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I'm picking up my new 50 gallon tank on Tuesday, and they seller said it comes with a filter. I do not know what type of filter it is yet, but I'm probably going to get a new one. What are some brands that are good quality, but decently priced? I know that to get a good, long-lasting one, I need to spend some bucks. But right now, finances are at a minimum (being Christmas-time and all). Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

id suggest a rena xp3. it would work great in a 50 gallon and you can still use it when you upgrade. i have one on a 65 but i could easily use on probably up to a 90 gallon if i only have my turtle in the tank. for just fish i think its rated for 175 gallon. i think i got mine for 100$. or you could probaby get away with a smaller cainster like a rena xp2, but if u upgrade u might have to go filter shopping again. fluval is another good brand, but unless u are going ot get a fx5 id go with rena filters

+1 for the xp3 or xp4. Bang for the buck the Rena filters are hard to beat. The fx5 is 2.5x the price of a xp3 when you figure in the cost of media to fill it.

The fluval 405 is nice also, but more expensive than the Rena filters.

thanks guys! i'm going to pick up the tank and stand today. (*yay*) but i won't be able to set it up til this weekend (payday is thursday). i'm excited to set it up and "decorate" it. maybe i'll even get some sand for this tank.

I'm having good luck with the cheapo brand off ebay, SunSun/Perfect. I just bought my second to add to a bigger tank. It was $58 delivered for a 250gph canister filter with three media baskets and ALL necessary media! The first has been going continuously for almost eight months with no problems.

Agreed. Got a Sunsun HW302 off ebay for a song. 1000L/h, and very quiet.