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Hi all,

In the planning stages of setting an old 3' tank that I have downstairs. What type of filter should I be using? Undergravel, outside (hanging off the sire of the tank), cannister or inside sponge filter?

Will be trying a few placos and maybe a few companion fish, planted of course.

Cheers

Planted tanks and undergravel filters aren't really that good. Roots of the plants tend to block the filter and after that you've got problems. It's also difficult to keep the undergravel filter cleaned in a planted tank.

The other choices are pretty much a personal taste type of thing. My tanks all have internal filters, but in three out of the four, that's because the filter came as part of the kit with the tank. [The fourth tank is so small that an external filter is pretty silly].

If I was buying a separate filter for a 3' tank, I'd probably be inclined to go for an external canister. It makes cleaning the filter easier, especially if it's got those "auto-stop" connectors on the filter end, so you just unplug the hose and take the filter to be cleaned somewhere (kitchen, bathroom, outside, ...).
It also has the small advantage of increasing the total water volume, rather than "using up" some of it.

Eheim is the recommended brand by most people, but I'm sure other brands are also good...

--
Mats

i use ehiem externals and i've never had any problems with them.

Whichever filter you feel comfortable using and maintaining. If you feel comfortable cleaning it, then that could be the filter for you. I've found that a lot of the manufacturers put their manuals on-line. This helped me make up my mind when I was shopping for filters.

Try this

http://www.planetcatfish.com/shanesworld/s_c_271.php

-Shane

Thanks all!

Director wrote:Hi all,

In the planning stages of setting an old 3' tank that I have downstairs. What type of filter should I be using? Undergravel, outside (hanging off the sire of the tank), cannister or inside sponge filter?

Will be trying a few placos and maybe a few companion fish, planted of course.

Cheers

In additions, you may want to consider the Sump filtering and Overhead filter (OHF)

For Sump, it may be a little over-killed for a 3ft tank. Nevertheless, the Overhead filter can be a good alternative. The OHF method basically sit on-top of the tank. The OHF internal pump the water up from the tank and then go throught a series of media (some models come with stackable 4 or 5 levels). Effectively, it likes a modifed wet/dry 'sump' filter and except it sits on top.