best filter for 10g

I would go with aquaclears. I have had no start up problems with mine. In my expierence, the media for bio wheels are hard to clean and reuse. My AC, I just squeeze out the sponges in a bucket of tank water.

I just put an Aquaclear 50 (old model 200) on one of my 10 gallon tanks to replace an old crummy filter. It is rated for a 20-50 gallon tank, but seems about perfect on a 10 gallon, especially for a guy like me that prefers overfiltering.

The flow rate is definitely not too much and you can always turn down the flow if you need/want to and still be taking advantage of the increased amount of filter media.

Aquaclear.

For redundancy: Aquaclear!!!! They are the quietest I've owned!

Yes they are quiet. When I first saw them in the store, I thought they didn't look like anything special, but I tried one since so many people here swear by them. I have used a top fin filter, and a biowheel, and I prefer the AC in almost every aspect of filters.

agree with all of you, aquaclears are the best.

i personally prefer the penguins. the filtration efficiency is better (water cannot bypass the floss and chemical media as it can in the aquaclear) and the biowheel requires no maintenance. you never have to touch yucky stuff with the penguin either... you just take out the filter insert and

1. hold it by the hard plastic part and rinse it.
2. replace it completely.

i know plenty of people who swear by the hagens, and i'm certainly not saying they're bad filters. Compared to the penguins, they're cheaper to run and perhaps a bit more customizable, but they don't do as good a job at polishing the water.

I run three various sizes of aquaclear, and have no problem with them. I have also had power outages and had no problem with restarts. If the water level drops low enough to let the filter drain of water ( like during a water change) you need to prime it, but thats about it.

For filtration capability and ease of maintenance, the Penguins are the better choice. For features, cost and customization options, the Hagens are the better choice. Penguins don't require as much of the gross handling of filthy media that the Aquaclears need, but the cartridges need to be replaced from time to time whereas Aquaclear media (except chem filtration of course) can be reused for months, even years.

I've always been a Penguin guy, but we bought an Aquaclear once and the motor was noisy and messed up. We exchanged it for Penguin...and...that motor was noisy and messed up too! So we exchanged it for a replacement Penguin and that one was fine. Conclusion: the build quality is roughly equal.

Though I would wager the Penguin as more durable and less prone to leaks over time just by its physical design of being heavily sealed. Then again, that makes getting access to the moving parts a formidable endeavor.

The Penguin generates greater current, which is either desirable or undesirable depending on the situation. We use a sponge at the output of our Penguin 100 to slow it down so the residents of our ten gallon aren't flying around the place.

The biowheel is a better biofilter than the ceramic media in an Aquaclear. But it makes some noise. Some people like the trickling water noise. Others hate it. I'm indifferent.


So there is my knowledge in this department. I wouldn't bother with any others except Hagens or Penguins. Make the decision based on the needs of your tank, wallet, and personal preference. I use Penguins, but as you can see, the pros and cons of each filter are just that equal.