Power vs Canister Filters

[gheitman]

Since you are going with live plants it would help to know if you are also planning to use CO2 injection. If you are, then you should stay away from power filters with bio-wheels because those increase the gas exchange between the water and the air. This is exactly what you don't want when you are using CO2 injection. I would suggest going with a canister filter because they appear to be the best solution for large planted tanks. You have complete control over the placement of the intake and outtake from the filter and they don't clutter up the back of your tank.

 

[Logan Zoo]

We have a 75 gal. planted with a heavy fish load filtered by a Filstar XP3 that after a year has always been crystal clear and a breeze to take care of. You just rinse out and reuse the media and replace the charcoal as needed. It has been trouble free and I have taken advantage of the ability to use the baskets for other media.....our water is soft so I can add some crushed coral as needed.

1 month ago we converted the substrate from a 25 gal. planted tank with a HOB filter to a 65 gal. planted discus tank. We are using a Cascade 1000 and it is also doing an incredible job. The water is crystal clear and the filters easy to clean. It is currently stocked with 3 med. Discus and 17 Neon Tetras.

It is a little more $ up front but the ease of use, the ability to add other media, and the washable filters are the selling point for the canister.

To be fair I had good luck with my HOB filters also. I always use double the filtration recommended for the tank size.

Good luck and enjoy your tank!

Kevin