HOB filter ok on saltwater staging tank?

[zacj]

Okay, just a quick question is it ok to run a whisper hob filter just for water flow in an aquarium with nothing living in it? I want to have somewhere to put my r/o saltwater and have it heated and moving. I know it would be ideal to have a powerhead like the koraila in it but I don't have one laying around to use! SO Just asking would it be okay to use this or would it release some sort of magnesium into the water that would be harmful when I go to transfer it and use it in my tank? I've heard that the hob filters will poison the fish so this is why I'm asking for some guidance here, any and all help is appreciated!

[Reef Casa]

Okay, just a quick question is it ok to run a whisper hob filter just for water flow in an aquarium with nothing living in it? I want to have somewhere to put my r/o saltwater and have it heated and moving. I know it would be ideal to have a powerhead like the koraila in it but I don't have one laying around to use! SO Just asking would it be okay to use this or would it release some sort of magnesium into the water that would be harmful when I go to transfer it and use it in my tank? I've heard that the hob filters will poison the fish so this is why I'm asking for some guidance here, any and all help is appreciated!

 

yes its okay to run it just for flow...

[zacj]

Thanks for the quick response marc, so I should not be worried about transferring any sort of magnesium from the stand alone tank to my main tank within this process?

 

 

When I add salt is the salt not going to burn the motor up? That's also another thing the people told me about the hob filters that the salt would burn those motors up.. I'm just clearly asking as I do not know..

[cptbjorn]

nah whisper hobs can handle salt just fine.

[zacj]

That is what I was guessing. Evidently I've been mislead for some time with my "attempt" to begin reef and now with help from some folks I've gotten on the right track.

[cptbjorn]

not all hob filters can handle saltwater so the advice was partially good, for example the "bio system power filters" from drs foster and smith have bad stainless shafts that rust out every couple months.

 

but i've been using a whisper for a year and a half and its still silent and flows like new.

[zacj]

stainless... rusting?? I'm not an expert at much but isn't that the reason you use stainless props on saltwater props in boating?

[cptbjorn]

depends on the grade of stainless. 316 can stay bright and shiny under salt water for months or years, while cheap stainless can melt away in weeks.

[ajmckay]

+1 most HOB filters are fine. If you're using it to keep fresh mixed water moving try to clean it out as best you can and don't use any sort of filtration medium. This could harbor bacteria and make the water funky.

[zacj]

Ok ok I gotcha now makes plenty of since! They say "stainless" and obviously like I did people don't realize or take time to see the lower grade as you are describing. Thanks for the clarity!

 

So back to mixing in the tank, I won't be using any media or "filtration" just the motor for flow as stated earlier until I get a small powerhead. So should I not have the tank close to full and mix my salt with hydrometer in tank and temp. Around 78°?

 

I was told it was ok this way just asking for experiences and your knowledge

[tako]

So should I not have the tank close to full and mix my salt with hydrometer in tank and temp. Around 78°?

You need to premix and heat the saltwater in a separate container, unless your tank is completely empty (i.e. no live rock or sand).

[zacj]

That is my complete purpose for this tank....bare bottom, heater, air pump, HOB filter no insert/media.

 

So I should be fine mixing in tank...?

[tako]

Sorry I was thinking maybe you'd also use it a QT tank or something, as well. Nothing in it then no problem. The only possible issue might be getting undissolved salt in the pumps. It might shorten their life, but my salt mixing pump is still going fine.

 

You may not have enough flow to get the salt suspended, though. You could end up with a lot just sitting in a dead spot.

[wombat]

It would be fine to use.

 

It also wouldn't be a bad idea to run a skimmer in newly mixed water. Newly mixed artificial seawater has much higher bacterial counts than typical reef tank water. Whether this is a problem or not is unknown.

 

Most artificial salt mixes also have detectable ammonia (it's a contaminant of magnesium chloride), so running a biological filter is not a bad idea either.