Coral Reef Forum

Picking the right filter comes down to the following factors. tank size, stocking list, type of aquarium, budget, and amount of maintenance. The most common form of filtration is the power hang on back filter. HOB for short. HOB filters draw water up the intake tube via pump and passed through the filter media before being pushed out back into the tank. The two basic HOB types are aquaclears and cartage media HOBs. If you are a beginner or are not willing to spend time to clean the filter every other week, go with the power filter that is cartage based. It works perfectly fine as it is mechanical and chemical media, but you really cant modify the media inside. Aquaclear HOB filters i prefer as you can fully change the media inside to fit your aquarium. However a aquaclear will require more work to wash the media and the internal impeller. Overall HOB filters work great from beginners to advanced aquarist. The next common form of filtration is the canister filter. I personally and no longer a fan of this type of filtration. It does a good job at turning over the water in the aquarium per hour, but i have found that canister filters will break down alot and their replacement parts are almost the price of a new filter. If you can properly maintain them, they make good filters that can really do large volumes of water and you can fully customize the media, but are they worth the high price tag is what you really need to consider. I have personally went through the Fluval 404 and 405 as well as a Ehiem pro 2. All three were broken after 3-4 years of service which i dont consider economical. The last type of filtration that i will cover is the sump filter. Sumps are traditionally used on saltwater aquariums but will work just fine for a freshwater setup. Basically it is an aquarium or filter that sits below the main aquarium. What is flowed into the sump via pre drilled bulkheads or overflow boxes. Sump filters work the best by being fully customizable and being able to process large volumes of water. You can also hide the protien skimmer and heater in the sump rather than on the back of the main tank.

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