What is your favorite filter?

tkbeacher

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Hello Turtle Friends,
I have a 10 year old YBS. He lives in a 100 gallon horse trough that we have transformed into a great aquatic space! I am in search of a QUIET filter. What's your favorite? Right now we have a Zilla brand filter.. I loved it when I first got it. Quiet. After cleaning the tank and the filter once, it now makes loud grinding and popping noises. I've tried taking the filter apart. This worked for a few hours, then the sounds came back. HELP me find the right fit! Suggestions, please! LArry.jpg
 

Randy Micheals

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To save you the cost of a new filter, have you considered trying some rubber fittings to insulate the noise? This has worked for me in past re a noisy filter.

Are you noticing a difference in performance? Could be your motor going if it's that noisy as well.

I'm going to have to say my tops for filters is a canister filter. No other filter can provide the multi leveled filtration and high turn over rate of a canister.

I've mostly kept fish in my tanks, but I had a couple sliders years ago, and I remember them being heavy waste producers, a proper canister would keep the water crystal clean.

Downsides of a canister:
-expensive initially, expensive to maintain.
-takes up quite a bit of space.
-requires maintenance of filter media.

Care must be taken to shield and position the inlet, so a turtle doesn't get stuck against it, a strong canister can take skin off or cause a prolapse even.

Let me know if you would like more info on canisters, not sure, maybe you've been keeping them as well and have low down.

This is what I use. Works great.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001LUKN0K/?tag=

Its pricey but worth it.

Fluval is easy to find replacement stuff for because it's such a popular brand, the price point is a little better, and they are honestly decent filters. The 07 series are made with rubber footings and inserts to reduce noise, never tried it tho.
The FX series are supposed to be good as well, tho they only come in larger sizes. The fx4 is rated for UP to 250 gallons, but would be ok for your size as long as you manage your inlet, outlet, and flow meter. Also gives you the option to upsize a bit down the road haha. Always fun.
 

Toddrickfl1

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I've used a canister filter for awhile but recently switched to a diy setup.

 

tkbeacher

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To save you the cost of a new filter, have you considered trying some rubber fittings to insulate the noise? This has worked for me in past re a noisy filter.

Are you noticing a difference in performance? Could be your motor going if it's that noisy as well.

I'm going to have to say my tops for filters is a canister filter. No other filter can provide the multi leveled filtration and high turn over rate of a canister.

I've mostly kept fish in my tanks, but I had a couple sliders years ago, and I remember them being heavy waste producers, a proper canister would keep the water crystal clean.

Downsides of a canister:
-expensive initially, expensive to maintain.
-takes up quite a bit of space.
-requires maintenance of filter media.

Care must be taken to shield and position the inlet, so a turtle doesn't get stuck against it, a strong canister can take skin off or cause a prolapse even.

Let me know if you would like more info on canisters, not sure, maybe you've been keeping them as well and have low down.

This is what I use. Works great.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B001LUKN0K/?tag=

Its pricey but worth it.

Fluval is easy to find replacement stuff for because it's such a popular brand, the price point is a little better, and they are honestly decent filters. The 07 series are made with rubber footings and inserts to reduce noise, never tried it tho.
The FX series are supposed to be good as well, tho they only come in larger sizes. The fx4 is rated for UP to 250 gallons, but would be ok for your size as long as you manage your inlet, outlet, and flow meter. Also gives you the option to upsize a bit down the road haha. Always fun.

Thank you so much for your reply. I have been researching canisters and they seem to be what I am looking for! The only thing that scares me... What is the best way to shield and position an inlet so the turtle doesn't get stuck. Larry is a big boy, ~4-5lbs, and 8in head to tail. I am creative! I have built numerous basking docs, I may have to build a crate-like shield to surround the filter.
 

crimson_lotus

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I have had both eheim and fluval 306/406 canister filters, and I have to say fluval is my favorite. I actually reverted back to the fluval after using the eheim for a while. I only have a 40g and my turtle is about 4 inches long fully grown, but I was told to get a filter with 2x the power due to the waste turtles generate. So my filter is for a 70-80g tank.

I do have to say that sometimes after I clean the motor, I do get a noisy sound if I do not put everything back correctly, or forget something... Just takes me one adjustment and it's quiet again.

Also worth noting that my turtle has never gotten stuck, or sucked into the filter. The input is a rather gentle current, whereas the output is quite powerful. Turtle likes to swim against the powerful output current for fun.
 

Randy Micheals

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I found a cubed plastic frame and meshed it over and fixed it to the hose using a hose clamp I believe. I can't remember where I got the plastic frame from...but the general idea was to not only protect feet head tail etc from going against IN the inlet, but also to prevent direct contact with the hose tip with skin etc. Try to make a tip that makes the flow of the water multidimensional.
 

ariana grande

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Above all suggestion is good enough. But I want to say I have been using a Canister Filter for the last 6month for my tank. I think according to your tank size Penn Plax Aquarium Cascade Canister Filter Performance is not a bad idea. It’s quick to put together the unit easy to use, it is possible to set up different filtration options. So you can set it up according to your choice. All over it is a good choice for your tank, you can try this out.
 
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