Freshwater filter only or is it? Have you ever used an HOB filter on a saltwater tank?

[BubbleBuddy]

Ran a HOB on my old 40gallon breeder. Worked great as long as I rinsed the salt off the motor monthly. Also had to stay on top of the filter cartridge changes to prevent overflow. Continued to use the HOB once I transitioned the tank to a QT.

 

[AquaLogic]

I use HOB for quarantine. It's easy and cheap.

 

[reef tank 2.0]

does a quarantine tank count? if so, then yes

 

[1112-425XL]

HOB my 20, works perfectly!

 

[MnFish1]

I like the large aquaclear - I would certainly use it on a large QT tank. Or - even in a display if I needed a temporary flow increase - or dosing something to the tank the I could drop into the filter, etc. I would guess most people who go this route do not have a sump - and IMHO - they are a great substitute

 

[Ef4life]

Marineland penguin hob turned into a passive algae turf scrubber with 0 effort. Add a small screen on the waterfall outflow, lit only by the display light. It Works amazing

And top down fts of the tank it’s running in

 

[NorthernReefer86]

New to the Hobby, first tank is 8 months new. Aquaclear 70, Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 on a 29 gallon. Someday I want to upgrade to a larger tank with a sump, until then this seems to be working well IMO.

 

[JasonVH]

Was gifted with two tanks as a housewarming presents. One 40 gal with tetras included. Kept it 'as is'. Other tank was an empty 29 gal. My first thought was to make a setup for freshwater dwarf shrimps. While drooling over the saltwater displays at the LFS.. the owners casually mentioned that I could try saltwater even without the plumbing, sump etc. The temptation became too great so I decided to give it a try, see if I could take care of saltwater setup.. Got a Tidal 75 and also a Tidal 35 I already had and put them on the tank.

It's been 2 yrs or so by now. So as someone without much experience in the hobby yet I could say it's do able. Just that. Definitely not "oh you can nooooooo problem!" as the LFS implied. Corals are growing. But also some corals did not make it. Likely a large part to my inexperience.. probably an experienced reefer would have done far better than me with the very same setup because they've already got the knowledge and 'feel' for it. I think that might be an important caveat for this kind of setup.

For me, the biggest hassle is limited flow control. The output essentially rams 'straight down' directly in front of it(the size and shape of the 29 gal isn't helping either I must say). Which greatly limits coral placement. Getting a small wavemaker helped spread that flow a bit better. Another hassle is limited room for extra equipment. I have to say that the surface skimmer on the Tidals are a *really* nice feature.

Personally, I would never do HOB or canister only setups for saltwater(besides QT or as temporary solutions- in those cases it is more than doable for sure), especially with lack of hands on saltwater experience.. but then I have yet to use a setup with a sump so perhaps the imagined difference in ease/convenience may not be as great or the same as imagined..

 

[mdpitts]

I'm fairly new to saltwater and on a severe budget plus I'm the only one maintaining my tanks (10 - 8 freshwater) so drilling my tank and learning about sumps plus splashing out a lot more money for equipment led me to using a Tidal 110 on my new 40B. I love the big space for whatever media I want to add and in my opinion the flow from it is crazy. I have a small torch that has so much movement and my clowns love to play in the cascade of water. I'm pretty happy with it but if I had the cold hard cash I would have liked a fancy sump and filter roller thingy.

Here is a video to show it in action. You can hear my dog panting I think (it's not me being a mouthbreather).

 

[mdpitts]

New to the Hobby, first tank is 8 months new. Aquaclear 70, Aquamaxx HOB 1.5 on a 29 gallon. Someday I want to upgrade to a larger tank with a sump, until then this seems to be working well IMO.

I have the Aquamaxx skimmer as well but I haven't powered it up yet because it seems to be too close to the surface of my waterline. Did you do any mods to yours?

 

[Gellisjr1]

I am currently using an Aquaclear 70 on the back of my display tank as a refugium to grow Chaeto. It has been working well for me.

 

[Gellisjr1]

I am currently using an Aquaclear 70 on the back of my display tank as a refugium to grow Chaeto. It has been working well for me.

I have a video clip I put together of the AquaClear 70 refugium. If your interested in seeing it. Send me a PM with an email and I will send it to you. I tried posting it but it's too large of a file.

 

[NorthernReefer86]

I have the Aquamaxx skimmer as well but I haven't powered it up yet because it seems to be too close to the surface of my waterline. Did you do any mods to yours?

The Aquamaxx is my first skimmer, I think it does a fantastic job. It took a couple weeks for mine to break in though. The only mods I have done with it was shorten the outlet pipe from the body of the skimmer, easy enough with a hack saw, this allowed me room for my glass top, which broke a few months ago unfortunately, replaced with a twin wall polycarbonate.

 

[Freenow54]

Freshwater filter or is it? Have you ever used an HOB filter on a saltwater tank?

Did someone just suggest a hang-on-the-back (HOB) filter in a saltwater tank? That is ridiculous and may even seem like trolling to many reef keepers. I mean, an HOB is just for freshwater tanks, or is it? Sometimes the issue comes up because a hobbyist is trying to save money, they are migrating from freshwater, they are comfortable with “older” technology, or there is a specific situation that needs a different approach. What about you – have you ever used an HOB on a saltwater tank? If so, let us know the background and share any tips that you may have.

Photo by @AdamNC


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.deltecdirectusa.com

“With dozens of protein skimmers, calcium reactors, media reactors and kalkwasser stirrers in operation, Deltec USA can speak from experience and help you with all your Deltec needs. Live customer support and a large inventory of products rounds out our mission to provide the best possible Deltec experience.”

Use it on a smaller tank 40 where room is unavailable. Also intend to use one on a 65 because it originally was fresh water, and I built the stand with no intention of using a sump so no room underneath Which by the way was a surprise to read people use them on fresh water systems. I didn't think they would work properly to get the needed bubbles. Along with the hang on back I use Fluval . I actually prefer them as I saw the result of what happens if a skimmer overflows in the tank. I accidentally spilled some in the tank once the fish died in seconds. So with the HOB I put a tube on the cup. And direct it into a large container which is also under the skimmer. I have had no issues with my in sump octo skimmer yet but worry about it overflowing

 

[Shaina Carey]

I have an HOB currently on my 20 gallon long. Had an internal one in my 8 gallon though.

 

[fours2many]

I did on a few smaller tanks. Worked great with Cheato and a light. I think it was an aqua clear filter.

 

[WhatCouldGoWrong71]

Freshwater filter or is it? Have you ever used an HOB filter on a saltwater tank?

Did someone just suggest a hang-on-the-back (HOB) filter in a saltwater tank? That is ridiculous and may even seem like trolling to many reef keepers. I mean, an HOB is just for freshwater tanks, or is it? Sometimes the issue comes up because a hobbyist is trying to save money, they are migrating from freshwater, they are comfortable with “older” technology, or there is a specific situation that needs a different approach. What about you – have you ever used an HOB on a saltwater tank? If so, let us know the background and share any tips that you may have.

Photo by @AdamNC


This QOTD is sponsored by: www.deltecdirectusa.com

“With dozens of protein skimmers, calcium reactors, media reactors and kalkwasser stirrers in operation, Deltec USA can speak from experience and help you with all your Deltec needs. Live customer support and a large inventory of products rounds out our mission to provide the best possible Deltec experience.”

On my first saltwater tank 25 years ago I did. I had a HOB and a Fluval canister on a 90G. I also only used tap water and would fix salinity with the poor fish in the tank by adding salt or tap to get the $0.39 gauge loaded with bubbles to the corrected level.

 

[bubbgee]

Used HOB as a fuge and a canister for a FOWLR tankback in 2000s...

 

[PapaFishRocks]

Marineland penguin hob turned into a passive algae turf scrubber with 0 effort. Add a small screen on the waterfall outflow, lit only by the display light. It Works amazing

And top down fts of the tank it’s running in

Can you send me the deets on how you built it? I have those same HOBs floating around somewhere

 

[Ef4life]

Can you send me the deets on how you built it? I have those same HOBs floating around somewhere

Literally no modifications. Just cut a screen to size, and a little slot for it to hang off a little black tab near the top, you can see it in the first picture I posted