More turtles = need for more filtration

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kittyhazelton

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jan 25, 2007
693
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16
Upper Valley VT/NH
Well with the recent arrival of an additional 6 turtles (4 RES, 1 YBS, and 1 sideneck) I need to up the filtration in my stock tank.
I am thinking of using a 30-gal tub configured as in the picture that sits inside the tank and is cleverly disguised as a basking dock.
The approximate water capacity of my tank is 300gal.
Suggestions? Questions? Filtration media ideas.

And YES I will post pics of the turtles when I get home today, don't have my camera ATM.

turtle filtration.jpg
 
Your not thinking about housing the sliders with the sideneck are you?
 
coura;4368952; said:
Your not thinking about housing the sliders with the sideneck are you?
Click to expand...

I will be putting the sideneck in a seperate tank shortly... the previous owner had kept the sliders and sideneck together for the last 3 years.... I had assumed I was getting a batch of turtles that were all similar otherwise I would have planned on separate housing ahead of time... another project for this weekend. ugh.
2 of the RES have tail injuries, the sideneck has a small chunk missing out of the back shell schutes.... they had been keeping all of these guys in what they described to me as what sounded to be a 75-90 gallon tank... they were changing the water in the tank every couple days "because it would smell so bad".... just... oi.
 
well it sounds like they are in better care now. As far as the filter media goes, I would focus on the mechanical filtration more than biological since turtles really don't care about the nitrate level. you are going to want something that will stop all of the shed skin and scutes and the left over food and waste. On top of this you will need easy access to it and make it easy to clean.

It looks like your design would work but I would add more mechanical in place of some of the gravel. I would also be worried about the finer parts of gravel getting into the impeller of the pumps since they are so close. just some thoughts.
 
snakeguy101;4369247; said:
well it sounds like they are in better care now. As far as the filter media goes, I would focus on the mechanical filtration more than biological since turtles really don't care about the nitrate level. you are going to want something that will stop all of the shed skin and scutes and the left over food and waste. On top of this you will need easy access to it and make it easy to clean.

It looks like your design would work but I would add more mechanical in place of some of the gravel. I would also be worried about the finer parts of gravel getting into the impeller of the pumps since they are so close. just some thoughts.
Click to expand...

good thoughts. my current prototype filter (5gal bucket, similarly configured) has bioballs in the media in the bottom so the getting stuck in the impellers isn't an issue because of the size of the slots on the powerheads compared to the balls. As far as accessibility it's just a matter of lifting the basking tile off the top. water enters the bucket via notches cut around the top lip (similar to an overflow system syle) I currently use plastic baskets that lift out of the bucket to hold the filter material, but will probably have to re-make something that fits flush inside the tub.
 
sounds good. let us know how it goes.
 
Agreed with Chris on the bio vs. mech, though you'll want some bio so the ammonia is broken down at least. You could do a layer of scrubbies instead of the gravel, solves the grit-in-impeller issue.
 
CTU2fan;4370487; said:
Agreed with Chris on the bio vs. mech, though you'll want some bio so the ammonia is broken down at least. You could do a layer of scrubbies instead of the gravel, solves the grit-in-impeller issue.
Click to expand...
DONE!
We'll see how it works out with a total of 6 adult-sized sliders in there. I used mostly poly fiber with the top layer being pre-filter sponge, and a shallow layer of bioballs on the bottom from my other filter.
 
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