Equipment Review and Discussion :: Zoo Med filter 501?

[davidthegreat]

Anyone have or use this? How is it?

[marisa]

Is it an internal filter?

[davidthegreat]

It is a Canister Filter for up to 30 gallons.

[mike hill]

d-great - how many gph does it pump and how large is the tank?

[papoopeepoo]

i've used it. I wouldn't recommend it for any tank over 15-20 gallons.

[rsour24]

i use it on my 29. i like it. but i also have it combined with a second filter. so its not doing all the work.

[davidthegreat]

mike it does 79gph and the tank is 20 gallons but will only have 10-15 gallons.

[mike hill]

d-great - Your filter is marginal at best. I would suggest that you get a bigger set up. Turtles poo a lot more than fish. The 5x rule is an "at least" number. Two things that help a tank keep cleaner is more water and more
gph. Most turtle keepers short themselves with a large enough filter and then wonder why their water is constanty cloudy.

[coreyvht]

if your gonna do that get the 511

[jay2487]

david whatever it says it "guaranteed" rated at, divide by two. It might possibly, if the wind is right and the moon is full in the sky, pump that much for the first 30 seconds you have it plugged in but it definitely isn't going to constantly pump that much volume. Especially if you have live plants or a less than spotless tank.

[LilTurtSquirt]

[imderanged]

I had it on a 20 long less than half full and it did not perform well at all. I had a lot of water quality issues and it was very hard to change the media. I also had trouble with the intake and outflow falling off, and the whole thing would randomly just stop working. Not a good investment.