水草情迷

Yes! I agree! The simpler the better!

Actually, we only need the followings for a good fresh water filtering system:

Filter cotton+Bio ring+enough water flow+TIME

But what's more crucial to keep the good water quality are:
Your own experience and effort!!

It's easy to tell you that to have a crystal clear water tank, balance is the key, such as balanced supply of nutrients, light, CO2, etc. But how to handle the balance is the art of this hobby.

The experts here can help you keep away from traps and so most importantly you can save money. (If I found this web site before starting my tank, I could have saved at least 40% of money.) However, you have to feel where the balance is for your own tank. This is nothing but a trial-and-error process.

May I add that another important filtration method is water change.