any help appreciated!!

[Bradeyre03]

I'm about a year into keeping South American Puffers! I have three in a 60 litre tank - its just a trial tank! always wanted tropical fish, but wasn't sure if it was just a 'thing' turns out I love keeping them! So I want to upgrade asap. I'm thinking a 120/200 litre with decent external filter... the questions I have are:

Is a 120 to 200 litre tank a fair size for say my three then a couple more puffers plus a few other tank mates?

Do I need to 'over filter' the tank? get a powerful canister filter? Should I bothered what 'litres per hour' it filters?

Should I buy only the big branded tanks/filters etc, or are un-named/eBay stuff okay?

Do puffers need a lot of plants? As I wanted to go down the mangrove/ river look, so will put a few reeds in there, but some forums sat puffers need heavily planted tanks!

Sorry about the essay, but want to get the set up spot on?

Thanks in advance!!!

[Pufferpunk]

Bigger is better & longer is even better! They like lots of swimming room, so I'd keep the center of the tank mostly open & decorate the sides, back & bottom. They also like lots of flow. I prefer Aquaclear HOB & e\Eheim canisters.

[Iliveinazoo]

you probably want about 50 litres volume per puffer. 'Overfiltering' is a weird term really, if people are thinking about overfiltering to cope with overstocking then they should really buy a bigger tank. I would go for either a single canister or 2 cannisters that provide about 10x volume of the tank per hour, that way you should still have sufficient flow when your filter media clogs up a bit or your pump ages and can't push as much water as it could.

I wouldn't say that puffers need plants specifically but plants (as well as other types of décor) will add interest. Plants - so long as they grow well - will also help to maintain water quality