I'm posting this here because I too have a planted tank and want ideas from other planted tank folk.
In my slow and costly march toward pressurized CO2, I got a used Eheim 2213 off Craigslist. After reading how biowheel power filters cause CO2 loss, I decided to move toward canister filters. Plus, I'm not satisfied with the filtering the Penguin 350 provides; there's too many spots where the water can bypass the filter media, and every time I rinse the filters and restart the pump, the darn thing spews all sorts of garbage into the tank. I'd remove the Penguin altogether, but I've read that that a single Eheim 2213 is probably not enough filtering for a 55 gallon. So I'm keeping the Penguin 350 running for now until I 1) get the 2213 up and running and 2) get another canister filter later on when The Price Is Right.
So what do you planted tank folks stuff your canister filters with? The array of available filter media is rather overwhelming. Seems Eheim would like me to buy a big box of every sort of media they offer. I know much of this is a matter of opinion, but I don't have enough experience with canister filters (zero) or planted tanks (1 month) to have an opinion. I've read about canister filters full of floss, of carbon, of filter pads, or of multiple layers of various and sundry media. What do YOU think is best, planted tank wise? P.S. cost is a factor in these decisions.
Additionally, is there anyway to reduce the surface agitation on a Penguin 350? Any and all ideas appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
In my slow and costly march toward pressurized CO2, I got a used Eheim 2213 off Craigslist. After reading how biowheel power filters cause CO2 loss, I decided to move toward canister filters. Plus, I'm not satisfied with the filtering the Penguin 350 provides; there's too many spots where the water can bypass the filter media, and every time I rinse the filters and restart the pump, the darn thing spews all sorts of garbage into the tank. I'd remove the Penguin altogether, but I've read that that a single Eheim 2213 is probably not enough filtering for a 55 gallon. So I'm keeping the Penguin 350 running for now until I 1) get the 2213 up and running and 2) get another canister filter later on when The Price Is Right.
So what do you planted tank folks stuff your canister filters with? The array of available filter media is rather overwhelming. Seems Eheim would like me to buy a big box of every sort of media they offer. I know much of this is a matter of opinion, but I don't have enough experience with canister filters (zero) or planted tanks (1 month) to have an opinion. I've read about canister filters full of floss, of carbon, of filter pads, or of multiple layers of various and sundry media. What do YOU think is best, planted tank wise? P.S. cost is a factor in these decisions.
Additionally, is there anyway to reduce the surface agitation on a Penguin 350? Any and all ideas appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
