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(More customer reviews)Searched long to find the right filter. These Bio filters with multiple chambers for media is the way to go with turtles. We have a female red ear slider about 7 inches front to back of shell (she was about the size of a silver dollar when we got her two years ago). She is very messy andthe in tank filter was just not handling it. This filter with fresh water and a good shell scrubbing of our baby has worked fine. We used to have to clean her tank and change water every week to keep her water from getting too filthy. This filter in a forty gallon aquarium has been set up for three months now and other than adding water as it evaporates and cleaning her rocks we haven't had to do anything else except feed her. We did clean out the filter once because she made a mess of some fresh aquatic plants we bought for her. She chewed up fifteen dollars worth of plants in just two days. She probably ate some but most of them were chewed and left floating. The filter clogged from all the plant material. But I can't blame the filter for that. The water is always crystal clear. She seems to love her environment now.
There is a couple of things to keep in mind when using the filter for turtles. The intake tubing inside the tank comes in sections that have to be pushed together. They tend to loose prime at the connections because turtle tanks are only about half full and some of the connections are above the water level. I had to glue them together to keep the prime. The filter has to absolutely be at least 16 inches below the tank bottom. I set ours on the floor and the tank on the top of a 29 inch high credenza. When priming remember to fill the tube with water with the filter hose valve in the off position (the instructions will explain). Make sure there are no air leaks and screw on the cap tightly on the prime hole when you are done priming. With no air leaks in the intake hose, the tank about half full or more and the top of the filter about 16 inches below the bottom of the tank when you lock the hoses in place which opens the valves the weight of the water in the intake hose should pull water through the intake tube to fill the filter and you should at this point have a prime. This should now let you turn the filter on without loosing prime and your tank should stay clean like ours for months. This filter has three cannisters and each cannister has two chambers. We are using the foam layers as they came with the filter, two large pore followed by two small pore foams filters in the first cannister (this is from the bottom of the filter to the top). The water moves around the cannisters to the bottom of the filter and is pulled up to the top. So the set up is from the bottom up. The second cannister we used for the biomass. We used the round pellets in the first (bottom) chamber with a mesh top (included), followed by the star biomass media in the second chamber (top). In the third cannister we used nitrate/nitrite (white amonia media) in the first chamber followed by a mesh and then charcoal media in the second chamber with a micron filter on top followed by another mesh. Then we placed the top on that and closed it. After about a month and a half we had the plant incident and had to clean the filter. I just rinsed everything out real good except for the biomass media which I lightly rinsed (you want to keep the bacteria that collects on the media because this helps eat the chemicals in the water and solids). I then replaced everything again and it has been working great since. They recommend changing the carbon every month but we haven't yet. They also recommend changing the nitrate/nitrite media every ten months, so we have a while to go. The micron filter needs to be changed also after a few months. I wouldn't change the foam unless it is clogged to the point were I can't get it cleaned out. It is only to collect solids and retain them till they decompose and are absorbed by the bacteria.
I think any multiple chamber filter would work as well. I am skeptical about anything below three chambers for turtles. One large turtle I think is the equivalent of a thousand fish in feces and pee (that's just my guess). This filter is rated for a much bigger tank but I think a smaller filter would not have worked for a turtle as large as ours. Turtles do grow fast and keep growing. They also live for forty years so get a large filter that will handle larger tanks. If you can afford it I would go for the XP4 which is bigger and rated for larger aquariums. For turtles I think multiple chambers are really important because they do not need oxygen in the water since they do not have gills but they do need clean water to stay healthy and they are super, super, mega super messy.
The biggest complaints I have read from turtle owners about filters is getting a prime. Remember, you can not have any air leaks in the intake tube or hosing. We are going to look for a solid tube that we can cut to use for our intake so we do not have connections above the water.
Cons: Only the tubing, It should be a solid piece that you cut to size instead of multiple small pieces you connect together. But then again this setup works fine for fish tanks since the level of the water would always be above the connections. For turtle tanks which are only filled a little above half way you need to glue the connections above the water or find a solid tube to use instead.
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Rena Filstar Canister Power Filter, 175 gallonProduct Description: Filstar xp3 canister power filter moves 350 u. s. gallons per hour. Ideal for use in aquariums up to 175 u. s. gallons. Includes Complete Inlet And Oulet Accessory Packs, Flexible Tubing, And Filtration Baskets With Separation Grids. Lever Provides Wate
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