HOB filter: Do I really need it?

[gemini9]

So I've been wondering lately, do I really need this HOB filter? I have a 30 gallon tank. No sump, no refugium. I only have a HOB skimmer and powerhead. I have a HOB Marineland Penguin 350 that I run those blue filter media pads to trap uneaten food and the added benefit of running carbon. But as for the uneaten food, isn't that what my hermits are for? I change the filters about once every 2-3 weeks. So during that time, I'm thinking I'm holding nitrates in the tank. My nitrates are usually 10-20 and I assume they could be lower if I remove those filters? So yeah.. do I really NEED that HOB filter? What are the pros and cons of using it? So far I've got:

Pros: Can run carbon, added water flow, filters out waste, holds beneficial bacteria
Cons: Uses more electric, causes more noise, holds nitrates

If I didn't have the filters, how would I remove all the waste other than siphoning?

I've read different things about it. What are your thoughts? It's been a personal debate of mine now for several months. Can't decide.... leave it or remove it. For those who have tanks with no sump, do you have HOB filters? How do you run carbon?

 

[Adrock]

I believe some times those filters come with the gray cartridge and you can use those add some bio rings or a block of the marinepure ceramics I think they even come in blocks or sheets , when I would run the marine land hob filter i would use a poly batting and those gray refillable cartridges and toss the poly batting when it got dirty , i think keeping the filtration to filter out waste and excess food in the water Colum to ensure excess waste buildup

 

[Lionfish Lair]

No, you don't need a HOB filter. What are you going to keep in there?

 

[crayonbreaker]

You need some way to export solid waste from the tank. So I would suggest you get something a little bigger and run perhaps a canister filter if you are not going to do a sump.

Or maybe change your HOB filter for a HOB skimmer

 

[mcarroll]

I'd keep it, but run it empty.

There should rarely be a need for mechanical filtration...or carbon for that matter. Occasional at most. It'll make excellent flow in the tank, and can work like a sump in some ways...a place for dosing food/chemicals, etc.

 

[LetItReef]

I use it to hide a small heater and also where I the put activated carbon.

 

[Jc_ellis]

I have a 20 long sps reef that has been running a year now with no sump, skimmer, or HoB filter. I keep the bioload low and siphon the sand bed weekly when I do water changes. So far, no problems at all.

 

[gemini9]

You need some way to export solid waste from the tank. So I would suggest you get something a little bigger and run perhaps a canister filter if you are not going to do a sump.

Or maybe change your HOB filter for a HOB skimmer

I have a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer.

As for what I would run in there, I mainly use the HOB filter for running carbon. The blue pads to seem to get really dirty so they are picking up something from somewhere?? I duno. I change them every 2-3 weeks normally, and when I change them they are always all brown. I figured they suck up the uneaten food? yeah... hey now can the hermits and CUC eat the uneaten food if it doesn't sink to the bottom? It just gets blown around the tank until my filter sucks it up lol it doesn't seem to settle.

 

[mcarroll]

Good circulation will keep excess food moving until a coral/hermit/fish/etc has a chance to get it. Don't feed a filter pad!

 

[Omega0397]

I like having some form of mechanical filtration (I run filter socks) as it removes particles from the water that reduce clarity. For example, if I blow off my rocks with a turkey baster, or remove a tuft or two of algae I would like the mechanical filtration to pick that up instead of it just accumulating in my aquarium somewhere. I also run carbon and I like what it does in the way of water clarity as well. Carbon also has the benefit of removing any chemicals introduced into your aquarium either by you (soap, lotion residue on your hands for example) or produced by your coral to try and claim territory. If you are worried about the filter cartridge being a nitrate factory change it more often, or as I used to do when I ran them on freshwater tanks, rinse them off. Your CUC won't get everything and the mechanical filtration adds another way to remove nutrients from your tank when you clean it out.

 

[gemini9]

I like having some form of mechanical filtration (I run filter socks) as it removes particles from the water that reduce clarity. For example, if I blow off my rocks with a turkey baster, or remove a tuft or two of algae I would like the mechanical filtration to pick that up instead of it just accumulating in my aquarium somewhere. I also run carbon and I like what it does in the way of water clarity as well. Carbon also has the benefit of removing any chemicals introduced into your aquarium either by you (soap, lotion residue on your hands for example) or produced by your coral to try and claim territory. If you are worried about the filter cartridge being a nitrate factory change it more often, or as I used to do when I ran them on freshwater tanks, rinse them off. Your CUC won't get everything and the mechanical filtration adds another way to remove nutrients from your tank when you clean it out.

Wow. Good post and good advice here. I think I'll just leave it as is then.

 

[Rob Top1]

Omega nailed it nicely, I would expand a bit. Either on line or your LFS look for cut to fit filters, typically you can get a piece that cut down is going to give you four for the price of one marine land cartridge and there are ones like Pura Complete that remove far more than carbon alone. Rinsing them often will reduce the water traveling through the crap it pulled.