Could Someone Give me Advice on Choosing the Right Filtration System for a Freshwater Aquarium?

[clausesalva]

Hello there,

I am new to the world of aquarium keeping and recently set up a 55 gallon freshwater tank. I am currently in the process of choosing the right filtration system and could use some advice from experienced hobbyists.

I have been considering a few options; including hang on back filters; canister filters; and sponge filters. From what I have read; each type has its own pros and cons; but I am having trouble deciding which would be best for my setup.

I plan to keep a mix of community fish such as tetras; guppies; and a few bottom dwellers.
I have included several plants; rocks; and driftwood in the tank.
I am looking for a filter that will provide efficient mechanical; biological; and chemical filtration without causing too much disruption to the fish or plants.

I am also interested in understanding how easy each type is to maintain and if there are any specific brands or models that you would recommend.

Also, I have gone through this post; https/www.fishforums.net/threads/change-blue-prism-of-filter-media-to-all-foam-has-affected-nitrates-unexpectedly.493780/unread which definitely helped me out a lot.

If anyone has had experience with different filtration systems or can share their recommendations based on similar setups;

Thank you in advance for your help and assistance.

 

[GaryE]

There is no best. All work, and all have pros and cons.
Sponges will give excellent bio filtration. You need an air pump, and they can be noisy unless you get a high end one. They are also not the best looking objects in a tank, though you can hide them
A canister is also good. They are more expensive, and in my experience, sometimes hard to prime after a cleaning. It's very easy to forget to clean them, and that is a drawback. They hum away and move water until they don't.
Hang on the backs are good too. They are easy to clean, but can overflow if you don't take care of them. I like Aquaclears. They have a problem with restarting themselves after a power cut, though the new models say they've fixed that quirk. US members seem to like Seachem Tidals - a brand I haven't seen here. I run some Chinese no names that have been reliable workhorse machines. I replace the slotted media with aquaclear sponges (a good inexpensive wide pored sponge). Poret sponge would also be good. The Chinese ones have different brand names, often as store brands, but are all the same basic model. They are cheap. Some have run 24/7 for 10 years, but about half the bunch I bought all at the same time died at around 5 to 7 years of use.
How long filters last matters to me. Less landfill, and less emptying of pockets go together well. Marineland filters failed early and often when I bought them.
The 2 power filter types include chemical media you don't really need. The companies want to make money through selling you new media, etc, even though that undermines the efficiency of the biological filtration.

Here comes the twist. I have a fishroom, with many tanks. No tank larger than 20 gallons has only one filter. I usually have an air powered filter (a variant on a sponge) and a power filter. One of my 75s has a canister, and 2 HOB filters. The other has a canister and one HOB, but the HOB is a larger model. And I like to remove the lids from HOBs, and put the roots of terrestrial bog plants between the sponge and the plastic wall. They double as flowerpots.
I have huge snake plants I got very small in one, Chinese evergreens in another, Pothis extending out of a third...

 

[gwand]

Gary said it all. You mentioned having guppies and tetras. Guppies need hard water. Most if not all tetras require soft water. They can’t be in the same tank.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Filtration doesn't need to be robust and expensive as long as you're willing to follow an aggressive water change routine. By simply removing and replacing half or more of the tank water every few days, you can certainly have a smaller filtering system. Because, the filter is just moving clean water around the tank. The problem is, not more than one tank keeper in several thousand is willing to take the time to change out such a large amount of water. Check into the Fluval C3 filter. It's efficient, inexpensive and easy to clean. This one is rated for a tank like yours. But, filters generally do a poor job of keeping the tank water clean. The water needs to be removed and replaced regularly.

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