Red tail cat

[shookONES]

U mean pressurised sand filters?... it should suffice provided u have a good mechanical filter first so that it doesn't get clogged up so easily.

I was thinking of having the intake tube wrapped in a coarse sponge?

 

[Oddball]

I was thinking of having the intake tube wrapped in a coarse sponge?

That's what I use to catch the big chunks. I had sand filters on a couple of my larger tanks. One pressurized (like a pool filter) and the other a fluidized bed for 900gal capacity. Both were a hassle to maintain. I put mech prefilters in front of them. The pressurized filter worked a little better but, the FBF couldn't break the sand loose. So, I put a stronger pump on the FBF and it worked OK until the mech filter reached 50% of it's normal pressure range. So, I pulled both sand filters from use.
I went to bead filters with coarse sponge prefilters. I've had no problems since. Plus, bead filters (Ocean Clear) can be backflushed without disconnecting any plumbing. Best of all is I got the bead filters for under $160/each and they'll handle up to 1200 gals at 1800gph (lower-rated pumps can be employed for smaller setups).

 

[sohfatfish]

Yup a sponge would work but you still have to clear the sponge regularly depending on your amount of dirt.

 

[Oddball]

This is probably the best reply to whether or not a 2ft wide tank is OK for a RTC:

 

[fishnthings]

damn!!!!!i wouldnt keep that in a tank at all. i would keep it in a big a** pond. i never thought these rtc's get that big

 

[Oddball]

I'm guessing his gut is full of slow-moving native fishermen.

 

[oscar1]

at least a 600 gallon tank they do get huge

 

[knickwight]

that would be your best bet, i don't know how big you can buy kiddie pools, but eventually he'll need about 1500 gallons to be properly kept. i've had mine for two and a half years and he is 28 inches long.

 

[shookONES]

Well when the time comes, I'm either going to buy a kiddie pool and cover it in pond liner. But I plan on moving my RTC to a 300g rubbermaid next weekend. I just gotta get the filtration running smoothly.