Sunsun canister filter

[JoshSloane]

Starting a community turtle tank and researching canister filters. I have found that many people are saying that Sunsun is just as good as the premier brands, for half the price. Thoughts?

[TheAwkwardTurtle]

I have the SunSun 302 on my 40 gallon breeder turtle tank and it works like a charm for me. It can be kind of difficult to prime (you get a good arm workout). Also some of the plastic bits (intake, spray bar, etc) are a bit cheap-feeling. However I would say those small downsides are well worth the difference in cost. The important parts work really well. The tubes are sturdy and thick and the motor is very powerful.

Of course mine is on a 40 gallon tank when it is rated for 75 gallons, but it's always recommended that you over-filter for turtle tanks because they produce so much more waste than fish. I usually go with a filter rated for about twice the volume of my tank (so I would usually have a filter rated for 80 gallons instead of 75).

Overall I would definitely recommend the SunSun. Mine has been running for about 2 years and I've had no significant issues (even though I sometimes get a little lazy on filter maintenance). Just make sure you over filter for a community turtle tank since multiple turtles in a tank really up the bioload.

PS I would definitely recommend also checking out turtleforum.com for turtle advice; I've had great experience with that forum and there are a lot more turtle-people on there than on here

[TheAwkwardTurtle]

PS Good to see another turtle-person from Colorado! I was beginning to think I was the only one