Filtration help?

[T33BLACK]

I just picked up a great deal on a 44 gallon hex aquarium with stand just wanted to get some other people's opinion on filtration. I have other reef tanks but this one is going to be fish only. It came with an undergravel filter set up and it is not drilled so im kind of stuck with either that or a Hob or both. I've done the undergravel filter like 20 years ago for freshwater kind of scared for salt water Not sure if it would work or if I should even bother with it? I do have a nice corallife hob with Built-in skimmer thinking of going that route but wanted to get some other opinions.

 

[lpsouth1978]

If it was my system, I would ditch the under gravel and use quality HOB equipment.

 

[T33BLACK]

If it was my system, I would ditch the under gravel and use quality HOB equipment.

That's what I'm thinking

 

[DaddyFish]

If you don't need to have the full 360-degree viewing, a hex lends itself nicely to an AIO setup. Which you can easily fabricate using black textured ABS sheet with slots cut into it for the weir.
A friend of mine has a 110 acrylic hex that was built that way (OEM). It runs well, very well.

If you're going with HOB, I highly recommend a Seachem Tidal-110. I would hang two of them off the back, one on each facet.

 

[T33BLACK]

I was thinking of hooking up the undergravel filter just for water movement and aeration just because I already have it but not as my main filtration of course any downside to that?

 

[DaddyFish]

I was thinking of hooking up the undergravel filter just for water movement and aeration just because I already have it but not as my main filtration of course any downside to that?

There are several Old School veterans on this forum who have been using undergravel filters in reverse for years and swear by them. It's important to note IN REVERSE flow. You can search for that, but it's only part of a much larger filtration system. You do not want the typical undergravel filter pulling detritus into your sand bed.

 

[Nathan Milender]

I just picked up a great deal on a 44 gallon hex aquarium with stand just wanted to get some other people's opinion on filtration. I have other reef tanks but this one is going to be fish only. It came with an undergravel filter set up and it is not drilled so im kind of stuck with either that or a Hob or both. I've done the undergravel filter like 20 years ago for freshwater kind of scared for salt water Not sure if it would work or if I should even bother with it? I do have a nice corallife hob with Built-in skimmer thinking of going that route but wanted to get some other opinions.

20 some years ago I used undergravel on fish only and it did well. If I was doing this I would first spend some time thinking about what I really want to put into the tank. Once that was done I would then consider my filtration needs and add maybe a third. I used it for an octopus because it allowed the advantage of nothing coming out of the top. Once that died, it worked well for damsels and shrimp. I have also had a lot of luck with them in freshwater.

Undergravel worked well for me but it is unforgiving if you go fast and or try to do more than it can handle. You can install it and then if it is insufficient you can always add HOB in addition to it. They also do not have built in options for additional media/filter option. Some have reported that there is a toxicity that builds up under them but I never experience this. I tend to go slow however and generally keep tank populations beneath what I see others do. I would be skeptical about a HOB if you mean one of those bio-wheels type arrangements. I would probably upgrade to a good canister and just be ready with a maintenance schedule.

You could drill it and do a sump too.

 

[T33BLACK]

20 some years ago I used undergravel on fish only and it did well. If I was doing this I would first spend some time thinking about what I really want to put into the tank. Once that was done I would then consider my filtration needs and add maybe a third. I used it for an octopus because it allowed the advantage of nothing coming out of the top. Once that died, it worked well for damsels and shrimp. I have also had a lot of luck with them in freshwater.

Undergravel worked well for me but it is unforgiving if you go fast and or try to do more than it can handle. You can install it and then if it is insufficient you can always add HOB in addition to it. They also do not have built in options for additional media/filter option. Some have reported that there is a toxicity that builds up under them but I never experience this. I tend to go slow however and generally keep tank populations beneath what I see others do. I would be skeptical about a HOB if you mean one of those bio-wheels type arrangements. I would probably upgrade to a good canister and just be ready with a maintenance schedule.

You could drill it and do a sump too.

Yes I definitely plan on using other filtration for sure hob or sump I was just gonna leave the undergravel maybe for better aeration and the benefits of it.