Is a HOB filter sufficient?

[zak.payne]

As I try to curve my curiosity with the hobby (does that ever go away? ) I was curious to know if a HOB filter would ever be sufficient filtration for a full reef tank? I know some people use them for QT tanks, so in my mind conceptually it could be used for a display portion.

 

With the Innovative Marine Black line of tanks, I feel like this would be an awesome use for a HOB filter so I don't need to worry about drilling and possibly cracking the tank (knowing my luck I would)

[spinycheek]

I've had HOB reefs with no problems whatsoever. Just follow regular reefing guidelines. They can have the advantage of being way quieter than a sump system and no risk of flooding.

[zak.payne]

Is there a brand that you'd recommend? Would you get a filter rated for much higher than the actual gallons of the tank? I've also heard people say they take out the ceramic stuff with HOB filters, did you do that or leave it?

 

Sorry for all the questions!

[spinycheek]

Mine wasn't a particular brand, it was a hodgepodge of different reactors and a HOB skimmer. I think I got the reactors from aquaticeco.com and the skimmer was an Aquamaxx (awesome skimmer!). I didn't use any bio-media like ceramic, I left that entirely to the live rock and sand. Flow was around 10X volume per hour for the skimmer, the reactor was quite a bit less as you want water to hang out in the reactor longer so it can pull out the yucky crap. I used Phosguard, Carbon and sometimes GFO.

[jolee0722]

For smaller tanks you can run with an aquaclear filter with an intank media basket. Would want to have one with a flow rate that is 20-30x that of the tank size. A little less is fine.

[Roshan8768]

I have a 40 breeder and run a aquaclear 110. I would get a aquaclear 70 or 110 depending on your tank size. You can buy one of the mediabaskets or diy your own. I also think that a surface skimmer box for these filters is useful and there are a couple of forum sponsors who make one (I got one from pico aquaiums, but not sure they are still business.) All I have on my tank is the filter, a HOB skimmer, and powerheads. Tank works fine and has been up for over 5 years now, link in my signature

[rosecity]

My 20 long reef has run for 4 years now with an AC70 and a Bad Fish skimmer box and media rack. I just run GAC in it now with filter floss on top and change the floss every 2-3 days and the GAC every 2 weeks. The AC70 provides plenty of surface agitation but you will also want a powerhead or two to create flow.

 

I am thinking of upgrading to the Nuvo Black 30 and getting an AC110.

 

Bad Fish is no longer around but there are a few sponsors who make a skimmer box for the AC110.

 

I would take this setup over a sump and skimmer any day for a nano tank.

[ajmckay]

So the answer to your question totally depends on what you want to do.

 

The short answer is that in a reef tank the primary filtration is the live rock. Water passing over/through the rock is processed by various bacteria living on the rock. So the most important thing is to have good flow in the tank.

 

An HOB filter is purely preference. It can be used in a beneficial manner to hold chemical filtration (carbon, GFO, chemipure, etc) and mechanical filtration like filter pads/floss. The only caveat is that these media need to be changed/cleaned frequently otherwise they can cause a buildup of detritus in the filter.

 

So as mentioned the aquaclear filters are the favorites simply because they are the most versatile. Many other brands require special "cartridges" which are expensive and non customizable. The aquaclear has a simple tray with room for a sponge and some chemical media. Adding a media basket as mentioned can net you better space to hold a small heater and other things as well.

[Matteo]

ac110 all the way! I have one for my 29g. I just run a sponge and carbon. No skimmer or anything. 4 fish at the moment and lps and clam are doing great!

[Hammerstone]

I have a hob on my reef and it's done just fine! About two years old now.

[Matteo]

if you do go the HOB route you can build a surface skimmer like I did for your intake and heater etc so it is all hidden and skims water from the surface! http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/372481-matteos-college-29g-living-room-piece-ac110-surface-skimmer-build/

[The Aquarist]

I have only used hob filters for all my tanks.

Currently, I have a 12 gallon mixed reef with softies, lps, and sps, and a fuzzy dwarf lionfish. Filtration consists is two hob filters, one holds a small media bag with BRS ROX 0.8 carbon, and another holds mangroves. Growth is great, and my tank is running fine. HOB filers are very versatile, and can be used in a variety of applications.

[Matteo]

I have only used hob filters for all my tanks.

Currently, I have a 12 gallon mixed reef with softies, lps, and sps, and a fuzzy dwarf lionfish. Filtration consists is two hob filters, one holds a small media bag with BRS ROX 0.8 carbon, and another holds mangroves. Growth is great, and my tank is running fine. HOB filers are very versatile, and can be used in a variety of applications.

yo, I have 2 clowns 1 midas and 1 pgmgy. I want to add a fuzzy sooo bad.

[Imaexpat2]

So the answer to your question totally depends on what you want to do.

 

The short answer is that in a reef tank the primary filtration is the live rock. Water passing over/through the rock is processed by various bacteria living on the rock. So the most important thing is to have good flow in the tank.

 

An HOB filter is purely preference. It can be used in a beneficial manner to hold chemical filtration (carbon, GFO, chemipure, etc) and mechanical filtration like filter pads/floss. The only caveat is that these media need to be changed/cleaned frequently otherwise they can cause a buildup of detritus in the filter.

 

So as mentioned the aquaclear filters are the favorites simply because they are the most versatile. Many other brands require special "cartridges" which are expensive and non customizable. The aquaclear has a simple tray with room for a sponge and some chemical media. Adding a media basket as mentioned can net you better space to hold a small heater and other things as well.

 

This post right here tells you all you need to know!

 

I have been using Aquaclears for years on several of my tanks through out the years in various configurations. I like the aquaclears due to their versatility and ability to be modified as deemed appropriate for the tank they are being used on. I will generally speaking use one sized the next size up for the tank or bigger.

 

Right now at the moment I have a AC 200 with a AC 100 impeller in it on my 2.5 gallon Pico. I have removed the media basket and instead filled it with some Red Garcilaria maco algae. I cut a sponge to fit across the opening on the outlet to prevent macro algae from going into the tank. Another sponge has been fitted around the intake to the left side (looking at the tank from the front) to prevent Macro Algae from clogging the impeller up. I have dialed down the flow (an option I love about Aquaclear HOB's) to minimum flow. This allows the HOB to function as a external Refugium/Algae Scrubber of sorts but provides plenty of flow in the tank. So its not providing much in the way of actual filtration. The tank houses no fish but has a lot of Live Rock , Soft and LPS corals in it.

 

That's just one example of how they can be used on a reef tank. I have used the larger ones on 10-40 gallon tanks with great success in the past in various configurations. If your going to use them in your tank for the filtration and removal of crap from your tank make sure you service them frequently as crude builds up in them or your water quality can and usually will take a nose dive south on you. There are tons of videos and "How To's" on forums and you tube that can show you the endless number of ways these filters can be used on your reef tank. The other thing I like about these filters are the parts availability on them is great. Replacement parts are sometimes available at LFS's and if not I have been able to get them through Hagen directly...usually for free. You just cant beat a deal like that!

[Oceanbox Designs]

Depending on your tank size, get either Aquaclear AC70 or AC110 and you're good to go. I make surface skimmer add-on accessory to getting rid of surface scum and having something to cover up the intake tubing is always appealing in term of the aesthetic of the setup. You can't get any better than this for a HOB setup and the simplicity of installation can't be beaten.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/371562-aquaclear-ac70-magnetic-surface-skimmer-v2-official-video-inside/

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/372605-aquaclear-ac110-magnetic-surface-skimmer-no-more-surface-scum/

[Clown79]

It depends on size of tank, how much work one is willing to do.

 

I've run a 55g, 10g, and 15g sumpless.

 

The 10g is aio so no hob needed and I have no skimmer. Love the ease in Aio and everything is hidden in chambers.

 

My 55g had a skimmer and hob filter for carbon and other media. No sponge, no floss, just liverock in tank, crushed coral(old days), remora skimmer, and marineland filter with removed biowheels(nitrate factory)

 

My 15g has liverock and hob filter, i run it with carbon and filter floss

 

 

If the tank is maintained properly and regularly I would say a lot of ppl with smaller tanks have been successful running them skimmerless, sumpless, filterless.

 

There are many ways of running a system

 

I highly recommend ppl who run hob filter reefs,

 

1. replace filter floss 1-2x/week-don't use the sponges

2. Rinse carbon filled bags at waterchange time because a lot of detritus builds on them

3.clean out filter and tubes monthly

4. Do weekly water changes

 

 

Adding a surface skimmer to the hob really does wonders for the water-mine just broke after 6mnths.

 

 

Since my surface skimmer broke I decided to try api superclean filter(great reviews online) instead of using my aquaclear.

I chose this filter because it has 2 intakes, mid and top tank. This eliminates additional tubes for a surface skimmer since its built with one. It also has a lot of rm to use any media like aquaclear...some hobs don't have the rm for media bags

[SantaMonicaHelp]

If you are thinking of getting an HOB, you might want to consider building your own scrubber:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/301547-lowest-cost-way-to-eliminate-green-hair-bubble-turf-and-slime-algae/page-14

 

SF

[HarryPotter]

If you are thinking of getting an HOB, you might want to consider getting an HOG

 

http://www.santa-monica.cc/

 

SF

I disagree, I don't think that would be a good alternative. The OP is looking for a "complete" filtration for his tank, and an upflow algae scrubber will not cut it. Mechanical filtration is necessary to quickly take out detritus and excess food, not waiting for it to break down and feed your algae.

[SantaMonicaHelp]

Well actually, we like the route of leaving all particles in the water to provide more food for corals.

[HarryPotter]

Well actually, we like the route of leaving all particles in the water to provide more food for corals.

However with mechanical filtration you can feed more and then remove the extras BEFORE they break down into nutrients that will feed algae.

[Elizabeth94]

I know that if I ran my tank without mechanical filtration my corals wouldn't like me. All the gunk ("particles") that my filter floss catches is unbelievable, I like to get all that stuff out before it increases my nutrients. Most corals are fed by lighting, supplemental feeding is great, but leaving ALL the particles in the water would most likely lead to nutrient problems.

 

Don't read this the wrong way. I like the idea of algae scrubbers, I just don't agree with this statement. Algae scrubbers are good additions to some systems, but shouldn't be used to replace mechanical filtration. Leaving all the particles in the water would be good to grow algae, but not corals.

 

I have always wanted to try a scrubber, but my current system wouldn't have anywhere to put one.

 

Well actually, we like the route of leaving all particles in the water to provide more food for corals.

[ajmckay]

Interesting turn this thread has taken!

 

So my opinion is that a tank can certainly be run without mechanical filtration. I think it's generally better when you have some mechanical filtration, but the problem is that if not changed frequently (a high bio-load tank can gunk up a filter pad in a day) it can start adding nitrates back into the tank as the high-flow area facilitates it's production. And furthermore (due to the same reason) the mechanical media could become a biological filter (a lot of the slimy brown stuff on a filter pad is actually bacteria). Removing it probably won't change much but in a small tank it could result in a parameter spike.

 

So IME the concept of a scrubber IME is sound, at one point I wanted to build one before my refugium went online. It's a bit of a toss up. The extra particles of stuff floating about could be good or bad depending on where they come from. If your strategy is to overfeed and let the filter pad pick off the leftovers then it would be a bad idea to remove the mechanical filter. Under normal circumstances though small bits of food and stuff are beneficial for many reef tanks - to a point. For speed the filter pad wins hands down. The algae scrubber is more of a long term solution that will take some time to become effective. And like you have to change filter pads with an algae scrubber you have to remove the algae regularly or the scrubber could become less effective.

 

The scrubber is a waaaay cooler point of discussion though when someone comes over.