Good filter for a 20 gallon

[ThatPlantedGuy]

Hey guys I was wandering if you knew about any good, quiet and cheap, filters for a planted 20 gallon.

 

[thegundog]

I would do a sponge filter or an Aquaclear 20.

 

[Fresh2o]

Personally I would bump that up to an AC50; actually ran a pair of them in a planted 20g at one time. Fish and plants were not blown around. But one AC50 should be sufficient.

 

[flchamp89]

I vote ac50 as well. Run 30 on my ten. Can adjust flow if need be

 

[nirbhao]

AquaClear ftw

 

[Betta keeper]

I love aqua clear

I have both the 30 and the 50. I can barely hear either of them. They are adjustable flow and you can customize your choice of filter media depending on your tanks needs.

Eg:1sponge, 2biobags =excellent every day filtration to manage parameters and keep a healthy tank. Plus, you have spare media ready to go if you need to start a hospital tank [emoji6]

Carbon is only really needed to pull toxins from the water

A sponge prefilter adds a level of filtration and protects the unit from getting clogged up

 

[nirbhao]

I switched out the carbon in mine for Purigen and have stainless steel mesh covers for the filter intakes. I also, like sassymomma said, have an extra bag of the ceramic cylinders so my quarantine tank can be cycled right away.

They are also completely user serviceable. Replace an impeller without tossing the whole unit.

 

[Betta keeper]

The other benefit, at least where I am....lfs use them

Which means if you do blow a motor there is a passing chance of buying one locally from their box of spare parts

 

[brothergc]

Hey guys I was wandering if you knew about any good, quiet and cheap, filters for a planted 20 gallon.

I like the fluval C-3 and I assume you would be using it on a 20 Gal long ? if so I would go with 2 C-3s
https://www.amazon.com/Fluval-14002...UTF8&qid=1489361632&sr=8-1&keywords=fluval+c3

I would run both of them because this would get better flow coverage . Myself I am running 2 C-4s on the lowest setting and believe it or not it does not blow away my neons . I like that I have to do filter changes once a month and even then I can rince out the poly foam filters in a bucket thus reusing the media 2 or 3 times . for carbon I use a nylon bag and fill my own carbon in it saving me even more money . Or one could add more bio media to the chanber .
The aquaclears are ok but these fluval C series are way better IMO

 

[Barliman]

Hey guys I was wandering if you knew about any good, quiet and cheap, filters for a planted 20 gallon.

I have an AC50 and an AC 20 on one planted 20-long. As someone else wrote, a single AC50 should be fine.