I think I am going to go with a canister filter. I am looking at them on Amazon right now. Out of curiosity why is it better for plants? I do plan on having a planted tank.
The main nutrient for the plants is CO2. The ambiant CO2 (air) level are low. If you put a HOB filter, you create a lot of surface agitation in the aquarium, removing the CO2, and giving fresh air for fishs, wich is good for them.
In a planted tank, the water don't need to be aerated via surface agitation, because the plants will convert the fishs CO2 into O2, both good for fishs and plants.
The canister filter give you the option to not create surface agitation if not needed, so that's why it's better.
ALSO, let's talk about your future potential desire/need to dose CO2 in the tank. Canister uses hoses for water transportation. This give you the option to cut a hose and plug an inline CO2 Reactor. Or you can do as I do, inject the CO2 straight to the canister intake.
You can take a look at my video:
CO2 Injection can be replaced by Excels product, like Seachem Excel. This is liquid carbon, but some plants like Valliniseria don't like it.
Carbon dosing is usually optionnal, but in some case not be an option, when the light are too strong. This is my case, I must dose a lot of CO2, but this is rewarding by extra fast plant growth.
Before dosing any CO2, read more about it, about light requirements too, about ferts, and never forget the CO2 Drop Checker test. Also, don't run to the LFS to buy all thoses ferts they sell, you won't need it and pollute the water if your light is not strong enough. Example: a 10 or 20 gallons aquarium with a single T8 fluorescent won't need any ferts, this will only cost you more money without getting any benefits.
