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right now, i have a 20 gallon tank. i use a cascade 150 hanging filter. there seems to be a lot of debris floating around thought. it could be because i just took all my gravel out, but ive seen a lot of talk about canister filters. if i was to get one, which would work well in my 20 gallon? and what would work well in something bigger? such as a 60 gallon tank?

You should be using a filter rated for about 50-60 gallons for your turtle so if your not, regardless of brand, you will not have clear or healthy water.

Hey guys,

We have both a 20 gallon and a 75 gallon tank. In our 20 gallon tank we use a Duetto 100 and it keeps the water crystal clear. The Duetto was about $25. In the 75 gallon tank we have a Rena XP3 canister filter; for a canister filter it's pretty easy to use. The XP3 was about 170, you can find a better price if you purchase online. I do not know what your budget is, but with your situation and our experience these two products would work well for your set up.

is the duetto a canister filter? and whats your setup like? do you have plants or gravel? ive been pretty concerned with the condition of my water.

No the duetto is not a canister filter it sits inside the tank. We have river rocks in the tank but no plants they destroy them.

oh ok. ill try to find one of those duetto filters and test it out. thanks

Hey Ice,

Yeah, what she said. I too am worried the condition of the water. We went out and bought one of those testing kits for the water. Our water condition is great. May I suggest not to shock your "ecosystem" by adding too much at one time. Introduce a plant here and something else there, and watch how the environment reacts to the change. The neat thing about nature is that it is so enormous that it can absorb alot of the junk we try to keep out of the tank...if only every turtle owner had 40 acres and a mule.

Be creative, every turtle is different, see what your turtle likes, tears up, or does not even bother with.

would real plants be best to add? i heard they eat them a lot so i dont wanna do anything thatd be bad for him. and i just took out all the gravel so right now hes in a bare tank so idk what the plant would grow in.

In our situation, the turtles (both the RES's and the African Side Neck's) ended up snipping the plants at the base. Personally we are afraid to use plastic plants just in case they decide they want to chomp on them and create a possibility for obstructing the air way.

We would love to be able to keep live plants in long enough to grow and make the tank not look so bare. Another benefit of having real plants is that the plants use the nitrogen from the turtle refuse, basically as fertilizer. You still have to clean up the waste.

As for the waste, we use plecos (sucker fish) to help with the degredation of the waste. They only cost a couple of bucks depending on size. Try to get one big enough for your turtle not to swallow whole. Also, introduce the pleco in to the tank before the turtle, this way the turtle does not think you are feeding him.

We have the rocks and gravel too, the rocks are a pain to clean. We have been toying with the idea of getting some slate tiles, like the ones they use on that show flip this house. This way the tank has a bottom, and the slate makes it easier for waste removal. I would stay away from the ceramic tiles you see at the hardware store, they are not really designed to be submerged under water. Try using a more solid, non-porous material.

i might just try to find a few decent sized river rocks and put them on the bottom; just so it doesnt look so bare. might still be a pain to clean, but nothing can be as bad as the gravel i had in there earlier. the second i moved any of it, tons of turtle...waste. flew out.

The really large ones are not bad its the ones that cover the bottom of the tank that becoem a pain to clean. Yeah thats another bad part about having gravel in the tank.

Those cascade filters aren't bad, but you are supposed to use a filter rated for at least 2 times the size of your tank, and the 150 model isn't. You should go with a bigger model. A layer of rocks on the bottom of the tank won't help and your filter won't pick up too much debris regardless of size. It should keep it clear and odorless and you also can help by getting a siphon to clean the bottom and do partial water changes once in a while.

i just dropped in a baby carrot to see if he'd eat it. i hope he does. right now hes just checking it out lol
is it better to put it on like a clip that suction cups to the side of the tank? i tried leaving a piece of lettuce floating on the top yesterday but i dont think he ate any.

The clip makes it easier to eat, I use it for my cuttlebone and now they eat it much faster.

Sorry to stray off topic - but Tertule, you mentioned you have gravel in the tank. Just be sure it's not so small that a turtle could swallow it. A number of turtles on here have done that with disasterous results. It stops them up and, if the edges are sharp, can cut them inside.

Just want to be sure you know!