HOB filters vs canister filters

[Paul1792]

Just improvise

Paul1792 any ideas how can I rig my filters/media in my pump without purchasing a new one for now?

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Not familiar with your brand of HOB but let me tell you what I did with my cheap WalMart Aqua-Tech 30-60 330 GPH HOB and maybe it will give you some ideas. That was a very powerful filter with two separate "outflows" and filter elements. My recipe worked great produced incredible results .... but wow ....... it was a lot of work which is why I treated myself to the Fluval C's.

First ... and most important ..... I made a large pre-filter with a giant sized media bag stuffed with floss to wrap around the intake. I fastened it on with a rubber band. It was like a 4" diameter "oval/ball shape" and unsightly ..... but I put an ornament and some fake plants in front of it so it was not visible from the front of the tank.

Aquarium Advice - Aquarium Forum Community - Paul1792's Album: Paul1792's 38 gallon - Picture

With the pre-filter catching some pretty fine stuff, this meant that the water in the "dirty water chambers" was pretty clean so in the "dirty water chambers" I put some Seachem Purigen and some Seachem Matrix (bio-media). Then I took the plastic "factory filter inserts" (with blue mesh and charcoal) and tore them apart. On them I mounted 100 micron aquatic life cut to fit 1/12" thick polishing pads.
The result: sparkling clean crystal clear water that put the tanks at my local fish store to shame.

Note: the pre-filter was very messy and time consuming to get "just right." The micron pads took a lot of time to get a "perfect fit."

Now with the Fluvals, maintenance time is about 10% of what it was and I can use 50 micron aquatic life non-woven polishing pads (1/12" thick) and my water is nothing short of showcase quality.

Good luck to you .... I hope I have been able to spawn some creative juices for you.

Paul

 

[Stacey W.]

Thank you very much for the input! My husband love to tinker. Maybe I should just have a donate to my Fluval C4 fund on AA lol!

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[Tacit Blues]

The nice thing about any HOB, no matter how "good" they are, is that they're like 1/3 the price of a comparable canister.

 

[Coursair]

I have an Aqueon HOB on my 10g. I use a Fluval sponge prefilter over the intake. It is NOT at all unsightly and it keeps my shrimp safe. Anytime flow slows down I just take the prefilter off and rinse it and squeeze it out and put it back on.

I rarely need to rinse my regular filter pads as they just don't get clogged that fast at all.


My room is 10 I was looking for a very clean look. So I do have a canister on that 10g. I have an Eheim Ecco. It is very quiet. Very little maintenance. I swapped out the green tubes were clear and I bought custom-made Plexi intake and outflow.



So both work. I do like my HOB. It requires more attention than my Canister. Both are good.


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[Paul1792]

I have an Aqueon HOB on my 10g. I use a Fluval sponge prefilter over the intake. It is NOT at all unsightly and it keeps my shrimp safe. Anytime flow slows down I just take the prefilter off and rinse it and squeeze it out and put it back on.

I rarely need to rinse my regular filter pads as they just don't get clogged that fast at all...............

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Good suggestion ..... but the intake tube has to be "just right" for the Fluval sponge to work. Best readily available alternative is Filter-Max III sponge pre filter.

I have Fluval Edge pre-filters on my AquaClear 50 and my two Fluval C3's on my 38 gallon tank. They work fine (but clog fast) because there are slits on the side of the intake tubes and the are fairly narrow. If the intake tube has no "slits" in the bottom, you'd have to have the right "tools" to improvise.

My Fluval C4 on my has a larger intake tube and the Fluval pre-filters barely fit they were so tight. In addition, they'd clog in a week and tore apart due to the rough treatment of getting them on and off after less than ten rinses.

After going over six months with no pre-filter and seeing all the disgusting debris that was caked onto the filter pads - thereby keeping nitrate producing detritus (fish waste) constantly in the flow of water, I just put on a Filter-Max III sponge pre-filter.

Aquarium Pre-filters: Aquarium Technology Inc Filter-Max Pre-Filter

The thing comes with adapters but whether or not they fit any particular brand is random ....... no guidelines anywhere. I lucked out ..... mine fit perfectly.

Unfortunately, the design is such that due to the slits on the side of the intake tube extension, I had to take off the lower portion of the intake tube so the intake is no longer at the bottom of the tank and the thing is unsightly However, I was able to cover it up by putting tall fake plants in front of it. Since I vacuum my gravel each water change, the position of the pre-filter is not all that important but in a planted tank, it might not be so good.

 

[Brookster123]

I use the fluval sponges on my 20l with fry.. blends right into the black background, pain to clean though. I've made one with a block of coarse sponge and kitchen shears.. worked awesome, needed less squeezing as it was not as fine as the fluval. Beauty is you can shape any way you like.. mine looked like a wine barrel, i was thinking pizza slice but I didn't want to upset the fishies..

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[44Paps44]

Hi Stacey;

I have a 56 column and also the Aqueon 55/75. If you have the same MarineLane like I do, then your choices of HOB were limited because of the wide support bar in the middle of the tank. But at 400gph the Aqueon is very good by itself

Filter has been working extremely well for the past year with no issues. Have had to clean the impeller only once during that time. Probably used 5 replacement cartridges the entire year.

Just recently added the Eheim 2217 to my setup and going to run both. The flow of the Aqueon is pretty strong so will tell you that adding a 2nd filter creates havoc on the water flow. Going to turn the spray bar around so that it faces the back wall and reduce some of the flow.

I'm about 109% stocked (aqadvisor) and with the Aqueon I was 106% filtration rate. Adding in the Eheim, i'm now at 296%

 

[fish wrangler]

I am using a fluval 306 on my 29 gallon. This is an upgrade from a TopFin30 HOB, the canister is so mich quieter amd the water is much clearer. For a smaller tank a HOB might be fine, but i really like the canister I have now. You can play with the flow direction with a canister. I think this is one of the reasons it is better for me.

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[MatthewsDyer]

So I have a 55 gallon planted tank with co2 and want to know what canister filter to buy! I have an Aqueon 75 on right now and want to get an upgrade!! What would you recommend?? Thanks


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[fish wrangler]

Fluval 406. Gives you more filtration capacity, and room to upgrade to a larger tank. You can slow the flow if it is to much too

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[MatthewsDyer]

I have looked at those I jut don't want to pay the price! So do you know of any that may be a little cheaper?


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[fish wrangler]

The 406 is $199.99 on amazon. Eheim 2217 is $114.03 on amazon.

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[Tacit Blues]

I've said it before and I'll say it again, sunsun 302. About 50 bucks on amazon. Great little canister filter.

_________
Yelling into the tin can from the far end of the string

 

[CoronaBlue]

Just bought my first sun sun after I couldn't find a new valve for my marine land 360. It runs great so far, bought the pro version just swapped all my media over.