Filter for 36 gallon bowfront aquarium

[fishalex]

Hello, I just finished cycling my 36 gal bowfront tank that’s using a Fluval 70 filter. I chose this filter after seeing lots of people mention that the Fluval 50 wouldn’t be powerful enough for my tank size. Right now, I have a few Zebra Danios that I just moved into the new tank and within the first hour, one of them got stuck to the filter (luckily I saw it pretty quick). After doing some research, I got some pre-filter sponges to help prevent this from happening again.

I’m still somewhat new to the hobby and haven’t had something like this happen before with my smaller tanks. My question is, is adding this pre-filter sponge to my Fluval 70 decrease it’s efficiency? Would I have just been better off using a less powerful filter, such as the Fluval 50? I still have a few days to return the Fluval 70 if I need to.

Not sure if this info is needed to get this answered, but I plan on adding a few more zebras and will eventually get a gourami and some cories.

 

[Wills]

Healthy fish shouldn't get sucked to the filter, especially fish like Danios who come from very fast flowing streams. Are they other wise nice and active?

Wills

 

[Oblio]

I like to use pre-filters to reduce the gunk getting to the main sponge filter, I clean each WC and do the main filter once every 4 or so WCs as it stays much cleaner. Also harbors additional beneficial bacteria.