Ideas for a Recirculating water dish.

[Tanner Fry]

Hello I am in the process of building a larger enclosure for my tortoise Clyde. I've always wanted a small waterfall for him that could also be a shallow water bowl. I have a small beta fish tank pump and I've created two models that work but they are just not quite that good. I was hoping that someone smarter than me would give me some ideas! I would prefer it not be larger than 10×10 inches it's an indoor enclosure unfortunately so I wont be able to use the tire trick.

 

[dmmj]

Good luck Russians are very messy

 

[mark1]

use a 55 gallon or greater container as a filter ....... you just need an adequate amount of water to filter , the amount the animal lives in is not important ......... I have 7 adult r.p.manni that live in about 30-40 gallons of water with about 400-500gallons in the filter ...... I think the last time I cleaned it was 3 yrs ago ..........

 

[Yvonne G]

It has been my experience with Russians that they aren't interested in going into a waterer. They might "march" through it if it's in their way as they surf the wall, which means the waterer gets filled with substrate, something a filter won't be much help with.

 

[Tanner Fry]

It has been my experience with Russians that they aren't interested in going into a waterer. They might "march" through it if it's in their way as they surf the wall, which means the waterer gets filled with substrate, something a filter won't be much help with.

Yeah it honestly would have been more of a visual thing for me. It's probably a bad idea anyways because clyde makes it his personal mission to dirty the water as soon as I clean it. The last thing I want is to burn up a perfectly good pump because it got clogged with chips and dirt.

 

[RosemaryDW]

Yeah it honestly would have been more of a visual thing for me. It's probably a bad idea anyways because clyde makes it his personal mission to dirty the water as soon as I clean it. The last thing I want is to burn up a perfectly good pump because it got clogged with chips and dirt.

I’m sure Clyde would destroy all your good effort without a thought. Dang selfish tortoises!

 

[wellington]

use a 55 gallon or greater container as a filter ....... you just need an adequate amount of water to filter , the amount the animal lives in is not important ......... I have 7 adult r.p.manni that live in about 30-40 gallons of water with about 400-500gallons in the filter ...... I think the last time I cleaned it was 3 yrs ago ..........

I believe its for a tortoise not a turtle living in water.

 

[mark1]

would be pretty easy to keep the water clean with a single tortoise as opposed to multiple turtles ……it's harder to impossible to keep up quality water with small amounts , the larger the amount in respect to waste load the better …...….. I figured the water was a drinking source , although I do know redfoots would appreciate a pond , I would think any tortoise would …… manni bury themselves in the dirt come out and go straight in the water bringing with them any dirt on their shells ….. dirt is good for the filter , dirt actually contains nitrifying bacteria , not a bad idea to put a little in a new filter to help get it going , it seems to help from what I've seen ……….

 

[queen koopa]

I’m sure Clyde would destroy all your good effort without a thought. Dang selfish tortoises!

Yes. Our horses ruin many of our ideas, and Koopa bulldozes things I make for her. She dug up the first water area I built her.
Before:


After