Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 6:24 pm
Whatever you do, don't pick the Zoo Med 501, it's a filter designed specially for turtles, right?
Well my advice to you, turtle filters suck, they are weak, don't do their job, and end up being useless after the first week. Just about everyone which has owned a turtle filter has had a negative experience with it, and moved onto a stronger fish filter.
For a 30 Gallon tank, an xP1 is fine, but note that turtles do grow very quickly in a healthy environment, and you will probably want to upgrade to a larger tank soon (actually, now would be best, 10 Gallons per 1 inch of turtle). To cut on cost, it's best to buy as big a tank as you can fit/buy, for the health of your turtle, and don't worry about your turtle not finding food or being overwhelmed by the tank size, aquatic turtles spend most of their time underwater (even sleeping and eating), they only surface to bask or nest. Not to mention in the wild they have a massive home of water.
It's better to buy the best canister filter you can (hang-on filters are fine for smaller turtles/tanks), but most will say that canister filters are the best choices to filter because of their filtration power. Note the recommended rule on this site is buy a filter 3x your tank, because the filter capacity on the box is only rated for fish, where turtles make a lot more waste than fish, and they shed skin 24/7. The most recommended filter here is the Rena xP3 and xP4 (the xP4 is newer, but stronger, aim for that). An xP1 probably won't do the job in the long run, it might last you a year if you're lucky.
I would not choose the Tetra Whisper 60, it's cheap, but isn't worth it for a turtle.
EDIT: If you do decide on an xP3 or xP4, you might want to upgrade to a bigger tank first, the filters may be too strong and create a water current making swimming difficult for your turtle.
Hey hey hey.
