Recommendation for a good filter on a 20 gallon

[Pleco1415]

I m having some difficulty choosing a good filter for my aquarium. A while back I purchased a Marineland bio wheel 200 but I found though it gave me better water quality it was really not pulling its weight. I'm a fan of the bio wheel filters and now that the next one up from what I have now is on sale I'm tempted to buy. Does anyone think the marineland bio wheel 350 will be too much for a 20 gallon long? Forgot to mention the tank houses 2 albino clawed frogs and a large bushy nose Pleco


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[Laeris]

I'm partial to foam filters. They handle mechanical and bio filtration in one neat, low maintenance package. I'll be converting my 5.5g to foam once my 40b is done cycling and everyone is moved. Either a tube with an air stone or a pump to move water out to the front pulls the water through the foam. Pull the foam and smack the build up off, give it a swish, put it back in. Bam. The end for cleaning the filter.


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[Fresh2o]

Not sure if the marineland 350 will be too much, but if I were selecting an HOB filter for a 20g, I would get a Fluval AquaClear 50. Flexible media options versus cartridge style filters. Quiet operation.


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[Yorg]

I m having some difficulty choosing a good filter for my aquarium. A while back I purchased a Marineland bio wheel 200 but I found though it gave me better water quality it was really not pulling its weight. I'm a fan of the bio wheel filters and now that the next one up from what I have now is on sale I'm tempted to buy. Does anyone think the marineland bio wheel 350 will be too much for a 20 gallon long? Forgot to mention the tank houses 2 albino clawed frogs and a large bushy nose Pleco


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Hi Pleco1415:

For a small tank with a very light bioload like yours, a sponge or corner/box filter would be fine. Like Laeris said the sponge is very easy to maintain. With a corner or box you can run media like carbon if you ever need it.

If you don't want anything in the tank itself, then a suitably sized AquaClear is a good choice.

I'm not a big fan of the biowheels; when I owned them I seemed always to have trouble with them.

-Yorg

 

[Pleco1415]

Does anyone know if the marineland 350 is quiet?


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[Fresh2o]

I had a similar model (Emperor 280) and initially it was quiet but grew noisier over time.
Here is a link to a discussion of the Marineland 350 on the MFK site.


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[aseradyn]

Maybe it's my hard water gunking things up, but I also had trouble with the Marineland filters getting noisy. I'd take them apart right down to the impeller, clean averything I could, put it back together, but after a while they just never ran quietly any more.

That said, I did find them reasonably reliable and never had one completely croak on me.

 

[Aliray]

What has worked better for me is the Penn Plax 400 cascade internal filter. It is easy and simple to use and clean and does a great job with the pleco poop I also have a large ABN male in my 20 gal. I tried the aquaclear 30 hob but I don't think they do a very good job. I am much happier with the cascade. Alison

 

[Coursair]

I would do an Aquaclear.

I do run an Eheim Ecco canister on a 10g. Super quiet [emoji6]

I own an Aqueon HOB for another 10g. It works well for the price. ACs are preferred for Media options and quiet.

I hate bio wheels. They work, but the wheel often has issues.


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[The_Desacrator]

I have been using Marineland Bio wheel filters for like 5 years and they are awesome. I am gonna try fluval on my next tank just to see the difference.