Penguin 350 vs Fluval 305

[xwesx1978]

So ive been doing a lot of reading trying to decide on a filter for my planted 55 and ive decided between these 2 , I know canisters are better for planted tanks because of surface disruption but im kinda scared of one leaking , im on the third story of apartment building if i had a leak its really bad times for not just me, plus the fluval is out of budget at the moment , it would push my build back several months , the Penguin is on sale for 40 bucks at petco

so I guess my question is can I run a power filter and be successful with plants, ive yet to decide on if im running co2 or not , still trying to research creating a amazonian biotope with out it

kinda of a newbie here and opinions/suggestions will be greatly appreciated

[Sparky74]

If you are afraid of the canister leaking, do what I did. Put it in a plastic kitchen garbage can(one with flat back and rounded front) Makes the canisters footprint maybe 6 square inches bigger, but will keep floors nice and dry in the event of failure.

If the canister leaks there is about 15 gallons of safety before it spills over. Takes a while to leak out 15 gallons from a canister. Generally the leaks I've seen from canisters are slow.

[xwesx1978]

yea im more concerned about catastrophic failure, you dont know my luck , if something can happen it will happen to me , I just know id have a hose or o-ring blow and boom 55 gal of water leaking threw three floors,

i think im gonna go with the Penguin and use the soda bottle trick to diffuse the output a bit

[Love2Fish]

I have a penguin 350 on the back of my 55 g and it seems to do a good job. The only real downside I have to it which may or may not be a problem for you is that it is really loud. I got used to it after awhile but it really stands out the first week or so. I don't have any live plants in my tank so I'm not sure about that aspect of it. PS I got mine shipped for free from amazon for less than 35 bucks if you can wait a few days you might want to check it out.

[fishfanatic]

For about 8 months I had a penguin filter on a 40 gallon tank. I latter upgraded to a fluval 305. I will tell you now I think the canister filter is hands down better. I also believe that a canister filter is cheaper (long term). That is just my opinion. The penguin worked great on the tank (never any tank smell, the water stayed clean, and the ammonia and such stayed in check). Many people on AA will recommend an aqua clear filter vs a penguin filter. But I have never had an aqua clear.