Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Alright. Here is the issue...

We have a Tetra Micro Internal Filter for a 2/3 filled, 20-gallon long tank (ca. 6" deep water). Now, we got this because the box cover said it's for turtle tanks. Granted that we only have 2 RES hatchlings, but after 2 months of care, I'm beginning to seriously doubt the advertising slogan and its cleaning potential.

It's set at the maximum flow of 70 GPH, but I still don't think it has enough suction to pull the debris resting on the bottom of the tank.

Am I wrong to think that this filter is wimpy, well, wimpy for my tank?!?

If so, what are my upgrade options?

Thanks a bunch.

I had a 300gph filter in my 10 gallon (2/3 full). It's the Whisper brand from Walmart. It did the job pretty well unless I fed them in the tank. I have it in my 29 gallon now. It's working great. I gave my RES a feeder fish treat, and it cleaned up the carnage very well.

With turtles it's better to go more than less. RES are pretty dirty creatures. The more filtration the better.

Devin

yah the filter is way too wimpy for your tank.
if you want a good cheap filter, get an aquaclear 500. you can get it for cheap at bigalsonline.com
keep in mind that it is a waterfall filter so the noise might bother you
the best filters are canister filters. they are more expensive though. the fluval 404 and filstar xp3 are the best "cheap" ones and cost around $90-$100 online. there is also a zoomed turtle canister filter which is a lot smaller and only around $40. it's a new product and i haven't heard much about it. but if you wanna try it, you can get it here:
http://www.petsmart.com/reptile___amphibian/shopping/habitats___cages/products/product_36231.shtml

I also love the Aqua Clear. It does a great job, is cheap, and the media is also very inexpensive. You can get it at Big Al's Online for about half of what I paid for it at the pet store. You can tape or silicone a piece of plexiglass to the front of the filter to quiet the waterfall.

I have something underneath the waterfall to curb the water splash and the turbulance.... it still has a nice bubbling effect though and my turtle just loves to hang out underneath it... I think he likes the pressure.

I have to agree about filter size vs. tank size. I switched from a 10 gallon tank w/20 gallon filter to a 20 gallon tank. I swear I thought the filter was breaking down because it just wasn't doing what it did in the 10 gallon tank. So I bought a 40 gallon filter..... SO MUCH NICER.

I don't care about noise from water falling (at least, I don't care unless I need to go potty.. LOL)

Oh, I just use for the time being a TopFin filter from PetSmart. I does what I need for now. I'll getting something more sophisticated when I move into once the bigger tanks but right now I have my turtle in a 20 gallon since I have no where to put a bigger tank except a dark corner and I don't want to do that to him.