Your Filter Question
Hello Don...
If you're willing to replace at least half the water in your tank every 6 to 7 days, you only need a filter with a gph (gallons per hour) rating of roughly 6 times the volume of your tank.
I have several large, planted, heavily stocked tanks and due to budget, I have a tendency to underfilter my tanks, but am more than willing to compensate for the lack of filtration by changing a minimum of half the water in the tanks every 6 to 7 days.
Large and frequent water changes will take the place of heavy filtration, but the reverse isn't so. So, don't rely on your filter equipment to keep the water pure, only water changes will do that.
B