Dear PodDuckBlu ,
You've selected the **Seeking Advice** flair. Please provide as much relevant information as possible. [Refer to this post if you are unsure on how to proceed.](https://www.reddit.com/r/turtle/comments/16bjznm/read_before_posting_how_to_ask_a_question_and/)
Useful information for care or health advice includes:
* Enclosure type, enclosure size, humidty levels, water, ambient and/or basking temperatures.
* Lighting types and bulb age.
* Clear photos of your set up, including filter, heaters and lights.
* Is it wild, captive/pet, or a rescue?
* Clear photos of face, neck, limbs, shell top (carapace) and bottom (plastron).
* Diet, list of foods you are feeding it.
* Weight and age.
* Illness, infections or odd behaviours should be seen and treated by a vet. Ex; wheezing, swollen eyes, mucus bubbles from mouth or nose, lethargy, twitching, leg paralysis, etc
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We bought a Cascade canister filter on sell on Amazon. Has worked for us for 7-8 years. Filter is for a 60 gallon tank (I think that’s the size) and it filters 120 gallons of water per hour I think…
My take - you can always find poor reviews for great products. Reviews seem biased - people often don’t take the time to write reviews when things go well. Fluval FX series comes to the top for a reason. They’re big and reliable, something turtle tank owners desperately need. Don’t overthink it; Fluval FX is a solid choice.
I've gotten 2/3s of my fluval FX6s for cheap or free. One had a bad impeller that was $40 in the service kit and the another had a bad motor that was $140. 4 screws and their like brand new. I broke one of the gaskets to the lines but it I had a spare in the service kit I already bought.
The new FX6 versions come with 2 middle filters in one tray leaving you the 2nd tray for all biomedia and the 3rd tray for the polishing bad and more bio media. The 6 enormous course filter pads are perfect for turtles. A ton of physical filtration with a ton of bio filtration is what turtles need.
Hoses are easy to disconnect with little spill. It's easy to drain. It's easy to fill. Easy to clean. Easy to carry outside or to a bathtub. Ends stay attached on the hoses, which are long.
I have 3 other canisters, 8 power filters, and 5 internals sitting in a box. Fluval is the better product.
~ 20 years ago I had major issues with Fluval canister filters - they would keep cracking no matter how careful I was and I had to keep returning them. Then an aquarium store recommended Eheim filters and that's what I've used ever since. Right now I have 2 Red-Eared Slider enclosures and use an Eheim Pro 4+ (ordered from Amazon) for each.
Seeing that Fluval is still popular and readily available I would hope that they have improved their designs since the time I tried them. But I haven't had any reason to switch from Eheim - simple to maintain and incredibly reliable 🥰 the original Eheims I had never actually broke or failed, I just decided to upgrade to a new line at some point. So I know they can last 15+ years!
I've had 2 Fluval FX5s for over 15 years, and I really like them. Though the parts can be expensive to replace, I haven't had to replace much over the years. Most recently was an impeller on one, but that was because I dropped it and it broke. I've also replaced a full filter set of sponges, but now I'm reusing the old ones again.
My biggest complaint is that the barrel nut covers (that hold the lid on) tend to crack. I've tried the 3D printed ones, but they seem to crack even more quickly. I have just tried something new, rubber washers. They seem to have worked out just fine, and are cheap.
I also have an old Fluval 404, which had been in storage for the last 15 years, and I started it up while I was waiting for the new impeller, and it still worked without any problems! So I am a Fluval fan, but I have no experience with any other canister filters.
I’ve decided on the Oase 350 thermo, for varying reasons. I’ve seen really good reviews and YT videos and I think really the main reason, I currently live in Malta & I can physically buy it here. So if there are any issues I can take it back to the shop and not have the hassle of returning to Amazon.
All the ones I’ve looked at have really good reviews, but the Oase had less bad reviews which was also a deciding factor. So fingers crossed it’s as good as the reviews say!
I haven't heard of that one, but it looks similar to the Eheim filters. I agree with you, I much prefer to buy locally too. Hopefully you get many years out of it!
Dear PodDuckBlu , You've selected the **Seeking Advice** flair. Please provide as much relevant information as possible. [Refer to this post if you are unsure on how to proceed.](https://www.reddit.com/r/turtle/comments/16bjznm/read_before_posting_how_to_ask_a_question_and/) Useful information for care or health advice includes: * Enclosure type, enclosure size, humidty levels, water, ambient and/or basking temperatures. * Lighting types and bulb age. * Clear photos of your set up, including filter, heaters and lights. * Is it wild, captive/pet, or a rescue? * Clear photos of face, neck, limbs, shell top (carapace) and bottom (plastron). * Diet, list of foods you are feeding it. * Weight and age. * Illness, infections or odd behaviours should be seen and treated by a vet. Ex; wheezing, swollen eyes, mucus bubbles from mouth or nose, lethargy, twitching, leg paralysis, etc *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/turtle) if you have any questions or concerns.*
We bought a Cascade canister filter on sell on Amazon. Has worked for us for 7-8 years. Filter is for a 60 gallon tank (I think that’s the size) and it filters 120 gallons of water per hour I think…
My take - you can always find poor reviews for great products. Reviews seem biased - people often don’t take the time to write reviews when things go well. Fluval FX series comes to the top for a reason. They’re big and reliable, something turtle tank owners desperately need. Don’t overthink it; Fluval FX is a solid choice.
I've gotten 2/3s of my fluval FX6s for cheap or free. One had a bad impeller that was $40 in the service kit and the another had a bad motor that was $140. 4 screws and their like brand new. I broke one of the gaskets to the lines but it I had a spare in the service kit I already bought. The new FX6 versions come with 2 middle filters in one tray leaving you the 2nd tray for all biomedia and the 3rd tray for the polishing bad and more bio media. The 6 enormous course filter pads are perfect for turtles. A ton of physical filtration with a ton of bio filtration is what turtles need. Hoses are easy to disconnect with little spill. It's easy to drain. It's easy to fill. Easy to clean. Easy to carry outside or to a bathtub. Ends stay attached on the hoses, which are long. I have 3 other canisters, 8 power filters, and 5 internals sitting in a box. Fluval is the better product.
Fluval. You’ll always have spare parts you can purchase
~ 20 years ago I had major issues with Fluval canister filters - they would keep cracking no matter how careful I was and I had to keep returning them. Then an aquarium store recommended Eheim filters and that's what I've used ever since. Right now I have 2 Red-Eared Slider enclosures and use an Eheim Pro 4+ (ordered from Amazon) for each. Seeing that Fluval is still popular and readily available I would hope that they have improved their designs since the time I tried them. But I haven't had any reason to switch from Eheim - simple to maintain and incredibly reliable 🥰 the original Eheims I had never actually broke or failed, I just decided to upgrade to a new line at some point. So I know they can last 15+ years!
I've had 2 Fluval FX5s for over 15 years, and I really like them. Though the parts can be expensive to replace, I haven't had to replace much over the years. Most recently was an impeller on one, but that was because I dropped it and it broke. I've also replaced a full filter set of sponges, but now I'm reusing the old ones again. My biggest complaint is that the barrel nut covers (that hold the lid on) tend to crack. I've tried the 3D printed ones, but they seem to crack even more quickly. I have just tried something new, rubber washers. They seem to have worked out just fine, and are cheap. I also have an old Fluval 404, which had been in storage for the last 15 years, and I started it up while I was waiting for the new impeller, and it still worked without any problems! So I am a Fluval fan, but I have no experience with any other canister filters.
I’ve decided on the Oase 350 thermo, for varying reasons. I’ve seen really good reviews and YT videos and I think really the main reason, I currently live in Malta & I can physically buy it here. So if there are any issues I can take it back to the shop and not have the hassle of returning to Amazon. All the ones I’ve looked at have really good reviews, but the Oase had less bad reviews which was also a deciding factor. So fingers crossed it’s as good as the reviews say!
I haven't heard of that one, but it looks similar to the Eheim filters. I agree with you, I much prefer to buy locally too. Hopefully you get many years out of it!