Canister Filter For A 20 Gallon Tall Tank

I'm considering switching to a canister filter for my slightly overstocked 20 gallon tall aquarium.

I currently run a customised Aqueon Quietflow 30 HOB (200 gph) on the tank along with a dual sponge filter.

Low power consumption is a key selection parameter.

I'm considering the Eheim Ecco Pro series, either the 2232 or 2234 because of their low power consumption (9 watts).

Hydor Pro 150 is also a possibility (11 watts)

I'm leaning towards the 2234 or Hydor because they have two trays.

Every time I get ready to pull the trigger to buy one, I second guess myself and wonder if putting a canister on a 20 gallon tall is worth it.

Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

My opinion is you don't need a canister on anything less than a 40 gallon. HOB is fine and easier to service. That's just me.

 

I've been wanting to upgrade my 20 tall to a canister for years, but my clown plecos clog up two Quietflows 30s every week and just the thought of having to tear apart a canister that often makes me tired! (I clean my turtle's canisters every three months and end up with every nail broken, every time.) Without the plecos I would have by now, they are amazing filters and usually don't need much maintenance.

[Edit, couldn't remember the name of Aqueon HOBs]

 

The prefilter sponge on my Quietflow intake gets clogged after 5 days or so.
It keeps the filter media and biomedia in the filter cleaner, but flow gets compromised.

 

I have a canister filter on my 20gal long. Mostly because I wanted in-line things like a heater and a reactor to keep more equipment out of the tank itself. Overfiltration? Probably. But I’d rather have over than underfiltration. Plus the tank itself looks less cluttered.

 

I have a Fluval 206 on a 20 gallon long. I do maintenance on it every 4-6 weeks and it's pretty quick. Takes 10w to run.

 

The Eheim Ecco and Hydor 150 are great choices.

I have a Hydor 600 w/ 5 trays on my 75g.

The 150 is just a 2-tray version of the 600, with a slightly smaller footprint and smaller motor/impeller.

Here are some attributes why I like my Hydor: each tray holds a lot of media, it runs almost silent (cant hear it when cabinet door is closed and is still practically silent w/ doors open), no by-pass, very strong pump, excellent expandable spray bar system, good build quality and it looks great also!

I also like how Hydor advertises both the gph/lph rating of the pump AND the rating with all media installed and accounting for friction loss through the intake and discharge tubing. Very honest in my opinion!

My 600 is rated at 345gph at the pump and 290gph through the entire system.

The 150 model you're looking at is rated 190hph pump and 160gph through the entire system.

That gives you a turnover rate of 8x (160gph/20g tank). Perfect!

If you're considering the HOB route though, here is my recommendation.....

An Aquaclear 50 uses 6-7 watts I think and would be also great for this application.

I use 2x AC30's on my overstocked 20 gallon community tank.

Here is a pic of the media one of the AC30's holda for reference. The AC50 is about 1.5" wider than the AC30 and has a slightly higher flowing impeller......

AC30 media basket 1

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

AC30 media basket 2

• Islandvic
• Nov 18, 2018

I have a pre-filter on the intake, then I cut the filter in half at the bottom of the basket to make room for more media.

It has Polyfill filter-floss, cut-to-fit media pad from bulk roll, a layer of 100 micron pad and a large bag of Sechem Matrix.

The 2nd AC30 is set up similar, but has less Polyfill to make room for 100ml bag of Seachem Purigen

 

I went with the Eheim Ecco Pro 2234. Got it for $136 CDN (aquatic gear costs so much more up here). Setting it up later today.

 

Let us know how you like it!