# Filtration for 20gallon long



## Clayman (Jan 7, 2015)

Canister filters are very nice in that you can customize the media and there's room for a lot. For a 20 Long I would recommend something like an Eheim 2213. Canisters can be a bit pricey but well worth it. Craigslist is a good place to find them for cheap.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

Thanks!


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## mjryan2176 (Nov 11, 2014)

I use a sun sun 302 canister on my 20 long. It is a canister that can be had for around 50 dollars shipped, and it does an excellent job with my tank.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

mjryan2176 said:


> I use a sun sun 302 canister on my 20 long. It is a canister that can be had for around 50 dollars shipped, and it does an excellent job with my tank.


No adjustable flow rate?

Bump: 50 is better than the one I was looking at for 100 LOL except maybe it has less features


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## Bob Madoran (Dec 22, 2014)

I also have a sunsun 302 in a 20 gallon long. It is rated for 264 gph, but I only get about half that. The flow rate is not adjustable, but for what it puts out it seems just about perfect. It is not a small filter. The canister is big enough to hold about 2 gallons of water so there is a lot of room for filter media. It is also very quite. The compressor on my 1 year old refrigerator is louder and I can barely here that.

With shipping it's about $50, or for about $15 more you can get the "Pro" version. It is the same filter but it includes filter media...bio balls, extra filter pads, ceramic disks, and a bag of activate carbon.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

Bob Madoran said:


> I also have a sunsun 302 in a 20 gallon long. It is rated for 264 gph, but I only get about half that. The flow rate is not adjustable, but for what it puts out it seems just about perfect. It is not a small filter. The canister is big enough to hold about 2 gallons of water so there is a lot of room for filter media. It is also very quite. The compressor on my 1 year old refrigerator is louder and I can barely here that.
> 
> With shipping it's about $50, or for about $15 more you can get the "Pro" version. It is the same filter but it includes filter media...bio balls, extra filter pads, ceramic disks, and a bag of activate carbon.


I saw the sun sun on Amazon but since I didn't recognize the name I just kept looking, the one I was looking at was around 100 without shipping and it was a fluval I believe. I think I'll get the sun sun pro. Thanks guys, I'd be screwed and lost in the dark without everyone on this website. It's a shame people are not like this real life, just plain willing to help.


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## starvingmarvin (Jan 21, 2015)

Sunsun is the way to go imo! I have the 304b which states 500+ gallon per hour on my 10 gal. Ofcourse I toned it down with a ball valve at the intake to lower the gph.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

I'm going to go against the canister filters. The tanks I have power filters on all have the Tetra Whispers. My 20's have the 30 on them. The 75 has a 60. My 29 has a 30. In all at least 12 of my 30+ tanks have Tetra hobs. I love them. 11 more tanks have air powered filters. 10 are corner box one is an air lift that's 30 years old. 1air pump is a lot cheaper to run than a dozen HOBs.
My tanks are all nice and clear. That being said I keep my bioload less than max and I do water changes.


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## Morbo (Feb 10, 2013)

They're not cheap but a Fluval 206 would be perfect on a 20L.


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## aaronbear (Mar 17, 2013)

I used to have a Fluval 106 on my 20 long and I loved it. Eventually I upgraded to a Fluval G3 which I love even more because of the ease of maintenance vs any other canister. They're worth a look at least.


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## bobfig (Aug 30, 2014)

have a eheim 2217 and a fluval c2 on my 20gallon long. dose just about right imo on filtration all tho the eheim is expensive. im thinking just use 2 aquaclear 30's would be fine for the tank also. 

you should be doing water changes like every week to suck the waist out. filters won't do that for you unless it stays floating in the water.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

My water is extremely clear right now with two whisper hobs, 20i and 10i. I just do not like the direction of the currents from them - mostly back to front of the tank and with a twenty long it's only about twelve inches from back to front. Doesn't feel like good circulation to me, I'm under the impression with a canister I can have more so a horizontal flow with proper placement?


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Here's 2 pix of how I've got the spray bars of an eheim 2211 and a 2213 , both are spraying outflow across the width of their respective tanks , both are on 20 longs . Not great pix , but will give you an idea of one way to set up a canister to direct flow crossways . Had to trim the bars about 2" IIRC to enable them to fit .


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

someoldguy said:


> Here's 2 pix of how I've got the spray bars of an eheim 2211 and a 2213 , both are spraying outflow across the width of their respective tanks , both are on 20 longs . Not great pix , but will give you an idea of one way to set up a canister to direct flow crossways . Had to trim the bars about 2" IIRC to enable them to fit .


I'm going to buy a sun sun, do you think I can put a spray bar on it? And that is exactly how I want my setup. Constant river current


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Can't see any reason why you couldn't make something up using fluval , or eheim parts , or drilled out pvc /acrylic tubing if the SunSun doesn't come with a bar . You might want to see what the SunSun comes with before putting out any cash . If you have to buy parts for a spray bar , plus media ,plus shipping a 2211 or 2213 might come out cheaper if you shop around as they come loaded with media and the spray bar.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

Roger that, I know it doesn't come with a spray bar but I'm sure I can DIY one, if not I'm sure the default outflow will work much better than my current setup. No pun intended


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Just a heads up on some spray bar measurements … I did some quick and dirty measuring of an Eheim 2213 spraybar and came up with 10 holes of about .090
( a #42 drill won't pass ,# 43 will) or very roughly 3/32" spaced at about 1 3/16" apart . Inside tubing diameter of about .400 , outside diameter of 1/2"
This gives a nice flow for the 2213 which allegedly pumps 116 gal/hr. Probably your filter will have a much higher flow rate , and you'll have to redesign things to suit your conditions , but figured some base measurements from a commercial product might be helpful .


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

someoldguy said:


> Just a heads up on some spray bar measurements … I did some quick and dirty measuring of an Eheim 2213 spraybar and came up with 10 holes of about .090
> ( a #42 drill won't pass ,# 43 will) or very roughly 3/32" spaced at about 1 3/16" apart . Inside tubing diameter of about .400 , outside diameter of 1/2"
> This gives a nice flow for the 2213 which allegedly pumps 116 gal/hr. Probably your filter will have a much higher flow rate , and you'll have to redesign things to suit your conditions , but figured some base measurements from a commercial product might be helpful .


Dude, your awesome! We both know details are always helpful


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

*To all that care!*

I love 1-day shipping! I bought 



 today will get it tomorrow along with my finnex planted+ so excited


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

I just tried to cancel that filter because I think it might be to beast for my 20 gallon long... It might not cancel though :'(


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

It canceled thank god, downgraded to a sun sun 302 pro kit like I was originally suggested. Who knows when I will get it and my light will not be here until the 12th. Didn't expect Jackson Hewitt to give me a free 500$ loan on my taxes let alone get it today lol. In my excitement I messed things all up. Should be straighter now and should receive everything within 3-5. I bought the planted+, fluval co2 kit for 20gal, and my sun sun 302.


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Looks like a good move ,that 304 you originally ordered, if specs are right , moves a ton of water more than you need ...plus the 302 appears to come with a spray bar , saving you a bunch of work.


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## Bob Madoran (Dec 22, 2014)

A couple of things about the sunsun 302 you will notice...

The intake tubing is really long and will need to be cut shorter unless you don't mind having it either touch the bottom of the tank, or have it sticking way up in the air. It comes with a number of pieces that are about 6 inches long that are all supposed to connect together depending on how deep the tank is, so if you end up cutting it too short you will have plenty of extras to try again.

The surface skimmer on the intake tube completely sucks (figuratively, not literally) and pretty much does nothing. It's seems like it would be a nice design, but I think the flow rate on the 302 is just too low for it to work properly. There's just not enough suction. I have watched fine particles floating on or just below the water surface go into and then drift out of it. The unit comes with a little cap to block it off and that's what I use.

The spray bar that comes with it is too long to attach to the side of the tank. You'll need to do what someoldguy did with his eheim's and cut it shorter if you want to do that. I had though about doing that, and at some point I may, but I ended up putting the spray bar in rear right corner and the intake in the rear left corner. The water doesn't actually come straight out of the spray bar towards the front of the tank. I don't know if it is common to all spray bars or something unique to sunsun's, but comes out at a slight angle. I would guess it's about a 10° angle to left (towards the center of the tank).

The hose that comes with it is crazy stiff and will not straighten out on it's own. I soaked it in hot water (about 140°F) for about 10 minutes and then secured it to a 2x4 with some gorilla tape until it cooled. If you don't have a 2x4 you could attach one end to your shower curtain rod and then attach a weight to the other end so it hangs straight. A cooking pot with something heavy in it would work nicely.

Other than that, enjoy your new filter when it arrives.


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## c0ldn3s5 (Jan 20, 2015)

Bob Madoran said:


> A couple of things about the sunsun 302 you will notice...
> 
> The intake tubing is really long and will need to be cut shorter unless you don't mind having it either touch the bottom of the tank, or have it sticking way up in the air. It comes with a number of pieces that are about 6 inches long that are all supposed to connect together depending on how deep the tank is, so if you end up cutting it too short you will have plenty of extras to try again.
> 
> ...


The end cap for the skimmer would not fit on the end of the spray bar to make it shorter? I believe I have seen people have them diagonal on the sides of their tank. I also heard that using a bunch of filter media slows the flow rate so maybe if I cut down a little the skimmer would be stronger. I really need the skimmer, I put some big pieces of slate rock in and its making a film on top of the water which is driving my fish and me nuts. Even without the spray bar do you think it will make some good current through the length of the tank? Thanks for all the insight guys! Tomorrow my planted+ shows up and today I spent 60$ on fish and plants. Makes a whopping total of about $300 on this tank which is my first real one. My fish are loving the plants, cyperus helferi and telanthera cardinalis.


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