Hob canister filter not cutting it for 7g

[Emaychzee]

Hi all, I have a 7g cube that I'm running with a cheap hang on back canister with a pump advertised at 120 gph. Figured that was strong enough to handle both flow and filtration before I could plumb a proper fuge or sump.

Not sure why, but the flow has gotten super weak lately. I check for clogs and rinse the bio media about once a week and that works for a day or so, but it never lasts. I'm definitely seeing algae in the dead spots.

I'm thinking I might need to add a small power head for circulation. Any suggestions?

 

[SoggyNW]

Hygger mini wave maker

 

[Copingwithpods]

HOB filters work a little different in saltwater, if you are washing the biomedia weekly you can leave it out indefinitely as it's killing the bacteria anyway and your rocks and sand should be sufficient. I recommend you do a full clean on the filter making sure the impeller shaft is clean and free spinning.

More flow would be ideal via a little powerhead or a second HOB which would give a little more room to run chemipure or phosban.

 

[Emaychzee]

Yeah I figured. I was originally gonna go with an aquaclear hob, but it was too wide for the tank.

I have a new maxijet 400 lying around, but I'm afraid to use the larger wavemaker impeller (500gph) in that tiny of a tank. Has anyone used the shorter smaller powerhead impeller (108 gph I think) without swapping axels? The powerhead impeller axel isn't quite long enough to fit into the wavemaker guard.

 

[DeniseAndy]

I have the nano koralia on my 6g. It is pretty low flow, but does a decent job. I just use a hob filter with polyfilter and chemiblue and rubble. Runs great.

 

[Emaychzee]

I have the nano koralia on my 6g. It is pretty low flow, but does a decent job. I just use a hob filter with polyfilter and chemiblue and rubble. Runs great.

Yeah, I played around with the MJ400 today and there's a nice amount of flow but man it's noisy and huge. Koralia nano looks good and in budget. Would love to see your 6g if you have any pics

 

[DeniseAndy]

I will try to get some newer ones. Here are some from the past. As the tank evolved.

One from 2017 and the one from 2018 up close and farther away. I cannot believe I have not recent ones. I guess I get so carried away at programs, I get no pictures. I will get some after I clean it.