HOB Filter upgrade

I have a 10gallon HOB filter that came with the aquarium. Its the walmart branded aquatech. It seems to have work just fine but now since the addition of CO2 and everything, the filter is just getting clogged way to fast. It's also looking like the flow is not enough since the plants are growing more than without CO2.

I am looking between the Aquaclear and the Rena Smartfilter. I like the setup of the Rena Smartfilter alot but they say the footing sometimes slips but I do not know if this is just with the bigger filters as well as the small filters.

The Aquaclear looks great as well, but can you run this filter without all the carbon in the filter and just use more of the media foam?


Thanks