What's A Quality Filter For A Planted 10 Gallon?

[Starfishpower]

im turning my 10 gallon tank into a nice planted tank. can anyone recommend a really good filter for that size aquarium? i know its small but im putting a lot of time, money... and love... into planting this thing and getting it to be a wonderful little home for some of my fishies.

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[waterdrop]

Seems like I've seen a fair number of tanks in the internationa AGA contests showing small eheim classics (like the 2211 for a 10g) in their gear lists. Probably you are thinking about small quality cannisters like this? If you are looking at HOB power filters, I've read comments here on TFF that the AquaClear line is more flexible with respect to media that can be added.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Starfishpower]

thanks waterdrop. ill look into that eheim. ill keep AquaClear in mind too when i go to the lfs. im not exactly sure what i was expecting to find for such a small tank but i wouldnt mind something highly versatile. like something with a bunch of extra accessory add-ons to complement my specific aquarium setup. example: i might want to breed shrimp in this so i would need one where i could put a sponge over the intake. or, if rene makes a smart heater for 10 gallons i might want to go that rout and save space by combining my intake and heater into one. hmmm i wonder, can you put a sponge over the intake of a rena smart heater safely or is that bad?

 

[kj23502]

It's prob a bad idea to put any type of material in contact with a heater. I'd just go w/a hob filter.

 

[Starfishpower]

It's prob a bad idea to put any type of material in contact with a heater. I'd just go w/a hob filter.

that's what i was thinking. and a canister filter sounds nice but i think it might be a bit pricey right now. a little impractical too since im not trying to "go pro" here and win a competition. though it is a good idea and im glad waterdrop mentioned it. someday, when i have all the money in the world, or at least enough to not need to be frugal, i might go and get one but i think a quality HOB is what ill go for right now. ill check into those AquaClear filters. though i am still going to hunt down one of those eheims all the same just to make sure im not making a mistake. i really like the idea of being able to have a power head, mainly so i can control the outflow as i see fit. which really is probably one of the main things i want in this filter, outflow control. i need a filter i can turn down so it doesnt disturb the water very much. any recommendations on that? and thanks again to both of you, waterdrop and kj23502

 

[dizzied]

Most power filters have some sort of flow control. AquaClear certainly does.

If you want to go canister, you could look at the smaller, cheaper ones like Tom Rapids or Zoo Med 501.

 

[Starfishpower]

ok thanks. i will write those down so i can be sure to look those up when i go to the lfs.

 

[waterdrop]

Will be interesting to see what you turn up. The two problems I wonder if you will run into would be first whether an adjustable outflow feature is really available on smaller models. Especially on cannisters it seems like that feature is often absent on the smallest models, but I'm not sure. Also I wonder about finding smaller filters that are as high quality and special as you are looking for in the LFS, seems hit or miss but then again you may have a particularly good one near you.

You can see pics of the eheims by going to eheim.com and, at least for north america, clicking on the parts link in the upper left - those pictures usually seem a little easier to find to me. To see comparisons of the flow rates, instead of going to the parts link, I go to the downloads link, choose the top one and then scroll to the very bottom of the pdf. For heating, I assume you're familiar with Hydor inline heaters? These can be spliced in to the output pipe of an external cannister.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Iron Man]

Eheim, classic, 2217. Any questions?

 

[Starfishpower]

Will be interesting to see what you turn up. The two problems I wonder if you will run into would be first whether an adjustable outflow feature is really available on smaller models. Especially on cannisters it seems like that feature is often absent on the smallest models, but I'm not sure. Also I wonder about finding smaller filters that are as high quality and special as you are looking for in the LFS, seems hit or miss but then again you may have a particularly good one near you.

You can see pics of the eheims by going to eheim.com and, at least for north america, clicking on the parts link in the upper left - those pictures usually seem a little easier to find to me. To see comparisons of the flow rates, instead of going to the parts link, I go to the downloads link, choose the top one and then scroll to the very bottom of the pdf. For heating, I assume you're familiar with Hydor inline heaters? These can be spliced in to the output pipe of an external cannister.

~~waterdrop~~

Hydor inline heater? i havent heard of those. are they good?

 

[kj23502]

Hydor inline heater? i havent heard of those. are they good?

I've heard of inline heaters having problems. I don't have any experience myself and with all the inline styles that have been sold, maybe a few times isn't too bad?

 

[Starfishpower]

hmmm im leaning towards a HOB anyway cause the price is far more affordable right now. the more i think about it all i really need it to do thats special compared to the typical ones like i have now is outflow adjustment. so an inline might be out of the question.

 

[Starfishpower]

i got the AquaClear 20. does anyone have one of these? i ask because the three layers of filter media that go in the bin do not exactly form fit like the instructions manual depicts. i had to fold the carbon bag over on itself so it fits and then the bio media stuff (or whatever it is... little white pellets in a bag) barely fits on top of that. is this what is supposed to happen.

 

[Ark]

Eden 501 from Aquaessentials are gr8 bit costly but you can get a cheaper version from ebay i had one on my 40 litre nano

 

[Starfishpower]

Eden 501 from Aquaessentials are gr8 bit costly but you can get a cheaper version from ebay i had one on my 40 litre nano

wow. thats an amazing filter.
http/www.aquaessentials.co.uk/index.php?...roducts_id=1505

i really want one of those. its a bit pricey though. im gona keep that in mind and someday when it seems more economical for me to buy one ill look them up again. its like a mini canister filter. and i love how the intakes and outtakes are thin glass tubes. thats so appealing as far as aesthetics goes. thank you so much for the reply.