Hi All i am new to this site and new to owning a turtle so you will probably see me loads asking questions on here now ha ha.
can anyone please tell me when putting in a water filter how will i know what size as i have seen on sites different filters are specific for certain size tanks and then it says filters 40 litres per hour (example) but as my turtle is semi aquatic it will only need about six inches of water (quote me if i am wrong) so will this make the difference
thanks
Dania

What species of turt do have?

Filters for turts need to be much bigger and more powerful than those for fish for a given size of tank. You need an external filter (don't waste your money on an internal, it will do nothing) rated for at least 2-3x the volume of the tank.

So if it says in the filter spec it's good for aquariums up to 600 litres for instance, then you could use that for a turt tank up to 300 litres if you only have one or two turts in it.

Unfortunately less water doesn't neccessarily mean you can use a smaller filter, a smaller volume of water becomes dirty much quicker so actually needs more filtration, the greater the volume the less filtration it needs to keep it clean.

yeah, go big as possible. you'll be glad you did. as graham said, big water equals stability. so go with as much water volume as you can while maintaining proper depth. a big filter along with big water will make it all so hassle free. you don't want any bugs growing in the tank to mess with the turtle. and yes, even the ratings on filters for fish applications are way understated. think of it all as maybe like an air cleaner for your house, big equals better air quality. i know how expensive filters are but just one trip to the vets for a fungal infection will more than pay for almost any filter. i'd say 4-6 times the water volume per hour...but that's just me. also, you'll have much less cleaning with a bigger filter as it can more easily handle the bio-load. you get a really big bacteria bed going with a big, underwhelmed filter....just my two cents...

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thanks both thats really helpful, i am so paranoid about doing stuff wrong as for the type of turt i am unsure i have not recieved yet but basically the person could no longer care for it so i thought i would swot up on everything, and the filter thing seems harder to find out but you guys have really helped.

also when u say external filter, does this still go inside the tank and drain externally presumably by way of pipe?
also can anyone reccommend one.

Thanks

Good on you for rehoming a turt!

The external filter, as the name suggests, goes outside the tank and draws water out via a hose and back in through another one, you place one hose at either end of the tank and it creates a current which clears the waste.

The reason it goes outside is because of the size, they are quite big because they need to contain lots of bio-media, bio filtration is the most important thing with turts. A filter of sufficient size would simply take up too much room in the tank.

If you can tell me what size tank you have and how much water I can certainly recommend a suitable filter, the filter has to be matched to the tank though so it's impossible to make recommendation without more info.

Also PM-ing you on this.

the tank is 3x3x2ft with, i anticipate about 6 inches of water in.
What brand of filter and heater would you reccommend

You may not need a heater, it depends on the aga and species of turt. Only tropical species need a water heater beyond the age of 12 months, temperate species don't need a heater after that in a normally heated house, the heat from the basking lamp and background heat from the room should be sufficient to keep the water around 20°C.

And again depending on species you may need rather more than 6" of water, do you know what species it is yet?

3' x 3' x 2' is a very odd size of tank, are you sure about that?

3X3 wide by 2' tall?

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i will try and get a pic to send you but someone i know said maybe yellow belly (i am sure i have said that wrong) the tank is 3ft long by 3ft high by 2ft deep although i have just seen another on that is 40" width by 18" high by 12" depth so if possible could you give me rough on that to.
sorry about all the questions i want to make sure that everything i get will be the right things.
the turtle (we think its a turtle) is bigger than an adults hand it has a raised round back yellowy whitey colour and has black and yellow lines on its legs. hope this helps.
i am hoping to get him asap but obviously i want to make sure i am well prepared.

3 foot tall!...wow!

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