reccommended filter for planted tank w/ fish?

[contender]

planning on a small 5 or 10 gal planted tank with some fish.
any thoughts on the filter i should use?

[rweedon]

in tank filter...

[ballsmcgee1234]

We have a two five's with an undergravel, one five with an internal desposable(will be switching to a good internal soon), and a ten with a hanging one...all work well. In our extremely planted tank we have the internal filter, works the best if the tank is going to have a lot of plants...

[contender]

ok, cool, thanks!

i was about to add i am thinking of using sand as a substrate. any new ideas?

[HarleyK]

planning on a small 5 or 10 gal planted tank with some fish.
any thoughts on the filter i should use?


Howdy,

I'd use a baby Eheim canister. You can't go wrong with a canister, it's much less maintenance work and longer filter cleaning intervals. Whatever is the smallest Eheim they sell.

HarleyK

[ballsmcgee1234]

ok, cool, thanks!

i was about to add i am thinking of using sand as a substrate. any new ideas?
we have never used sand yet, we pretty much choose small natural gravel because in our experience, the plants take better to it. In our extemely planted tank, we put a small layer of dirt on the bottom, covered by rocks and they seem to be growing like crazy... it was kind of our test tank, we weren't sure how the dirt would affect the fish. we put two ottocinclus in and they are doing fine.

[guppy]

I have found that in tank filtered tanks tend to have slightly higher nitrate levels but with rapid growth plants I think this is a good thing.

[I3u11he4d]

I use a fluval 304 on my 55 gal. w/ ceramic rings and 200 grams of purigen.Canisters seem to be the way to go on a planted tank just dont use any charcoal,this is a bad idea .If your stocking levels are low you may not even need a filter,so whats in the tank?

[pigblanket]

lots of people said internal filters but i would have to disagree. Because it is a small tank I would put an external power filter on it. this would leave more room for plants and fish while also keep unsightly components of the system hidden.i run a millinium 1000 on my five gallon planted. Its a little over sized so i just turn the flow control down.

[sohfatfish]

For such a small tank why not make your own using those cheapo made in china pumps and a lock n lock container?.. i made one a few months ago following the instructions here http://www.petfrd.com/forum/articles.php?action=viewarticle&artid=87

If you dont have the time then i think the smallest Eheim is 2211 in the classic range and its extremely difficult to get in some countries if im not wrong.

[Magik220]

I use a fluval 304 on my 55 gal. w/ ceramic rings and 200 grams of purigen.Canisters seem to be the way to go on a planted tank just dont use any charcoal,this is a bad idea .If your stocking levels are low you may not even need a filter,so whats in the tank?
Why is using charcoal a bad idea? Will it kill the plants?

[lizardfishman]

use an aquaclear.

[sohfatfish]

Why is using charcoal a bad idea? Will it kill the plants?

It removes the nutrients that You dose for your plants and limits their growth.

[Driftw00d]

I would use a very small hanging power filter or none at all. No activated-carbon in the filter pad.

[I3u11he4d]

It removes the nutrients that You dose for your plants and limits their growth.
Exactly..... :thumbsup:

[I3u11he4d]

We have a two five's with an undergravel, one five with an internal desposable(will be switching to a good internal soon), and a ten with a hanging one...all work well. In our extremely planted tank we have the internal filter, works the best if the tank is going to have a lot of plants...

How well are those undergravels working for ya?Evrything I've ever been told or read says not to use them with plants,basicly the same reason you dont want to use charcoal.They dont allow the roots to absorb the nutrients because it is moved away from them,Undergravels dont allow the sediment and nutrients to settle.So I've been told.