# Zoomed 501 Canister Filter Question



## StevenLeeds (Jul 21, 2007)

All,

I'm setting up a 20 long for a small snapping turtle. The water depth will be about 6 inches.

My question about the 501 is this. Is the spray bar limited in location to the top of the tank or is it possible to mount it down far enough to get under that water level. Trying to judge whether or not it was possible from pictures on the web has been difficult.

Thanks,
Steven


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## jmontee (Feb 7, 2008)

It shouldn't be a problem. You nay need to add or remove length on the tubing but power wise it will work. I think that the main issues with these filters is that they need to be at or near the same level as the tank or you will have flow issues.


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## Indignation (Mar 9, 2008)

I actually set my filter below my tank and experienced better flow. YMMV.
I would consider another filter, as the zoomed 501 is actually very weak. I have one on a 5.5 gallon tank with just shrimp, and it barely keeps up. Maybe take a look at an Eheim or Rena Filstar canister, especially with a turtle. I think (never owned one) that they are quite the poo factories.


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## fshfanatic (Aug 7, 2008)

I kept turtles yrs ago and the secret to clean water is a lot of flow and good mechanical filtration. 

As much as it pains me to say this, I am not sure I would go Eheim. They are more a bio filter than mechanical filter. I would go Rena or something else that pushes a lot of water. You dont need any bio so I would just fill that sucker up with sponges and call it good.

Turtles are messy, be prepared to do a lot of filter cleaning.


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## StevenLeeds (Jul 21, 2007)

Yeah, I know turtles can be quite messy. Especially a snapper. Water changes and a seperate feeding tank help out quite a bit.

Snappers don't like a lot of water flow it stresses them out. I'm looking primarily for biological filtration and I'll keep up on the mess with water cahnges.

My concern with the 501 was it just didn't look like I could get the bar deep enough in the tank. I want as little surface agitation as possible as it will be covered entirely with floaters.

Thank you for the replies and the advice. 

Once I move him up to a larger tank I will go with a larger canister until he is out in the pond.

Cheers,
Steven


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## brentling (Sep 26, 2008)

I kept a snapper with a Zoo Med 501 for a long time. As long as the filter is next to the tank and not underneath of it, you should be fine. It is not a problem to use the spray bar below the water surface. You will most likely need to replace the tubing that comes with the filter. I actually replaced the spray bar with an elbow to make it less obtrusive. The snapper finally went back to the river once he was too big (he was a rescue, so I intended to release him all along). Now I use the Zoo Med 501 for a 10 gallon fish tank and it does great.


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