Equipment Review and Discussion :: Need Suggestions on a New Filter

[obey22]

I have a 90g tank for my 7 inch female RES with an AC 110 filter currently. I've been looking at new filters for a while because im tired of cleaning the tank every month because it gets really green with algae. (usually starts getting cloudy and green about the 3rd week of the month)

I don't know if it gets green because my tank is located outside under my back yard porch. But I do live in Los Angeles, so I'm currently enjoying sunny 70 degree weather! Also the actual sunlight only hits the tank for an hour in the early morning and another hour during sundown.

Ive been looking at the Rena Xp3, Xp4, Fluval 405 and FX5

I cant make up my mind on any, I have a $190 budget and one of my biggest concern is which filter is going to be cheapest to maintain media wise.

Any suggestions on filters and on my algae problem?

[Love of Animals]

I have an XP 3 on a 55 gallon. If I had a 90 gallon I would go with the XP4. I love the filter!

[VeipaCray]

There are many threads talking about filters if you do a little searching in this equipment review sub-forum.

The top three filters for turtle tanks are:

1. Eheim Pro III $$$
2. Fluval FX5 $$
3. Rena XP3/XP4 $

I chose the FX5 personally because it was right at your budget number via an ebay store. It has the largest media capacity of the three which equates to less frequent cleaning intervals. That to me is worth the most.

Set up properly, you can do a filter with essentially no (very infrequent) re-occuring media costs:

Ceramic Bio media - rinsed and reused over and over until it falls apart (will last tens of years)
Sponges: washed and reused over and over (will last 3-5 years)
Purigen: synthetic renewable version of carbon. Can be regenerated with household bleach and used over and over (10+ years?)

For your algae read my algae control post in the indoor sub-forum.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=28813

[Karawr]

I personally have a rena xp3 for my 75gal and I'm very pleased with it. It's quiet and the water is only crystal clear. I clean the tank once a week - 2 weeks due to debris that builds up on the bottom of the tank. The only algae I have is a little on the basking dock but not much I can do about that...

I would suggest getting an xp4 though since you have a 90g.