Our members have put together profiles for their filters. If you have a filter that is not on our list, let us know if you would build a profile for it. The filters in the table below are arranged by type of filter and by flow rate.

In general, for larger messy fish you will need a filter that moves 10 times the gallons in the tank per hour and that has separate mechanical media and biomedia (with the biomedia on the clean side of the mechanical media). For smaller tropical fish, moving five times the gallons in the tank per hour should be fine. Since canister filters tend to hold more biomedia, you can get by with slightly lower flow rates.

See also:

• Aquarium Filters and Filter Media
• Water Quality: The First 30 Days (Cycling your tank)
• Water Quality
• Fishless Cycling with Household Ammonia
• GAB Tanks and Water Quality Forum

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