turtle filtration help
 

anyone here have turtles?? Ive got 3 which are still babies in a 40G tank with 2 fluval 2plus submersible filters and i notice that its not really picking up all the broken food bits, as well as the poop from my pleco and puffer fish since these tend to sink.

im doing a 80% water change about once a week or 2 weeks. PLUS, i use the fish net to fish out pleco and puffer fish poop and broken food pieces EVERYDAY!!!
It seems like these guys are occupying A LOT of my time :(

question: what filter are you using, and how effective is it?
plus how big and how many turtles do you have? and tank size.

get a canister filter. if you like the fluval brand then theres the 404 or the 204. maybe lessen the amount that you feed them or consider feeding them outside of the tank.

just curious, can you post up pics of your set up? =D

i got 1 big turtle, feed it 3 or 4 times a week, zoomed 318 for filtering the poop, just got a nice big lily pad for the thing but its too fat and the pad sinks

If there's food lying around, then definitely feed less. As for the giant pieces of shit, most filters won't pick that up. It's not light enough to be picked up by the currents so the filters won't be able to suck it up. However, not picking it up isn't going to kill your tank. Your filter will keep the water "clean" as the crap decomposes...up to a certain extent of course.

I would say unless you hate the look, it's okay to leave it in there for a while. Get some gravel, it hides shit well.

get a bigger tank + Fluval FX5

yesyes, getting a bigger tank will defiantly happen in the future as they get bigger. especially since i have 3- (Mississippi map, razorback musk and malayan snail eatting turtle) and green spotted puffer and a pleco. (...i know ill need 100+ gallon tank once they get to adult size)
Just that now theyre still babies, and this tank was donated, thats why.

I thought of using gravel or little stone/rocks to cover up poop, but thats just covering up. I want to completely get rid of it.
I know it wont harm the tank from sinking poop, but its just unpleasant to look at and makes me wanna go in there with a fish net to fish it all out.

I want to get a canister filter. but like someone said, if theres not enough current, then its not gonna do anything. Plus if too much current, then my "bottom tank walking" turtle will be screwed. (what should i do?)

Im not over feeding since they go for all the food i give them. Its just that the food breaks up into millions of little pieces. and my turtles dont go after them once theyre all ripped up. and all that ripped up food, my pleco cant finish.

Heres a link to how the tank looks from the right and left side.
http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/165/dsc01094np.jpg
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3316/dsc01095j.jpg
....on the "right" side of the tank youll notice that theres a platform that i made for them to go up and bask on supplied by a uva/uvb bulb and heat bulb.

please give inputs/opinions as to what else i should to in improving water quality and making them happier :)
any inputs should be geared towards 3 adult sized turtles please, as i do not want to keep having to upgrade and they get bigger in size.

thanks!

edit: ive tried feeding them outside the tank, but they dont eat. plus feeding them outside the tank leaves nothing for the pleco :p

btw, i feed them reptomin, nutrafin max for my bottom feeder, and bloodworms from time to time.

Ive always got a brick of the nutrafin turtle conditoner, give them some cuttle fish thing for them to trim their beaks, and i add in nutrafin waste control every week or so.

but yet the water still gets cloudy after 2 days of water change and shit isnt breaking down fast enough.

any help is appreciated.

you need better filtration. those little 2 plus isn't enough.

a canister filter is your best bet because you can use it on the bigger tanks as well.

say you get a fluval 404 right now right (the current isn't that bad actually, i have one) once you upgrade your tank to say a 90g you can add a fx5 to the filtration so then you'll have a 404 and a fx5. can never have too much filtration imho.

yah, these 2 little dinky filters suck!
should i just jump straight to the fluval 405?

lol yeah i meant the 405, definitely wait til the bigger tank before you grab the fx5 that shit is pretty strong.

that being said even with the 405, you'll still have some poop at the bottom of the tank but your water should be much clearer.


random question. did you cycle your water before adding turtles?

what does water cycle mean? im pretty noob at this aquarium stuff.
if this is anything relevant, i drain the water and just add in straight tap water. Heard it was bad, but i havent noticed any problems with anything.

btw, the pet shop by my house has the 405 for $200 right now. regular price $400.
is this an accurate and good pricing for the 405?

so when you first got your turtles you filled the tank with tap water and then threw the turtles in?



are you talking about fraser aquarium? i think i bought mine from them for 199 or something

btw, my friend has 2 8" res in a 75 gallon with just ONE of my tiny fluval 2plus filter, and his water isnt actually that bad.
and then theres my other friend that has a 10" res in a 55G tank with NO f*cking filteration. although his tank is nasty as shit to look at and cant really see the turtle when its at the back of the tank, the turtle looks absolutely perfect when out of the water. No soft shell, fungus or anything growing on it.

yup, fill the tank and threw the turtles in. still do that now when i change water every week. turtles are fine and 3 diff types of fish are fine. been this way for about 8 months now.

Yes, fraser aquarium. 50% off all fluval canister filters.

yeah i grabbed mine from them at 50% off.


as for the filtration its really up to you. personally i like my water real clear. but i only have fish so they're more sensitive with the water param. turtles aren't as sensitive to the water params but it does matter a bit.

you have the necessary lights so even with a bit of dirty water your turtles shouldn't get sick because the uva/b kills the bacteria

thanks for your help!
i also like my water really clear, and cleaning it the way i am now just doesnt cut it.
im probably going to pick up the Eheim classic ext. filter from petsmart sometime soon for $159.99

Please give me suggestions as to what to look for and stay away from with canister filters. Theres SO many out there.
This is my first aquarium and dotn wanna f*ck up by having to keep upgrading.

are you two on bcaquaria?

Fx5 is a powerful filter so i dont know why xilley failed me on it.

FX5 kept my tank of 7 koi (all over 10") clean over winter indoor. FX5 is very nice and quiet filter and at 50% it is a great deal.

where do they sell turtles? specifically, musk turtles?

im just going to keep my set up as it is now until they get bigger and i move them into a bigger tank with a canister filter. although i did just pick up a fluval U3 submersible. (now i have 3 filters in there. and added together im supposedly good for 125G :P)

I did some research, and apparently not all canister filters let you control the flow rate. Considering that i have a 30-36G tank and my biggest turtle isnt even 3 inches, itll just blow them away as well as everything else.
But canister will defiantly be my choice once i get a new tank.
BTW, what sized tank do you think i'll need with 3 turtles, adult sized? Please just answer if you have turtles, as i know that keeping fish is A LOT different from turtles.

rsx: theres a lot of tiny cute baby musk turtles at King Ed right now. Theyre TINY!!

@rsx i believe the pet store in metro(by the bay) have some musk turtle but theyre pricey...

Hi-revs - what's the store called or address?

King Ed aquarium/petshop
King Ed Pet Centre
7377 Kingsway, Burnaby. 604-525-4955

I believe the musk will be in the $150-$200 range

Turtles arent cheap. IF you want cheap then your only choice would be the typical Red Ear Sliders at around $50 each.

btw i was just there earlier today and they had around 15 little musks.
get them quick because turtles tend to be bought quite quickly

damn didn't know these little guys were that pricey!