Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hay. I had some bad luck with my first turtle because information is REALLY hard to find about filtering and stuff. Anyways, my painted died after about a month, I think because of inadequate filtering (the pet store told me the Whisper would be ok, YEAH RIGHT!). Anyways, I want to get another turtle (prolly a painted hatchling), but I want to get a nice filter. I was thinking about the Filstar XP2 or XP3 for my 30 gallon tank. What do I need, though besides the filter? Is the tubing supplied enough or should I buy more? What type of media do you use (how much, how often, and where?). I know, so many questions, but I can't afford trial and error right now (I already lost one turtle to that). Finally, if anybody has any suggestions on dealing with algea, let me know. Thanks!

rdclairm

I don't think the filter was the cause of your turtles death. Did you have a heater, basking spot, UVB lighting, correct diet ect.?
I have a FilStar and love it. For a painted turtle you will eventually have to upgrade your tank since you have a 30 right now. I would suggest getting at least a 55gal. Since you will have to upgrade tanks in the future I would buy the XP3, that way you will save yourself some money and not have to upgrade the filter when you upgrade your tank. The cheapest place I have found them is at Petwarehouse. I think they are on sale for like $99.00, I bought mine for $120.00. Everything comes with it except for the media. There are three compartments. the first one (starting from bottom up) should be foam. Then the 2nd should be some biological media like bio rings. the 3rd shiould be like a bag of charcoal. Hope this helps.
Chris D.
Heres the link to the place...
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=6&pCatId=3602
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Hey mine name is Chris and I currently have 1.0 Midland Painted, 1.0 YBS, and 1.1 Leopard geckos.
This is my female.

Well, who knows what killed it. Ya, everything else was correct (heater, UVA and UVB, basking area, water temp, everything). I did have trouble getting her to eat right (actually, she didn't eat for nearly a month after we got her). Eventually she fell in love with meal worms, but I doubt they where enough to sustain her. Once she ate those, she wouldn't eat anything else. I tried everything to get her to eat something else, but it never worked. Oh well, lesson learned. Thanks for the help, though!

Randy

We have our filter set up with the charcoal before the biological filter as per the instructions it came with. Anyone have any thoughts on that since the last post advises the opposite.

I was not saying that was the "right" way, thats just the way I do it. I usually put mechanical, bio, then chemical, but im no expert.
Chris D.
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Hey mine name is Chris and I currently have 1.0 Midland Painted, 1.0 YBS, and 1.1 Leopard geckos.
This is my female.

Filtration information is not THAT hard to find, try these...

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/filtration.htm

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin-chem.html

I personally, and most professionals recommend the Fluvals and Eheims, you can't wrong with those.
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*Humans aren't the only species on earth... we just act like it.

".the oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without
spoiling it."
Aldo Leopold (1938)

Fluvals are in my opinion, not all that good. There cheaply made and are a pain to prime. FilStars are the best filters for the price. But I do agree, Ehiems take the cake. Although they are expensive they are great filters.
Chris D.
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Hey mine name is Chris and I currently have 1.0 Midland Painted, 1.0 YBS, and 1.1 Leopard geckos.
This is my female.