Catfishnut -- I found what you were talking about. Is this something you could use as a "pre-filter?" My pond will be somewhat unique in that it will have depth (for filtration), but a false bottom (@ 2-3") as it's going to be for my box turtles (are not aquatic). These little guys poop in their water and can create QUITE a mess. Since I plan to use some type of bio-filter, will need to stop the majority of the poopy stuff before it gets to the main filter [I guess that's right, huh, guys?]. So guess my next topic/question will be about pre-filters.
Mmathis,
Ok, I had a different vision about the wording of turtles + ponds. Putting those two together made me think of aquatic turtles. You have box tortoises. Right? The yellow and brown / black ones with the high carapace or upper shell?
First of all, I have had these as pets before and I don't recall them ever entering the water very often if ever. Not on purpose anyway. These totoises usually stay on the land and they do their "jobs" on the land.
You say that yours are doing their number in the water? What did you do? Take them in the house and show them how to use the indoor facilities? Can they at least flush? LOL!
Don't worry, I am not picking on you, I just thought of it in a humorous light.
I never thought of it before, not with tortoises, but allow me to tell a quick story. When I was a kid, I found a dead sparrow in an old railroad shack, right below the nest. In the nest were three baby sparrows. So young that they did not have feathers and their eyes were not yet open. I took them home in a wooden box made for keeping screws and nuts and bolts and I cared for them. I named them Buono, Brutto and Cattivo (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly). I put their nest in the box and kept it as originally set up by the parents. I started feeding them outmeal and other mushy cereals by a straw with the end cut to make almost a spoon shape. They took to it right off.
While I was watching them one day, I found out how they kept their nest clean. I originally thought maybe mama and papa cleaned house. Not so, these little guys with eyes closed would back their butts over the edge of the nest and do their jobs. That's how they maintain their nests!
Okay, hope you liked the story. Back to your tortoises. If they are fouling the water, are they doing their number as my baby sparrows were? Maybe they are keeping their land mass clean and expecting by instinct that the water in the pool will conduct their waste away???
What to do with this situation? Hmm, how deep is your pool of water? Do you simply have the pool for them to drink from? Do they drink from it? I wouldn't expect them to be doing so if they are deficating in it. Most all wild animals have the same instinct that we do in this regard. Just like the baby sparrows not pooping in their nest. You wouldn't want to sleep in your bed if you had an accident there. I don't think the tortoises would want to drink from the water source (pond part) if they were doing their number in it. Would you? Nawh! They are probably getting their water supply from the food that you provide them. Tortoises don't require much water at all. So, I imagine that they are being smart enough to keep their small land area clean by using the waterway for a sewage system. Yes, they are that smart, or maybe just that instinctive.
Okay, now... How much separation do you have between the land and the water? You want the land mass to be very dry. Tortoises live on really dry land, so moisture in the sand and dirt could lead to diseases and fungus problems for them on their plastron and feet. So ensure to keep their land mass very dry.
Back to the pond part of your, let me refer to it now as a terrarium, how we gonna drain or cycle the dirty water out. Or, how we going to flush your tortoises potty?
If you have enough space, I would intall a small volume water pump with a strainer filter on the pump inlet side and place the pump in the lowest part of the pond portion of this "terrarium". Then, I would route the output of the pump to a simple barrel/bucket/tub and strain that for solids with some coarse rocks like river pebbles and pea gravel. This filter box will require you to clean it at specific intervals. Then, the outlet of this box could go directly back to the pond.
Now, if you plan to put fish in the pond, you are probably going to want to do something further, like install a skippy style filter right after the sediment filter to remove the ammonia/ammonium from the water.
Then run your return water back to the pond through a waterfall. The larger your pond area, the less elaborate you will have to be with NO fish, but if you add fish into this mix, the more elaborate it will have to be. Your tortoises only won't need anything elaborate. But, that's just for them. Any fish in the pond will have totally different needs and require you to do some more work to make their home nice, too. A larger pond area, the less critical it will be.
I guess you will just have to decide what you plan on doing overall. Fish or no fish. Then go from there.
Gordy
Glad I did, too!
