Advise On Which External For 55g...

[Sammy1911]

Hi
i currently have a planted bow front Cleair 55G community tank. It has a wet/dry overhead tray system powered by a 1300lph powerhead. i am not happy with the filtration i can do a 40%wc and a day later theres debris floating around the tank, the fine/polishing filter pad is changed every week... its filthy!
So ive been lookin at external filters but have noticed that lph for something capable of 250litres is around 700. I have two questions...
1. Would an external filter give me a better/more efficient filtration system than my current setup?
2. which exteral would u suggest?

Ive been looking at the Eheim filters: Professional 2224, 2324 & professional 3 2071 on zooplus but im concerned that the circulation wont be enough... confused.com!! Please help

 

[Aquascaper]

Yes, an external IMO will always out-perform an internal or HOB.

Eheim and Fluval externals will give the stated flow rate even when filled with media, others state flow rate when empty. I was running an Eheim 2226 on my Trigon 190 (50g).

As long as the filtration turnover is adequate you can boost flow with powerheads rather than buying an excessively big external.

 

[gregswimm]

Sun sun/aquatop cf300. Mine works great, no problems what so ever and it only cost 70 USD. The cf400 is a good price aswell, and it gives a little under 400 gph + a 9w UV.


Also, HOBs are inherently flawed. Once the media is filled, the water flows around the media, providing almost no filtation. Another issue with the hob is that the filtered water is droped right above the intake, the filter ends up taking up some filtered water along with the unfiltered water.

You can also get some nice cross tank flow with an external.