2turtlespecies,
I have the same tank size as you. I have 14" of water in it. I have 2 Fluval 304's. The one on the left discharges toward the surface to break up the gasses that collect on the surface. The one on the left discharges towards the floor to push the bottom debris around. There are river rocks, driftwood and plastic plants, so a lot of debris gets trapped in the rocks and there isn't a filter out there that can pull that trapped debris in. But I do have a very successful set up- here's what I do.
For media I have polyfiber, the cheap kind used as furniture stuffing, in the bottom chambers of both filters. In the middle chambers of both filters I use pre-bagged carbon. In the upper chamber of one I have boi-max ceramic thingies. In the top chamber of the other one I have pre-bagged ammonia remover. I also top off all upper chambers with a 1/2" layer of polyfiber.
I replace the polyfiber every 2 weeks(20 minutes-tops). I replace the carbon and ammonia remover every 2 months(45 minutes). I replace the bio-max every 6 months and do a complete clean out and water change(2 to 3 hours). When I do the bi-weekly polyfiber change I also do a quick vacuum job, since I usually need to add an inch or two of water anyway (evaporation). I have a stiff plastic tube (1/2"x 2'long) attached to flexible tubing, and I siphon off into a 5 gallon pail. The stiff tube lets me push rocks and whatever out of the way and suck alot of the trapped debris away. Once the pail is almost full I just stop. Replace the 4 gallons or so I just removed plus whatever I need to bring me up to my 14" mark.
That is the extent of my maintenance.
I have 4 juvenile turtles in this tank. My water is crystal clear, it actually shimmers in the light. I have never had a clogged filter. I feed my turtles in the tank. I also have a school of guppies that fluctuates anywhere from 10 to 50 fish. They do a great job cleaning up the food that the turtles miss. Which isn't much. When I do my 6 month clean out I net up most of the guppies and feed them to the turtles. By the next clean out I'm back to 50 plus fish. They're really prolific breeders.
I have an air stone to exhaust gasses off the surface, the air stone and the ammonia remover together totally eliminate any oily slime.
You can email me if you have any further questions.
Bob, Philadelphia.
