Setting up a 75g with HOB filters?

[johnny85]

Haven’t had a tank since before my daughter  was born about 4 years ago. She loves aquariums and has been to several aquariums and zoos. Her grandma “my mom” has a 120g that she just loves. Thinking of setting up a 75 gallon saltwater tank. I’ve had saltwater in the past and enjoyed it. My question is where the tank is going to go I don’t want a sump simply because of the noise level. I was thinking of buying 2 of the aqua clear 110 hob filters. I plan on doing simple coral as well. Would that filtration be ok or should I consider something else?

[ef4life]

Hob filters work fine, the majority of filtration needed in a reef tank takes place naturally in the rocks and sand. Some people run their reefs with lots of filters, trying to keep them as clean as possible, others run no type of filter floss at all and focus on other methods of detritus and nutrient export. There is no 100% right answer on how to set up your tank. I will say flow is very important and the 2 hob imo won’t be enough, so a few powerheads/wave makers will be needed.

 

and aqua clears are good stuff and lots of things you can do to mod them in the future. A surface skimmer would be something to look at to help get the junk off the surface of the water, which is one of the great benefits of running a sump system.

[johnny85]

I will absolutely have some power heads and a skimmer I ended up getting a 65 gallon today.

[johnny85]

2 hours ago, ef4life said:

Hob filters work fine, the majority of filtration needed in a reef tank takes place naturally in the rocks and sand. Some people run their reefs with lots of filters, trying to keep them as clean as possible, others run no type of filter floss at all and focus on other methods of detritus and nutrient export. There is no 100% right answer on how to set up your tank. I will say flow is very important and the 2 hob imo won’t be enough, so a few powerheads/wave makers will be needed.

 

and aqua clears are good stuff and lots of things you can do to mod them in the future. A surface skimmer would be something to look at to help get the junk off the surface of the water, which is one of the great benefits of running a sump system.

Also need to figure out what light to use. Like I said I plan on having some corals. 

[Clown79]

You can definitely do it with hob filters. I had them on my 55g and it worked very well.

 

You should look into the Seachem Tidal filters, they are awesome.

[WV Reefer]

4 hours ago, johnny85 said:

Haven’t had a tank since before my daughter  was born about 4 years ago. She loves aquariums and has been to several aquariums and zoos. Her grandma “my mom” has a 120g that she just loves. Thinking of setting up a 75 gallon saltwater tank. I’ve had saltwater in the past and enjoyed it. My question is where the tank is going to go I don’t want a sump simply because of the noise level. I was thinking of buying 2 of the aqua clear 110 hob filters. I plan on doing simple coral as well. Would that filtration be ok or should I consider something else?

I run my 75 gallon with no filters, sump or skimmer so you should be fine with the hob’s. 😊

[ef4life]

21 minutes ago, johnny85 said:

Also need to figure out what light to use. Like I said I plan on having some corals. 

Lighting is broad spectrum of different options and prices. I run a reefbreefers photon v1 led on my 40 and have been happy with it for the past 5 years now, it’s like a mid tier light, it’s a step up from the low grade Chinese leds, but it’s not a high dollar name brand fixture either. 

 

I will say mine just last night it started acting up, moon lights started to flicker on/off constantly. So I’m looking at a repair or upgrade right now. Waiting to see if I can get any parts/what it will cost to repair it before I decide to jump in on a new replacement. If I go replacement I’m dreaming of multiple Kessil 360x but looking at the reefbreeders 32” photon v2+ Since it’s what I can afford 

[johnny85]

Are 2 hob filters too much?

[Clown79]

No. There are other uses for them too.

 

You could run 1 for a heater and media and use the other as a chaeto fuge

 

 

[johnny85]

12 minutes ago, Clown79 said:

No. There are other uses for them too.

 

You could run 1 for a heater and media and use the other as a chaeto fuge

 

 

That’s a great idea. I’m going to buy live sand and rock. Should I use 120 pounds of live rock or can I use some dry rock and live rock?

[ef4life]

Pros and cons to live or dry rock. I always start with dry rock, no pests to worry about. And it’s cheap. Dry rock will become live rock one it gets cycled. 120lbs is a lot, you’d probably be fine with 60-70lbs. The trend lately is for less rock, more open space it’s visually appealing, and imo it tends to be good because there is less dead spot for detritus to accumulate in all the rocks.

[johnny85]

20 minutes ago, ef4life said:

Pros and cons to live or dry rock. I always start with dry rock, no pests to worry about. And it’s cheap. Dry rock will become live rock one it gets cycled. 120lbs is a lot, you’d probably be fine with 60-70lbs. The trend lately is for less rock, more open space it’s visually appealing, and imo it tends to be good because there is less dead spot for detritus to accumulate in all the rocks.

Few years back I was told 2 pounds of live rock for every gallon. I tried that once and the tank was just too full for me and didnt look good. Glad to know that I dont need 120 pounds of rock!

[Clown79]

2 hours ago, johnny85 said:

That’s a great idea. I’m going to buy live sand and rock. Should I use 120 pounds of live rock or can I use some dry rock and live rock?

You can do all live, all dry, or some of each.

I like to do a mix because the biodiversity from liverock is really beneficial.

 

You don't need 120 lbs of rock. That's a lot of rock. 60-70 will be plenty. 

 

 

Check out hob's that have been converted