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What's the deal? What do you get from either?

good points and bad points for both? I wanna know!!!!

You really get the same thing filtration.

HOB pluses: out of the tank, out of sight no need to be hidden. Easier to clean without disrupting the tank.

Internal pluses: Clean look to the top of your tank (more important on tanks which are low).

HOB can be a better source of oxygen for the water depending on the method or lack thereof employed by the internal filter.

Internals are not very popular here in the United States nor are they widely available. You can get them but they aren't at every pet store. In Australia they are much more common.

One form of internal filtration, the sponge filter, is widespread here but mostly for the purpose of fry rearing

Koi

Empty chairs at empty tables, the room silent, forlorn.

Hi,
Like flavors of ice cream, filters come in all shapes
and sizes for inside the tank, outside the tank, to
hang on the back, or to set on the floor.

Choosing one can be interesting.

Inside corner filters are generally sold with beginner
setups. Perhaps the biggest problem with them is their
small size, and limited filtering capacity, as compaired
to the other styles. Add to that the fact that they
take up inside "swimming space" are ugly to look at,
and hard to hide.
Inside filters, particularly the sponge filters are
expecially good in tanks with fry (baby fish). They
are effective biological filters, are easy to maintain,
and the baby fish don't get caught up in them.

Outside filters have more space to "expand", don't
take up any "swimming space" and can be easily
hidden by backgrounds, or tall plants.

The limit to the HOB filter is the space between
the tank and the wall, and the amount of weight you
can safely hang on the glass. They come with
all sorts of chambers, filter media, and even
"bio wheels" which is an outstanding addition to a
limited size filter as it multiplies the surface
area for bacteria to thrive on, thus increasing
its biological filtration capacity.

The external ones that sit on the floor offer endless
opportunities for various media, places for heaters,
CO2 injection, UV light sterilization, and others.
By sitting on the floor, they take up no "swimming
space", can be easily hidden, or accessed for maintenance,
and are practically limitless in size, shape, weight,
and filtration capacity.

Hope this helps...

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--