HOB or Canister

[PauloSilva]

Well I have a 75g tank thats currently cycling. I have a AquaClear HOB filter thats suitable upto 110 gallons. I am thinking of doing a tank of cichlids. I heard these are messy fish. Can I still use my AquaClear and vacuum the gravel regularly? Or do I have to go with a Canister?

Also if I have to go with canister then which type of fish are suitable just for my HOB filter?

Thanks

[malkore]

Canister.
All filters are always over-rated for the size tank they can really work well on.
Cichlids are pigs,a dn make a ton of waste.

I'd go for a Rena Filstar XP3 on that size tank, with those fish, for the easiest to maintain tank.

[PauloSilva]

so scrap the HOB or keep the HOB and also add the canister?

[malkore]

I doubt you'll need teh HOB in addition to the canister I listed, but you could run both without issue.

If anything, It'll give you exta water current on the opposite side of the tank as the canister's return.

[PauloSilva]

thanks for the advice... im gonna return the HOB. I will be using a spray bar for the return to even it out. What do you think of this? If not I grab a powerhead.

Anyone else have an opinion?

[chabooky386]

Sorry i am looking for chichild advice myself but goodluck keep us updated

[PauloSilva]

well I just ordered a canister filter. LFS had them for I think about 220 Canadian and i got it for 171 incl tax and shipping online. my lfs is going to give me store credit for the HOB. Glad this all came to my attention now rather than later.

[IceH2O]

I use both on my 75 gallon tank.

I have the spraybar on the left side wall of the tank and the intake in the right back corner. I then have my HOB on the left back wall. I figure the intake of the HOB grabs anything that the canisters intake missed. Helps prevent dead spots.

[PauloSilva]

my HOB handles 110 gallons and my cansiter handles 175... so both I believe will be an overkill. my tank is 36x24x18 so i think ill run the spraybar the length of the tank. and run a cheap powerhead on the opposite side of the cansiter intake.

Thanks for the input guys