Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Good evening folks,

I am soon to own a baby dwarf caiman and before that happens, I do need some expert advise on filters. As i need to buy a good filter that will create a waterfall plus be able to sufficiently clean lets say a 75 to 125 gallon tank for now. I never dealt with fish or filters, so I have no idea on which filter system to buy. Any affordable sites out here that sell them? Any advice will be appreciated.

Hi,

If you need something that will pump that much water as well as provide a waterfall, then you will most likely need an outdoor-like pond pump and filter canister. Basically, you buy two separate units (one being the pump and the other being the canister filter). You can make a wooden box stand to slide the canister into for mounting. The pump will need an electrical connection that I would strongly recommend be connected to a GFI (Ground Fault Interruptor). When it is set up, you will have the pump running one line to the filter, and the filter will have one line running to the source of your waterfall. Your waterfall will be the return for the water. I have a "Little Giant" pond pump that I bought from Lowes that really wasn't that expensive. The canister filter is about $40.00 filter pads.

Hope this helps and if you have any more questions, feel free to post them here or contact me directly via the link at the top. I might be able to provide you with some links to decent and cost-effective products.

Best Wishes,

Chris
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Chris Law
U.A.P.P.E.A.L. (Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League)
Herpetoculture Element Representative

Ooook,

Well for some reason Kingsnake.com doesn't like (plus) signs. The one sentence should read:

I bought a "little giant" pond pump from lowes that wasn't that expensive and a canister filter for about $40.00 (plus) filter pads.

Chris
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Chris Law
U.A.P.P.E.A.L. (Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League)
Herpetoculture Element Representative

Thanks for your help. My only concern is: Do I really need an outdoor pump for my current 55 gallon tank? Dont you think the pump would be a bit too strong for such a small tank? I will try to attend a few petshops before I buy online. There is a good web site called " www.wholesalepumps.com", but there are way too many pumps and attachments that I wouldn't know what to buy with what. It would be nice if the caiman could have a full filtration with some water fountain giving him a more natural feel to his habitat.

As for aquarium pumps for adapting to a waterfall you could even consider the Fluval or Cascade line of pumps. They are sold in various sizes for various size tanks, and are affordable and strong. These smaller ones are submersible, and may even by stood upright for the creation of a waterfall, provided that the intake at the bottom is fully submersed. You'll have to clean out those sponge filters from time to time, but, of course, that is expected.

I have been using the Fluvals also for turltes (messy critters) for many years and am satisfied with their performance.
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Israel Dupont
Winter Haven, FL

I have a fluval 4 plus that I use for my gators now. Suprisingly it is a good filter and typically does a good job. However, if you feed that mazuri crocdilian diet....the filter is certainly the underdog! I agree 100% with Izzy. Fluval definitely makes a quality filter and I have yet to be disappointed with any of their products. However, I do not have any experience with their canister filters.

Chris
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Chris Law
U.A.P.P.E.A.L. (Uniting a Proactive Primate and Exotic Animal League)
Herpetoculture Element Representative