.

the babies and 2 adults are separated. Thanks for the heads up. MY boyfriend was orginally caring for the turtles and he kept getting more of them. Now its on my to take care of them, so im doing what i can. I cant imagine giving them away tho so i guess ill have to find a way to make this work. Thanks for all the info.

I am glad you separated them,but if you cant handle them..then you know whats best for them and you.Definitley do alot of research on red ear sliders,they arent that easy to take care of.Expect vet visits in the future and alot of $$$ spent for theyre needs.When one is sick you MUST separate them from the other turtles because if you dont then you are going to end up with 3 or 2 sick turtles and a very expensive vet visit..so an isolation tank or rubbermaid container with a filter,water heater,basking dock etc is needed.Along side with a enclosure for the adult sliders and hatchlings.Just a tip rubbermaid containers and stock tanks are a hell of alot cheaper then tanks,you know? For example you can buy a 50 gallon rubbermaid container for 9$ a 50 gallon tank would probably cost you 60$ and up..Since you are on a budget i recommend rubbermaid setups for the hatchlings and a stock tank setup for the adult sliders,just remember for both setups you are going to need a Water heater,filter thats twice the size recommended for your enclosure,a basking dock (zoo med makes good ones,you can find them anywhere almost) and two basking lamps one that will provide UVB and the other UVA.Oh,and a thermometer! lol

go to Petco and buy a $300 package with a 40gal tank filter and cover and stand, thats just to get started... and by having this little setup u can start updating little by little. good luck!

Check craigslist too, if you are into it, make a wanted add. Say you have to take care of them, and provide cute pics. Also describe why you need a big tank. Maybe someone local will help ya that way. I found a 55 gal with covers for 75$... And even a 200gal for 200$