Filter recommendations?

[Fishnewb101]

Hello everyone I'm converting my 20 gallon tall gecko tank into a fish tank and getting rid of him, I'm wondering what filter you guys recommend? I've been checking out the tetra whisper 10-30i, marineland bio penguin 150, and the aqua clear but I want suggestions from the pros, also ideas on what a good stocking list would be would be nice and if you know a good place to get deals on the full hoods with the lighting that would be better then the $40 hood I'm looking at
Fish on everyone!

 

[azmodan]

I have an Aquaclear 50 and Aquaclear 20 on mine, but just the 50 would prob be enough (I keep the 20 on there mainly if I need a filter for my QT).

For stocking you could do something like 8 rummynose or cardinal tetras, 5 panda cories and a honey gourami or German blue ram.

 

[Fishnewb101]

I have an Aquaclear 50 and Aquaclear 20 on mine, but just the 50 would prob be enough (I keep the 20 on there mainly if I need a filter for my QT).

For stocking you could do something like 8 rummynose or cardinal tetras, 5 panda cories and a honey gourami or German blue ram.

I like the male fancy guppies, and the dwarf gourami, ghost shrimp, mystery snails, however I don't know if they are all compatible how many to get, or how much room ill have left over

 

[Fishnewb101]

I've been checking out the fluval c2 and the aqua clear, the aqua clear has foam, it says to replace it every 2 months, carbon monthly, and biomax every 3 months and I've calculated that to be kinda expensive compared to my regular filter, the fluval has the foam, says 4-6 weeks, carbon 4-6 weeks, bio screen 2-3 months, and cnodes replace every 6 months months, and that is really expensive, is there any way to cut corners here and make this dirt cheap? I've calculated the aqua to be $2 per month the fluval to be $6 per month, this is outrageous as I'm paying $0.96 per filter catridge for my 3 smaller tanks

 

[azmodan]

I've been checking out the fluval c2 and the aqua clear, the aqua clear has foam, it says to replace it every 2 months, carbon monthly, and biomax every 3 months and I've calculated that to be kinda expensive compared to my regular filter, the fluval has the foam, says 4-6 weeks, carbon 4-6 weeks, bio screen 2-3 months, and cnodes replace every 6 months months, and that is really expensive, is there any way to cut corners here and make this dirt cheap? I've calculated the aqua to be $2 per month the fluval to be $6 per month, this is outrageous as I'm paying $0.96 per filter catridge for my 3 smaller tanks

They say to replace those things every few months or so but that is completely unnecessary, particularly for things like the biomax and sponge. The carbon you don't even need to use unless you're doing something like removing meds from the water. Most people replace the carbon with some polyfloss, which will help filter out the finer particles in the water that the sponges don't catch. It's very cheap if you look for it online or even at craft stores or stores like Walmart. For the biomax, sponge, and polyfloss all your really need to do is swish them around in some tank water when you do PWCs and they last for a very long time. I've had my sponges and biomax for nearly 2 years and they're still perfectly fine, while the polyfloss is typically replaced every few months or so (if even that). This is why many people use ACs and the Fluval C2s, as you can customize the media and not have to worry about replacing cartridges that eventually fall apart.

 

[Fishnewb101]

Do you think 1 dwarf gourami with 10 male guppies and 2 ghost shrimp is a good stock? Or to much?