Happy Adoption Day, Tenzin!

[Chloebark]

My Facebook showed me that I had a memory from 6 years ago today-the day I adopted my first ever turtle! I now have Tenzin, as well as 2 other res, 1 eastern river cooter, a Russian tortoise, and a leopard tortoise. I love them all so much! Also I don’t want anymore turtles haha. Friends are always asking me if I want their friends turtle that they don’t want/can’t have anymore and it’s so sad. Anyway, happy post today, it’s Tenzin’s sixth year with me!


Tenzin the day I got him


Tenzin nowish (in the tub while the tank was being cleaned)

 

[vladimir]

Aww! We recently celebrated 10 years of having our aquatic turtles. [emoji846] My RES has gotten darker ears but they're all as awesome as ever [emoji217]

 

[Kaeloni]

That’s really exciting! Just curious, what kind of filter do you use? I’m not aloud to have aquatic turtles because they smell. After 6 years, I’m sure you’ve found a good filter.

 

[vladimir]

That’s really exciting! Just curious, what kind of filter do you use? I’m not aloud to have aquatic turtles because they smell. After 6 years, I’m sure you’ve found a good filter.

I only notice a smell if the filters aren't maintained regularly / properly. I have two Fluval 406s and a Filstar XP3 with my three aquariums

 

[Gillian M]

Oh how cute!

 

[Kaeloni]

I only notice a smell if the filters aren't maintained regularly / properly. I have two Fluval 406s and a Filstar XP3 with my three aquariums

Thanks for the info! I’ll tell my husband that. He’s under the impression that they are really smelly.

 

[vladimir]

Thanks for the info! I’ll tell my husband that. He’s under the impression that they are really smelly.

Don't get me wrong, if I procrastinate cleaning the filter media for weeks after it is due to be changed, they can start to smell. But most of the time it's not a problem.

The suggestion I had heard was to get a filter sized for an aquarium three times bigger than what you actually have for aquatic turtles. For a 55 gallon aquarium, look for something that can filter enclosures up to 150-200 gallons. Both the Filstar XP3 (may be called the XP-L now) or the Fluval 406 have done the job for me for 55 gallon aquariums. I currently have my RES in a 75g with a Fluval 406 and I rarely have issues with water quality in there.

edit; I forgot to say, a canister filter is the way to go. The internal filters or hang on back ones just don't seem to be powerful enough for big turtles.

 

[Billna the 2]

Congrats!!! [emoji119]

 

[Toddrickfl1]

That’s really exciting! Just curious, what kind of filter do you use? I’m not aloud to have aquatic turtles because they smell. After 6 years, I’m sure you’ve found a good filter.

I use the Penn Plax canister filter on my 75 gallon with 4 sliders. It keeps it clean and they never smell. I only clean the media about once every 3 months.

 

[Keith248]

Thanks for the info! I’ll tell my husband that. He’s under the impression that they are really smelly.

I ran a Fluval 406 and a 405 on a 75 gallon tank with a turtle topper for my full grown Western Painted Female before moving her into the pond. No smell whatsoever. Did weekly water change and cleaned 1 filter a month. So the individual filter was cleaned every other month. I used all plastic dish scrubbers for media.

 

[Chloebark]

That’s really exciting! Just curious, what kind of filter do you use? I’m not aloud to have aquatic turtles because they smell. After 6 years, I’m sure you’ve found a good filter.

This is probably the bigger thing I tell New turtle owners about. You have to get a good filter (or build one). I am not a handy person. I had been using the Fluval Model 106 for the majority of this time in a 75 gallon aquarium with 4 turtles.
But recently I’ve upgraded to a 125 gallon tank with the Fluval fx6 canister filter and it is a beast! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJQ50HC/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

They are so so so messy, and now they are so big I know this new canister filter will help me so much with tank maintenance. They typically aren’t smelly unless you don’t have the proper filtration or if you go extended periods of time without cleaning the tanks/changing the water!

 

[Kaeloni]

This is probably the bigger thing I tell New turtle owners about. You have to get a good filter (or build one). I am not a handy person. I had been using the Fluval Model 106 for the majority of this time in a 75 gallon aquarium with 4 turtles. View attachment 250072
But recently I’ve upgraded to a 125 gallon tank with the Fluval fx6 canister filter and it is a beast! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BJQ50HC/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

They are so so so messy, and now they are so big I know this new canister filter will help me so much with tank maintenance. They typically aren’t smelly unless you don’t have the proper filtration or if you go extended periods of time without cleaning the tanks/changing the water!

Thanks! I think I may have my husband talked into letting me get one!!! I will start ordering supplies and a filter. Now where to get a turtle? I think I will try to adopt.

 

[Chloebark]

Thanks! I think I may have my husband talked into letting me get one!!! I will start ordering supplies and a filter. Now where to get a turtle? I think I will try to adopt.

Yay!! You must post pics when you do! I would ask on this forum or even ask friends, it seems people are always trying to get rid of their turtles because they didn’t realize how much work they are.

 

[Kaeloni]

Yay!! You must post pics when you do! I would ask on this forum or even ask friends, it seems people are always trying to get rid of their turtles because they didn’t realize how much work they are.

I will definitely post pictures once I get a turtle! Is there a good beginner species that you recommend? There’s a bunch of people getting rid of turtles on Craigslist. We don’t have any local turtle rescues or else I would start there.

 

[Chloebark]

I will definitely post pictures once I get a turtle! Is there a good beginner species that you recommend? There’s a bunch of people getting rid of turtles on Craigslist. We don’t have any local turtle rescues or else I would start there.

I only know about red eared sliders and eastern river cooters, since that’s what I own. Sliders are a shy/scared species and like to “slide” into the water when they sense danger. Eastern river cooters are very laid back and mine doesn’t mind when I pick her up (I only pick her up when cleaning the tank but the sliders freak out when I do that).

With that being said I love all of my turtles and they seem to be very happy. I do have one male and I wouldn’t recommend having female and males together because the males can get aggressive or annoy the females. Probably just one would be ideal (it’s too late for me to go back!)

I didn’t think about craigslist but that may be a good place to start but. I’ve seen people post on here when they can’t keep their turtle anymore or people post when they are looking for a turtle, but that may be hard based on who would even live near you and use this website.

Maybe make a post asking for help in where to look for a new turtle. Mine were wild caught years ago before I knew anything, and one was given to me as a gift bought by a breeder but i didn’t buy it myself.

 

[Kaeloni]

Don't get me wrong, if I procrastinate cleaning the filter media for weeks after it is due to be changed, they can start to smell. But most of the time it's not a problem.

The suggestion I had heard was to get a filter sized for an aquarium three times bigger than what you actually have for aquatic turtles. For a 55 gallon aquarium, look for something that can filter enclosures up to 150-200 gallons. Both the Filstar XP3 (may be called the XP-L now) or the Fluval 406 have done the job for me for 55 gallon aquariums. I currently have my RES in a 75g with a Fluval 406 and I rarely have issues with water quality in there.

edit; I forgot to say, a canister filter is the way to go. The internal filters or hang on back ones just don't seem to be powerful enough for big turtles.

I’m going to buy the fluval 406 for my 40 gallon tank. I’ll only have one turtle in there. With that being said, how often do I need to change the water? And I need to clean the filter?

 

[vladimir]

With the 406, one turtle and a 40 gallon you may be able to go over 3-6 months without touching the filter. I suppose it depends on how dirty the individual turtle is [emoji16]

note I am not an expert and it is probably better to do more frequent maintenance.

 

[Kaeloni]

With the 406, one turtle and a 40 gallon you may be able to go over 3-6 months without touching the filter. I suppose it depends on how dirty the individual turtle is [emoji16]

note I am not an expert and it is probably better to do more frequent maintenance.

Awesome! For $200 it better be something special.

 

[vladimir]

After it's been running for about 12-24 hours you'll be amazed at how clear the water is when you first get it set up.

I know it's not best practice, but I tend to do filter maintenance based on how the water is looking/smelling rather than a set schedule. The most frequent thing I need to do is add water to compensate for what evaporates over time.

Oh: I got mine at Amazon - currently $160 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005QRDCWA/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

 

[Chloebark]

I’m going to buy the fluval 406 for my 40 gallon tank. I’ll only have one turtle in there. With that being said, how often do I need to change the water? And I need to clean the filter?

Yeah that sounds like a good setup. With just one turtle you’ll probably be able to go weeks and maybe even months without cleaning the filter or water changes (but you will need to add water). It can last longer if you feed your turtle in a separate tank/container because they’re messy eaters, but I’m way too lazy for that. When I clean the filter (like once a month) I take out all the sponge pieces and spray them down with a hose and I try to follow the recommendations on the packaging for replacing the carbon or ammonia filters. Winter it rough because I usually won’t clean the filter for about 3 months because I can’t take everything outside to clean really well so I just do water changes during winter.