Best Small Aquarium Filter?

[alexbryan]

Hi guys,

I have a small aquarium (28 litres) and I've currently got a Fluval 1 plus, but it doesn't seem that affective. What's the BEST filter around for a small tank like mine with about 10 fish? Is carbon filter media better than regular filter sponge?

One important thing is that the filter be a quiet as possible, as the tank is in my bedroom

 

[tenohfive]

Carbon can be used in addition to (but not instead of) regular sponge media. Alot of people (myself included) don't bother with carbon media.

Carbon is used to remove chemicals from the water - such as when you've been treating the tank for some sort of disease. It also helps remove tannins which leach out of bogwood (which aren't harmful to fish but discolour the water.)

If you're not having much joy with the fluval 1+ it might be worth upgrading to a fluval 2+. Depending on your tank and the flow rate you may need to add a spray bar to reduce the flow if your fish aren't happy with that much current but thats not a major issues.