# Filter recommendations for 37 gallon planted



## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

Hey I'm about to set up a 37 gallon planted tank with flourite and all that good stuff. I was wondering what the best canister filters, or filtration in general do you guys recommend for a set up such as this?

The two canisters I am considering are Eheims Canister Filter Classic Plus 2213 for up to 66gallons or the Fluval 205 up to 40 gallon.

Any others that might be better and/or cheaper?

I also heard that using carbon in a planted tank inst great because it removes liquid ferts?? What's a good alternative then? Doesn't a filter need carbon to filter properly?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Alway hear eheims are great, last forever and stay quiet. But they are pricey imports and the recommended flow rate is about the lowest for any given tank size. I would say upsize the filter, but if you have a really heavily planted tank with small fish, you can go with it.

The marineland magnums, IME are about the cheapest name brand "canister" filters, the HOT magnum hangs on the tank. They get noisy as they get old and they don't have all the cool add ons like spray-bars, but parts are easy to get. I've also heard of a cheap Chinese, e-heim knockoff sold on e-bay. Fluvals are in the middle, in between the eheim and magnum both in price and quietness. There are also the pricier new Marineland C-series and the Rena XP series. Both have some good reviews.

Filters need carbon to "adsorb" certain stuff you don't want in the water like oil from fish food. Its "chemical filtration". And it will snag some of the stuff you add for the plants. But you can make a good case for not actually needing "chemical filtration" at all. The same stuff will come out in water changes and some will be caught by plants. Plenty of tanks run without carbon and do fine. A lot of us cheapskates run filters with carbon long past the month or so the carbon is actually effective for chemical filtration. You replace it with more "mechanical filtration" aka filter floss or "biological" filtration such as sponge or ceramic rings.


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## Citizen Snips (Jan 6, 2010)

thanks for the info man, so what your saying is that I can get one of these canister filters and NOT use carbon and my tank will still have proper filtration and cycle properly?

And I guess you just put "filterfloss" whatever that is, and /or sponge where you would normally put carbon?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

filter floss from a pet store is the same as "quilt batting" from a craft store. Just a synthetic fiber (think snow on Christmas displays of little houses). It does a good job of mechanical filtration (catches crud) and is a decent substrate to grow biology on. But use it carefully, too much can cut your flow and you don't want in getting wrapped around the impeller. Easier and safer are "aquarium filter sponge" and any sort of bio-media. Look at the manufacturers doc's and see what they recommend. Most makers sell sponges that fit their filters perfectly without trimming. People put all sorts of things in filter. Gravel, dollar-store pot scrubbers, stuff to buffer pH like crushed coral. Some media has more surface area than others, more surface area = more bacteria, but anything with flow over it will have some..


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