Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a RES (female 6 1/2" in a 30 gallon tank. Her current filter just isn't cutting it. I threw away the box and the filter doesn't have any markings on itself so I don't know what brand it was, but I do remember it was only for a 10-15 gallon tank, which worked fine when I had only a 20 gallon tank for her and only filled it about half way. But now she is 2 inches bigger and because the tank is so much bigger the filter is doing close to nothing, it is getting very tiring trying to change her water every other week. What kind of filter can you suggest that is for a big waste producing turtle in a 30 gallon tank. I had a hang over the side filter, but the hose doesn't stick down far enough since the tank is not filled to the top. Also, I need to keep it under $50. Thanks~ Celina

I posted this message earlier but it never showed up,,...hmmm...
anyway
I don't mean to burst your bubble but part (much) of your problem is that a 30 gallon tank is really not enough space for a 6.5 inch turtle. It needs about twice as much space. But you can change that when you have time/money/inclination.
In the meantime, there are many different filter options to choose from. But with turtles, and especially ones in small tanks, you want mainly mechanical filtration (a filter that picks up the junk and then you dump out the junk) and lots of water turnover. You want a filter that will turn over 8 - 12 times the total volume of water every hour.
But bigger is better.
A good place for you to start might be with a Hagen's Aquaclear 300 or Aquaclear 500 power filter. These turn over 300 (500) gallons of water per hour, respectively. These are not the prettiest beasts but they clean well and if you empty/rinse their filter media often they will keep the tank pretty clean. But with a tank that size i'd still be doing a water change of 50 -75 percent every week.
You can get an aquaclear online at any of these places for 32- 36 dollars:

foster and smith
big al's
pet place

don't try to buy on at a pet store as they will cost 55 - 85 dollars there.

Thank you, I wne to petco to see if they had either of the filters that you mentioned, and I found the Aquaclear 300 for $40, which was alot less than I was expeting to spend considering I was not ordering online. But anyway, I hooked it up, and it is a merical how great it is working. Thanks again!

sure
hope you enjoy it.

you will still need to drain that water though, you know.

Oh and just so you are aware:
aquaclearscheap