A turtle tank without a canister filter.

[RetroFeesh]

So I'm thinking about converting my current 20 gallon long with a musk turtle from canister filter to air driven/power head. My current filter is one of those sun sun filters that does something 300gph and it has no adjustability what so ever. I already have the large sponge filter from the store and thought about pairing it with the power head to keep current in the tank. For some extra biological filtering  I would add the Ziss filter on the other end. Is it actually possible to ditch the canister for turtles?

[Friller]

I run two sponge filters and two canister filters on my 150g Macleay river turtle tank. I would recommend keeping the canister as turtles are crap machines. Sure a sponge and Ziss filter could filter the tank, but the tank would be pretty cloudy. IMO keep the canister filter. 

[Friller]

Here’s the filters 

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 8/2/2022 at 10:04 PM, RetroFeesh said:

something 300gph and it has no adjustability what so ever

Do you have quick disconnects on lines if so, I have read that it's possible to slow down the flow. I`ve never tried that but don`t see why not.

[RetroFeesh]

On 8/3/2022 at 9:29 AM, BuzzDaddy21 said:

Do you have quick disconnects on lines if so, I have read that it's possible to slow down the flow. I`ve never tried that but don`t see why not.

If you’re talking about the part where the hoses can separate from canister without having to drain then yes I do. Please do enlighten me on what you’ve read.

[BuzzDaddy21]

Just that you may close down both shutoffs to slow the flow into the tank so if the valves are full open then if you close halfway its 50% or more but not sure if that would hurt the pump. I would say caution needs to be used. Overheating??

I use a DC pump that can be adjusted for flow, right now I have set to 25%. I use a spray bar that works very well. (Eheim 594) I forget who told me these.

Guppysnail told me about the Fluval and I got a 107 and 207 series they work fine and yes you can adjust the flow.

I hope this helps somehow.

[RetroFeesh]

Hmm.. don’t think I can close the he valves any unfortunately. 

[RetroFeesh]

I lied, this is what I have…. Polar Aurora Free Media 265GPH / 370GPH / 525GPH External Aquarium Filter with Builtin Pump Kit Canister (370GPH) https://a.co/d/cGmNVYr
 

[nabokovfan87]

On 8/2/2022 at 7:04 PM, RetroFeesh said:

I would add the Ziss filter on the other end. Is it actually possible to ditch the canister for turtles?

As mentioned above, the ziss doesn't really hold a lot of muck compared to other filters.  You can run a HoB or something, I would run 2-3 ziss at minimum but that's hard to do in that size of a tank. 

Something like the 407 might be a good fit, but I don't really know a better way to handle it.  I have used the ziss a lot, I use them as an add-on for the specific purpose of hosting bacteria and not for mechanical filtration.  It does trap some, but it's not really suited for that purpose in my user experience.

[RetroFeesh]

I may look into the 407 a little bit. My poor turtle just get blown around if he losses any traction being a bad swimmer and all.

[RetroFeesh]

Just curious, is 375gph in 20 long too much for Oto's? 

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 8/3/2022 at 3:49 PM, RetroFeesh said:

I may look into the 407 a little bit

I have a Fluval 107 on a 20L and have it cut back to about half flow it seems ok. 

I prefer a round canister filter because they hold a lot of whatever you want to pack into them. I haven`t looked into how many canisters have a replaceable pump but that's the way to go.

[RetroFeesh]

On 8/4/2022 at 7:02 AM, BuzzDaddy21 said:

I have a Fluval 107 on a 20L and have it cut back to about half flow it seems ok. 

I prefer a round canister filter because they hold a lot of whatever you want to pack into them. I haven`t looked into how many canisters have a replaceable pump but that's the way to go.

What do you have in your tank out of curiosity. 

[Pete H]

I put an fx6 on my 125 turtle tank and Tilly doesn’t mind the water flow.