Which Filter For 20gal Tank

[Fisherman_Sam]

Howdy fish people,

I'm looking for a filter for my 20Gal tank, but I want something that's as quiet as possible. The Filter I've been looking at is the Fluval 2 plus, is this suitable or could I get away with the Fluval 1 plus?
Also... this may be a dumb question but is it possible to connect an air stone to this kind of filter? or any filter for that matter? or do you need a pump?

Any help would be great, you guys seem to be very knowledgeable!

And I thought there was a lot to learn before keeping lizards!

Sam

 

[kim03333]

do you want internal or external filter? i've got a 24 gallon tank with a fluval 3 plus internal filter. i dont know off the top of my head what size tank the 2 plus is for, but it will tell you on the box. mine says for tanks up to 130 litres, so thats 28 gallons. you are best to have a filter bigger than you need than one which is too small. you wont get away with fluval one. if it's the noise your worried about, don't be. this filter is so quiet, even if your tank is in your room (like mine) and it's silent at night time when your going to sleep you won't hear it unless you have oxygen flow on. which brings me to your next question

i don't know about about connecting air pumps but fluval 3 (possibly 2) has a device (like a tap) called veturi and it's like a little tap thing that fits onto the outlet hose. theres a bit you can turn and it can be set so it produces bubbles. with this you probably wouldn't need any additional air pump.

 

[Fisherman_Sam]

Thanks for the speedy reply Kim, really helpfull stuff

 

[squeakytoy]

Another question is what type of fish are planning on keeping? Some fish are a bit more ... excremental... than others. With a tank full of dirty fish, your filtration needs may be different.

 

[kim03333]

Another question is what type of fish are planning on keeping? Some fish are a bit more ... excremental... than others. With a tank full of dirty fish, your filtration needs may be different.

yeah thats right. i have a plec in my tank which produces a lot of waste. and then theres the ones that like to dig around in the gravel, stirring up all the gunk back into the water (cichlids)

 

[Fisherman_Sam]

Im still not sure at the moment, still need advice as far as stock is concerned.
I would like a couple of shrimp and some kind of grazer like a loach maybe. Not sure about the rest yet... any suggestions welcome as this is my first tropical tank.

I'm also planning to plant real plants in there, so I'm going to need a ballast and tube. I realise that its a bit of an open ended question because it depends so much on what i plan on planting, but what kind of tube will i need?

Sorry if all this is answered elsewhere but there's so much information in these forums and a lot of it is case specific and is a little overwhelming!

Cheers

Sam

 

[squeakytoy]

From personal experience, I really like my YoYo's. They are great fun to watch in a cluster of four or five. I also have a Kubotia, and he's a real beauty. I got him when my fav yoyo passed. But they have lots of personality, and will come check out what you are doing around the tank. They also see like they are pretty clean fish as well, and they get along with all my community fish. They will also control any snail issues that you might have. But as Kim was saying Plecs and goldfish are hugely messy/dirty fish, and will drive up how much filtration you need.

As far as filters go, maybe take a look at the marineland emperor 280. It says its good for up to 50 gallons, and although it's not dead silent, the noise it makes is pretty unobtrusive. That or the penguin 200. Very similar design, although the emperor is a bit larger and considerable more effective in the sense that it has a secondary spray to drive the biowheel. With the penguins, when the media starts to clog, the water will bypass the biowheel, and head straight back into the tank. (the biowheel is the main component for these filters conversion of ammonia to nitrites and nitrates, and are very efficient for their size.) With the emperor series, the wheel is always being turned no matter how much water bypasses the filter media. Another advantage to the emperor is the filter media cartridge itself. Much larger and allows for fine tuning to meet your tanks needs. As you get more experience, this may be a significant influencing factor. Only you know how "hands on" you like to get.

You might look to the canister filters if absolute silence is the driving factor, as you can hide the noisemaker behind something, and forget its there until it's time to clean it. I dont have that much experience with canisters, as I have just started using one about a month ago, and its a MUCH older model: an original Magnum 350 (not the pro, before the pro...) that came with my newest tank.