Things You'll Need
- Aquarium
- Fish
- Plants
Instructions
Determine your tanks size. Once you know the size of your tank, you can determine the canister filters which work in that range. If you have a 50-gallon tank, buying a filter that is designed for 30 gallons will not give you enough filtration, and buying a filter designed for 100 gallons or more will be a waste of money.
Narrow your results according to whether you have a fresh or salt water tank. If you have a salt water aquarium, you will not want a filter with a heating element. However, for fresh water, you will either want a filter with a heating element or a separate heat source.
Determine what kind of media you want in your filter. The types of fish you own will determine the type of media in the filter. For example, if you have fish that produce a high amount of waste, you will need more mechanical media, but if they produce more ammonia, then the best choice is biological media. Finally, if your tank produces a lot of algae, chemical media is your best bet. Most filters will use a combination of all three. The ratio will vary depending of the fish type. Some canister filters come preset with different ratios for different types of fish. Either choose the one best for your fish, or buy a empty filter and set the ratio yourself.