What is the real difference between a HOB filter and a protein skimmer?

[sally666]

I'm planning on starting a 10 gallon FOWLR tank. I have experience with freshwater tanks. This will be my first saltwater tank. I have no experience with protein skimmers. Will a HOB filter be sufficient for a 10 gallon FOLWR tank? Or do I really need a protein skimmer? What exactly does a protein skimmer remove from saltwater that a standard HOB filter can't?

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Protein skimmers are used to remove all sorts of things via foam fractionation that can build up in your tank. Basically they are toilet cleaners. They also are a way to promote gas exchange in your system. But in a 10g with regular water changes, probably not necessary.

 

[steveschuerger]

I'm planning on starting a 10 gallon FOWLR tank. I have experience with freshwater tanks. This will be my first saltwater tank. I have no experience with protein skimmers. Will a HOB filter be sufficient for a 10 gallon FOLWR tank? Or do I really need a protein skimmer? What exactly does a protein skimmer remove from saltwater that a standard HOB filter can't?

Skimmer gets rid of organics basically. While the hob would be for mechanical/chemical filtration. Also if you could swing it , moving to a 20 gallon at least would open up your options for fish. A ten gallon would allow you 2-4 small fish but a twenty means either a few more fish and more varieties available to stock. I started with a 16 and rapidly went to 30 partly due my desire to keep coral as well. Larger tank is ironically easier to keep stable as well. Good luck with your new salty life!

 

[sally666]

Will having a lot of live rock help remove the impurities/ammonia from the water? Or do I still need to perform water changes?

 

[steveschuerger]

Will having a lot of live rock help remove the impurities/ammonia from the water? Or do I still need to perform water changes?

Live rock will provide the nitrifying bacteria and other intangibles for biodiversity. Yes do water changes. I do 5-10% water changes roughly every 7-10 days myself. A minimum of 1 lb per gallon, preferably up to 2lbs of live rock per gallon.

 

[Steve and his Animals]

Will having a lot of live rock help remove the impurities/ammonia from the water? Or do I still need to perform water changes?

No offense, but you seem to have a fundamental misunderstanding of how aquariums work. Water changes are not for removing ammonia, as in a cycled aquarium the bacteria in the system converts ammonia into nitrite, and then nitrite into nitrate, which will accumulate over time.

Water changes remove excess nitrates, as well as other build up like phosphates and other dissolved organics. If this isn't done with regularity, this build up often causes a variety of issues, from algae overgrowth to upset/dying corals and stunted fish.

Water changes in saltwater tanks also replenish the various trace elements that are included in good salt mixes, which are important for the overall health of the system and it's inhabitants.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I'm planning on starting a 10 gallon FOWLR tank. I have experience with freshwater tanks. This will be my first saltwater tank. I have no experience with protein skimmers. Will a HOB filter be sufficient for a 10 gallon FOLWR tank? Or do I really need a protein skimmer? What exactly does a protein skimmer remove from saltwater that a standard HOB filter can't?

Protein skimmers remove some disolved organic pollutants, HOB filters are mechanical filters that remove floating stuff.

Live rock provides biological filtration (converting Ammonia to to Nitrate).

I'd suggest that you do a lot of reading about how reef tanks work.

A 10g tank is very small, and although a lot of folks run them, they are quite unstable.
You'd be far better starting with something like a 40gal.

Water changes are necessary especially in a small tank - no big deal a couple of gallons a week in a 10 gal tank.

Do some reading, because the first 12 months can be expensive and rocky.

 

[sally666]

Protein skimmers remove some disolved organic pollutants, HOB filters are mechanical filters that remove floating stuff.

Live rock provides biological filtration (converting Ammonia to to Nitrate).

I'd suggest that you do a lot of reading about how reef tanks work.

A 10g tank is very small, and although a lot of folks run them, they are quite unstable.
You'd be far better starting with something like a 40gal.

Water changes are necessary especially in a small tank - no big deal a couple of gallons a week in a 10 gal tank.

Do some reading, because the first 12 months can be expensive and rocky.

Would adding phosphate reducing filter media to a HOB filter help control the "dissolved organic pollutants", or do I still need a protein skimmer?

I apologize if I sound stupid, but I am still learning.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Would adding phosphate reducing filter media to a HOB filter help control the "dissolved organic pollutants", or do I still need a protein skimmer?

I apologize if I sound stupid, but I am still learning.

Oh you don't need a protein skimmer in a 10g - I run a 13.5g without one.

You can get by with just 10% water changes once a week with the Hob filter.

 

[VintageReefer]

Those sheets of phosphate absorbing filter floss stuff don’t work

Your hob should have
Filter floss on top (repels every few days as it gets dirty)

Bag of chemi pure media (sold in premade bags, get one closest to your gallon tank size as you can, replace monthly)

biomedia at the bottom such as live rock rubble or seachem matrix.

Weekly 1g water changes or 2g every 2 weeks

You don’t need a skimmer

 

[Hot2na]

Stick a polyfilter in any HOB ..and you got yourself a skimmer that will take out organics,phosphate, and unwanted heavy metals as well ... Do your homework on the incredible one and only = POLYFILTER by polybiomarine.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

To be honest, a 10 gallon tank is not a great tank to start, you can really have only one or two small fish that don't really swim. Even 2 clownfish should be in a 20 gallon tank minimum. There is also very little space on a 10 gallon to fit a lot of equipment.

A skimmer removes dissolved organics before they can break down to become nitrate.

A hob filter provides mechanical and chemical filtration. Mechanical filtration is provided by a filter pad or filter floss, and chemical filtration is provided by activated carbon or something similar. Chemical filtration (activated carbon) also removed dissolved organics and other toxins from the water.

This is not an easy hobby and it really needs a lot of reading and preparation before you buy any fish. Good luck.

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[Fish Fan]

@sally666 First of all, I love the Jaws avatar

Second, this hobby is a big learning curve, much larger than freshwater, but don't be discouraged, just take things slowly, and keep asking questions.

You have a lot of very experienced reefers here offering you very sound advice. Saltwater tanks can be a lot of wasted money and certainly heartache if not setup correctly. If you're really brand new to the hobby, I'd suggest taking a look at some of the beginner videos from Bulk Reef Supply. I'm my opinion, they do a good job of breaking down some of these complicated questions, and explaining them very well for beginners. Yes, they are a store and their end-goal is to sell you equipment, but I think they do a good job with these videos:

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/cont...brs-tv/beginners-guide-to-saltwater-aquariums

Could I please offer a suggestion: You want to get into saltwater, but you're new at it and have some questions/learning to do. You also want to start with a small, 10 gallon tank, which as others have said already is a harder tank to keep than a larger tank (such as a 40 gallon or larger) because the smaller water volume makes it less stable and much more prone to having issues when your water parameters get out of whack. You're talking about a fish-only tank, but as others have mentioned there are really not a lot of saltwater fish that *most of us* would say are appropriate for a 10 gallon, and the fish that are would basically be like Gobies that don't move around a whole lot.

Could I suggest something that I don't think gets enough attention anymore: Start a 10 gallon INVERT tank! This would be a saltwater tank without fish or corals, but you could keep a lot of very cool and interesting critters like crabs, shrimp, snails, macro algae, etc. This may seem boring to you at first, but many of us have really come to appreciate the motile (moving) invertebrates in our tanks as fascinating and interesting to observe.

A tank like this would allow you to get into saltwater and get your feet wet, pun intended. You could set this up with not much more than a 10 gallon, a Hang On Back filter, a heater, and some rock and sand. You don't even need a light for a tank like this, just light from a sunny window in the room will do. I think this would be a great intro to saltwater for someone in your position. You can certainly add to it and upgrade it as you gain more skills and knowledge of the hobby. But you'd be learning maintenance, water testing, and just simply how to care for a saltwater tank, and, in my humble opinion, this would be a very cool tank to have.

If you're dead-set on keeping saltwater fish, then, as others have mentioned, please consider getting a larger tank. You fish will thank you, and life will be a lot easier. Currently, PetCo is having a 50% off sale on Aqueon tanks. You can also check Facebook marketplace to find great deals on used tanks and even whole setups.

I hope that helps! Best of luck on your saltwater journey!

 

[Fish Fan]

And to your original question, without trying to be too complicated, the way I think I'd explain it is that the difference between a protein skimmer and a Hang On Back (HOB) filter is that they do exactly the same thing, except that a skimmer adds more gas exchange in your system, while a HOB can also be used as a chemical and even biological filter in addition to mechanical filtration. Both are just tools to an end-goal of reducing pollutants in your tank. In short, organic waste such as extra fish food or fish poop, along with fish metabolic waste (think fish pee) breaks down and is converted into nitrate and phosphate (<these are the two things we are most concerned with in this hobby) that in excess will cause problems in your tank. A HOB filter helps to mechanically trap organic waste BEFORE that waste dissolves and can become nitrate and phosphate. A protein skimmer helps to remove organic waste AFTER it's dissolved, but before it can break down into potentially harmful nitrate and phosphate. Again, both are just a tool we use to reduce pollution in the system. Neither is a necessity, but both have a potential to make things much easier for you to keep your tank healthy. Again, I hope that helps! Good luck!

 

[Fish Fan]

Sorry, replied to wrong thread, please ignore ;-)