More newbie questions (after my neon tradgedy)

[Britfish]

Well stiff upper lip! :-
Remember Im new to this.... at present I only have a ugf in my 45 gallon tank, my question is, I think i need more filtration. I cant quite stretch to a good external filter so would a large internal filter or a power head do any good? What about both?  I only have plastic plants at the moment (if that makes any difference) please dont hate me.  
All my fish are happy but there seems to be quite a few large particles in the water.  Surely you can never have enough filtration .  So whats your solution for a guy on a budget.  

 

[aznpanther98]

there's so many diff kinds of filters out there i personally don't like ugf's pain in the ass to clean after a while i use a powerhead with a sponge filter in my 30 tank, my goldfish 30 gal has an old whisper 2 filter and i'm suprised it's lasted this long it's like 10 years old and only replaced theimpeller once don't remember when but it was a long time ago lol... anyways all dpends on what u have i think, llike high fish loads need a pretty good filter, if u can't afford a nice one i'm sure there are alot of used ones out there check out ebay just make sure the seller has a good rating over (500 sometimes are good my opinion) b4 u buy from them, i herd bigalsonline.com has good deals on filters too just get a good filter and use it along with the ugf like u said can never have enough filtration

 

[jbfootin]

I use ugf (w/powerheads) and a canister filter on my 75 gal and a ugf (w/powerheads) and a hot power filter on my 40 gal.  I agree that the ugf is a pain to clean and I can't have a planted tank with them but the water is crystal clear on both tanks.  I often think about doing a reverse flow ugf.  The benefits of ugf without the mess accumulating in the gravel.  Sounds like a good alternative but it is more equipment (sponge pre-filter) to try to hide.  

Jay