600 Gallon Fly River Turtle Build

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

As aldiaz33 suggested, too much flow through the 1000 is not good. Not due to biological reason but due to mechanical as you are experiencing. The media is designed to do both. High flow will only push the particulates back into the tank. A 2000 will allow you to trap more but it will only buy you a few days before it does the same. Trud-tles will require more mechanical than fish tanks in my opinion. Since you already have a big pump, have you considered a separate mechanical filter? In your case, I believe high flow is required to keep the tank free of excessive debris.

Ken,

Yep. I'm slowly coming to the conclusion that more mechanical filtration is needed in my set up. I was hoping to avoid adding more equipment (due to lack of space, obviously cost, and not wanting to tear stuff apart), but looks like an upgrade is in my future.

 

[kendragon]

I would run the reeflo full blast through the Ultima and have all or some of the water returm in a overhead sump with filter sock. With that high flow you probably don't need backwashing.
I have a bead type filter that never gets washed. For mechanical I have a cartridge filter in parallel.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

I would run the reeflo full blast through the Ultima and have all or some of the water returm in a overhead sump with filter sock. With that high flow you probably don't need backwashing.
I have a bead type filter that never gets washed. For mechanical I have a cartridge filter in parallel.

If you don't mind me asking, what type of cartridge filter do you use? That sounds more like something my wife would give the okay with...lol.

 

[kendragon]

3000gph running through my homemade Ultima. I can run 100% of the water through the cartridge before the bead filter or have part of it bypass. Reason for the bypass is so when the cartridge gets full the water won't stop.
Cartridge filter is a Hayward pool filter. Comes with a 15 micron element. This may be too fine for you with that messy turtle. You may have to wrap your own like I did for my outside mahseer pond. Search my youtube video of the filter. Sorry for the derail.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

No need to apologize, Ken. I appreciate you taking the time to explain your set up and post pictures. I will definitely check out your YouTube video. Thanks again!

 

[Maximizer]

Whats your review of the tank as it sits right now? Would you recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade?

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Whats your review of the tank as it sits right now? Would you recommend it to anyone looking to upgrade?

The "tank" itself is pretty nice, for what it is. It'll never win any beauty contests, that's for sure. But, it holds just about 600 gallons of water and has a decent sized viewing window, which we and the inhabitants enjoy having the ability to see through. I have no doubts that it'll hold water for pretty much ever. Our Fly River turtle absolutely loves the added swimming room it provides, compared to his old tank (300 gallon).

 

[Maximizer]

The "tank" itself is pretty nice, for what it is. It'll never win any beauty contests, that's for sure. But, it holds just about 600 gallons of water and has a decent sized viewing window, which we and the inhabitants enjoy having the ability to see through. I have no doubts that it'll hold water for pretty much ever. Our Fly River turtle absolutely loves the added swimming room it provides, compared to his old tank (300 gallon).

Good to know. I've been thinking about getting one. I've been talking to a lady from pentair about them and so far I'm pretty impressed. Do you have any plans to build something around it to spruce it up a bit? I've been trying to find some more builds with them but don't see very many. It's seems the price can't be beat for the size.

 

[Def Leppard Hysteria]

Good to know. I've been thinking about getting one. I've been talking to a lady from pentair about them and so far I'm pretty impressed. Do you have any plans to build something around it to spruce it up a bit? I've been trying to find some more builds with them but don't see very many. It's seems the price can't be beat for the size.

As of right now, no. The tank is in an unfinished part of our basement, so we're not overly concerned on how the fiberglass tank looks. Pentair was extremely helpful to us during the whole process. If it weren't for time constraints, we probably would have looked into ordering a custom sized fiberglass tank from them. We were originally pointed their direction by a gentleman who runs the Herpetology department at the Bronx Zoo, so they are quite popular in the zoo/rescue programs around the country.

 

[Maximizer]

As of right now, no. The tank is in an unfinished part of our basement, so we're not overly concerned on how the fiberglass tank looks. Pentair was extremely helpful to us during the whole process. If it weren't for time constraints, we probably would have looked into ordering a custom sized fiberglass tank from them. We were originally pointed their direction by a gentleman who runs the Herpetology department at the Bronx Zoo, so they are quite popular in the zoo/rescue programs around the country.

I heard they were used alot in zoos/aquariums. I had questions about longevity, mainly will this tank work for 30 years. I'm mostly into salt water so i had a few questions about that. Would like to set up a monster freshwater tank lol just gotta find time. Do you think this tank will hold water, no issues, for 30+ years? I thought about the custom sizes, did you get one priced out? How big is the viewing window on the 600G? Sorry for all the questions, would just like to hear from someone that actually uses one. Thanks for your help.