What is the best aquarium filter? We get asked this question all the time. What is best depends on the size of the tank and whether you have a freshwater or saltwater aquarium. Here are our favorite aquarium filters for different types of aquariums.
 Best Nano Aquarium Filter
Nano aquariums are aquariums small enough you can wrap your arms around them. With small aquariums, the filtration isn’t much different for saltwater and freshwater systems. Our favorite nano aquarium filter is the Lifegard Aquatics HOF Hang-On Filter series. These small and affordable filters come in sizes rated for 10-40 gallons. In addition to the awesome price point these filters have easily replaceable filter cartridges with 3-stage filtration and a built-in surface skimmer. Most modern nano aquariums are rimless and often set on a desk, counter, or table where you are looking down at the tank. This makes any oily surface scum very noticeable and unsightly. The built-in auto-adjusting surface skimmer keeps the surface crystal clear. The HOF filters are also exceptionally thin, taking up minimal room behind the tank. This is especially important with nano aquariums where space is at a premium.
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 Best Medium Sized Freshwater Aquarium Filter (Up to 100 Gallons)
For freshwater aquariums up to 100 gallons, we also recommend a hang-on filter. Hang-on filters are far less likely to leak than canister filters and are much easier to clean and service. The Seachem Tidal Power Filters are our favorite hang-on filters. The Tidal filters come in sizes rated from 35 gallons to 110 gallons and have tons of features. The filters have a built-in surface skimmer, a built-in heater holder, a customizable media bin, a floating clogged filter alert, and an easy priming internal pump. These filters are one of the few hang-on filters to have this many features, come in this many sizes, and have a 5-year warranty. They are certainly built to last.
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 Best Large Freshwater Aquarium Filter (Over 100 Gallons)
For large Freshwater aquariums over 100 gallons, we recommend a Nu-Clear Canister Filter. These filters are light-duty commercial filters built to a much higher build standard than the many multistage hobbyist level filters. The filters use an extra high-capacity pleated cartridge and are highly modular. Check out our filtration bundles to see how you can plumb the filter with a UV sterilizer and the legendary Iwaki pumps. These heavy-duty Nu-Clear filters will last a lifetime and provide excellent filtration.
For those who are determined to get a traditional canister filter, which has the pump and all the plumbing parts and hoses included, we recommend getting the OASE BioMaster. They're built to last, easy to clean, have replacement parts available, and have versions with the heater included. You can also get them with the easy-to-integrate CrystalSkim Surface Skimmer.
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 Best Saltwater Aquarium Filter
The most important part of any saltwater aquarium’s filtration is a high-quality protein skimmer. There are many skimmers to choose from but our favorite skimmers for maximum performance are the Reef Octopus OCTO Regal INT Skimmers (150INT, 200INT , 250INT, 300INT). These skimmers are designed to sit in a filtration sump such as those from IceCap and Fiji Cube. At the heart of the Regal Skimmers are the VarioS pumps. These pumps are super quiet, energy efficient, and high-performance pumps. The pumps even include a built-in float switch to turn off the skimmer when the cup is full. The INT skimmers have an easy-to-use gate valve to dial in the water level inside the skimmer, and the controllers have a 0-10v port to allow speed control through a third-party controller like a Neptune Apex or CoralVue Hydros. The Reef Octopus Regal Skimmers are not cheap, but they are well worth the price. The pumps will save you a great deal on electricity costs, and if something does need to be fixed down the road, there are plenty of available replacement parts.
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 Best Reef Aquarium Filter
In addition to a protein skimmer, we recommend for reef aquariums a method of controlling nitrate and phosphate levels. There are many ways of doing this. Our favorite device is the IceCap Algae Turf Scrubber. The IceCap Algae Turf Scrubbers come in four sizes, including in-sump and hang-on versions. The scrubbers grow natural algae that use the nitrate and phosphate in the water as fertilizer. You then periodically remove some of the algae so that more algae can grow in its place and remove more nitrate and phosphate. With the IceCap Algae Turf Scrubbers, you do not need to buy any replacement filter media or add any chemicals. The strength of the unit can be easily dialed in by changing the amount of time that the algae grow lights are on. Longer times = more algae growth, and less Nitrate and Phosphate. If you have a well-stocked reef aquarium you should have some method for controlling excess nitrate and phosphate and an IceCap Algae Turf Scrubber is our preferred method.
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