Maintaining my HOB filter, how much light, which skimmer?

drewsteriam5 · May 23, 2013

Hey,

This is my first post, and I'm relatively new to reef tanks so I figure I'll lay out what I have first of all.

40g corner bow front
live rock
zoas, palys, mushrooms, and a few SPS
AquaClear 110 filter
120w LED System
10 snails, 2 peppermint shrimp

My first question at this point is how I need to maintain my AquaClear 110 filter? As of right now it is set up with a sponge then a bunch of little foam peanut type things. I have a carbon pad, but it is not in use since the LFS said not to use it when we set the tank up. Basically what do I do to keep it working properly?

Next question: The light that I have linked to is the one I have. I would say it is turned about half way up. I run blues for 2 hours, blue and white for 4, then blue for 2. Is this powerful enough for the corals I have? Should I have it turned all the way up? I just have no idea how to make sure it is at the proper levels. Up to this point I've just been using a large purple mushroom I have as a kind of gauge. If the mushroom is almost flat to the rock I think the light is good, if it is stretching it needs more light.

Final question: I'd like to get some sort of protein skimmer, but in reality my tank isn't drilled and it isn't going to be drilled, so what are my options? I think an HOB skimmer would be good, but I don't know how much rim space they take up on the tank and with the custom glass top we had made there just isn't much room. Recommendations?

Any other points and recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks

ReeferBob · May 24, 2013

Your setup is a little tough. How long have you had it? With Corals, you want to get a skimmer asap. My BH2000 takes up around 8" on the edge of the tank. How much live rock do you have? You need around 50-60lbs I'd say. Your aquaclear filter really is not needed at all. If anything, he should have told you to ditch the sponge and bio-media and only run carbon. The light seems ok and if your corals are happy, go with it.

glb · May 25, 2013

Can you get a skimmer in an undrilled tank?

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP
12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

mike007 · May 25, 2013

Remora makes a great hob skimmer. You do do not need any type of pads. Anything that traps debris will cause nitrate buildup. For a reef tank all you need is good live rock ,skimmer and circulation. Keep it simple.

eliramos · May 25, 2013

glb said:
Can you get a skimmer in an undrilled tank?

Sent Via the R2R Forum APP
12g Nanoreef. Zooanthids, Ricordia, Star Polyps and two clownfish. CF Lighting, 75% actinic blue, 25% 10,000k white.

sure can!

eliramos · May 25, 2013

drewsteriam5 said:
Hey,

This is my first post, and I'm relatively new to reef tanks so I figure I'll lay out what I have first of all.

40g corner bow front
live rock
zoas, palys, mushrooms, and a few SPS
AquaClear 110 filter
120w LED System
10 snails, 2 peppermint shrimp

My first question at this point is how I need to maintain my AquaClear 110 filter? As of right now it is set up with a sponge then a bunch of little foam peanut type things. I have a carbon pad, but it is not in use since the LFS said not to use it when we set the tank up. Basically what do I do to keep it working properly?

Next question: The light that I have linked to is the one I have. I would say it is turned about half way up. I run blues for 2 hours, blue and white for 4, then blue for 2. Is this powerful enough for the corals I have? Should I have it turned all the way up? I just have no idea how to make sure it is at the proper levels. Up to this point I've just been using a large purple mushroom I have as a kind of gauge. If the mushroom is almost flat to the rock I think the light is good, if it is stretching it needs more light.

Final question: I'd like to get some sort of protein skimmer, but in reality my tank isn't drilled and it isn't going to be drilled, so what are my options? I think an HOB skimmer would be good, but I don't know how much rim space they take up on the tank and with the custom glass top we had made there just isn't much room. Recommendations?

Any other points and recommendations would be welcome.

Thanks

do you have any photos of your setup?!

mike007 · May 25, 2013

You need to run your blues about a hour before your main lights come on. Run your mains at least 8 hours and then your blues a hour after.

drewsteriam5 · May 26, 2013

eliramos said:
do you have any photos of your setup?!

I can do my best to get some tomorrow. The only ones I have now are of specific corals.

As for the filter, will it hurt to leave it in there with a skimmer? I'm more than willing to clean it every time I do a water change.

When buying a skimmer I'm looking to order one in the next few days, anyone know what price range I should be looking at? I saw Remora mentioned, but for a 40 gallon with live rock I'm not sure which one would be appropriate. I'm not super concerned with money, but I don't want to overspend where I don't need to.

For the light, how will I know if it is too much?

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the thoughtful advice. Makes getting into this hobby a lot easier.

drewsteriam5 · May 26, 2013

mike007 said:
You need to run your blues about a hour before your main lights come on. Run your mains at least 8 hours and then your blues a hour after.

You don't think that is too much? The LFS told me I needed no longer than 8 hours total per day which is why I'm currently at 2 blue, 4 blue+white, 2 blue.

ReeferBob · May 27, 2013

I'd get a Reef Octopus BH2000. That is what I have. It is the mac-daddy of HOB skimmers.

Reef Octopus BH 2000 Hang on Back Protein Skimmer - AquaCave.com

drewsteriam5 · May 27, 2013

ReeferBob said:
I'd get a Reef Octopus BH2000. That is what I have. It is the mac-daddy of HOB skimmers.

Reef Octopus BH 2000 Hang on Back Protein Skimmer - AquaCave.com

I ended up going with the Reef Octopus BH 100 since that is rated for 75 gallons and my tank is only 40. Technically it is less because of all of the live rock.

ReeferBob · May 28, 2013

drewsteriam5 said:
I ended up going with the Reef Octopus BH 100 since that is rated for 75 gallons and my tank is only 40. Technically it is less because of all of the live rock.

That one is ok but it has an in-tank pump which will add heat and ugliness to the tank. The BH1000 would have been a better choice. It is the exact same skimmer as the 2000 but a smaller pump.

jgraz · May 28, 2013

I had a 44 Gal corner for about a year before I upgraded. I like to think my tank was pretty awesome. I ran it with a Aquaclear 110 and a Prizm skimmer. It did take some work though. I did 5-10 gal water changes every 2-3 weeks. In the filter I had the sponge and a bag of chemi-pure elite. When I changed the water I would pull the sponge and give a few good squeezes in the old water to clean it out a bit. I did this with the chemi pure also, a little shake then back in the filter. The skimmer was the biggest PIA because it took a lot of tinkering to get it where I wanted. once I did I just let it do its thing and cleaned the cup when it needed it. I topped off water manually twice a day. I added nothing to the water. For flow I used 2 koralia 750's, and whatever the skimmer and filter added. My light was a 4x24w T5. Here is a pic right before the upgrade. Its a bit overloaded since I had combined this a my nano to find space for the bigger tank.

I think you are on the right track as far as equipment goes. The light you have could handle pretty much anything you throw at it coral wise as long a placement is considered. I think a lot of people put down HOB filters without ever using them. If mantained they work great. There were also a few skimmers listed above, they are all worthy of consideration, but some will come with a hefty price tag. I would suggest looking in the sale threads or even Craigslist for one, since you will most likely want to upgrade at some point.

Good luck with the tank

drewsteriam5 · May 29, 2013

ReeferBob said:
That one is ok but it has an in-tank pump which will add heat and ugliness to the tank. The BH1000 would have been a better choice. It is the exact same skimmer as the 2000 but a smaller pump.

The skimmer will be hanging from the back of the tank in the corner and the back of the tank is covered so in reality it won't be seen much if at all. As for the heat, I couldn't justify the extra $50 for the BH1000 when my house is kept cooler than the tank, so overheating it shouldn't really ever happen. If it becomes an issue I may upgrade, but I just don't see it being a real problem. Now when I finally build an 80 gallon frag tank I'll spring for something higher end in addition to a sump.

drewsteriam5 · May 29, 2013

jgraz said:
I had a 44 Gal corner for about a year before I upgraded. I like to think my tank was pretty awesome. I ran it with a Aquaclear 110 and a Prizm skimmer. It did take some work though. I did 5-10 gal water changes every 2-3 weeks. In the filter I had the sponge and a bag of chemi-pure elite. When I changed the water I would pull the sponge and give a few good squeezes in the old water to clean it out a bit. I did this with the chemi pure also, a little shake then back in the filter. The skimmer was the biggest PIA because it took a lot of tinkering to get it where I wanted. once I did I just let it do its thing and cleaned the cup when it needed it. I topped off water manually twice a day. I added nothing to the water. For flow I used 2 koralia 750's, and whatever the skimmer and filter added. My light was a 4x24w T5. Here is a pic right before the upgrade. Its a bit overloaded since I had combined this a my nano to find space for the bigger tank.

I think you are on the right track as far as equipment goes. The light you have could handle pretty much anything you throw at it coral wise as long a placement is considered. I think a lot of people put down HOB filters without ever using them. If mantained they work great. There were also a few skimmers listed above, they are all worthy of consideration, but some will come with a hefty price tag. I would suggest looking in the sale threads or even Craigslist for one, since you will most likely want to upgrade at some point.

Good luck with the tank

At the moment my filter has a sponge and a mesh bag filled with what looks like some kind of hollow tubular packing peanuts that happen to be hard. Not sure what they are, but they came with the filter. At the moment there is nothing for flow, but that may change if it becomes necessary.

When it comes to the light, I suspected what I had would be powerful enough, the issue is I just have no idea how high to set the light. It has adjustment dials for the brightness of both the blues and whites, I just don't know how high is too high.

jgraz · May 29, 2013

drewsteriam5 said:
At the moment my filter has a sponge and a mesh bag filled with what looks like some kind of hollow tubular packing peanuts that happen to be hard. Not sure what they are, but they came with the filter. At the moment there is nothing for flow, but that may change if it becomes necessary.When it comes to the light, I suspected what I had would be powerful enough, the issue is I just have no idea how high to set the light. It has adjustment dials for the brightness of both the blues and whites, I just don't know how high is too high.

The bag with the "peanuts" in them are the biological element of the aquaclear filter. Toss them, you have live rock thats enough. You will need flow at some point, the koralia heads are cheap and great for starters and non starters for that matter. they can often be had used and even cheaper.

ReeferBob · May 29, 2013

The hollow ceramic tubular things are called bio-media. It is a place for beneficial bacteria to colonize. It also acts as a ditreus trap (bad) and is not recommended to use (along with not using the sponge). The only way to know what output to expect from your light is to get a PAR meter and take some readings ($350). Barring that, I'd go like 50-80% on all bulbs and see how your corals fair. If you have too much light, they will start to bleach and you can lower the intensity. Too low and you'll see them wither a bit. It should not take too long to figure out the lights.

On the skimmer, that skimmer has the pump portion in the actual tank as apposed to hanging off the filter behind the tank like the 1000/2000. Not a big deal, but you will see the pump whenever you look into the tank. I had one like this (coralife) and hated it and removed it after about a week.

You also need a circulation pump in the tank. I recommend Hydor Koralias as they are the best bang for the buck. A single 750-1050gph should be perfect.

drewsteriam5 · May 30, 2013

ReeferBob said:
The hollow ceramic tubular things are called bio-media. It is a place for beneficial bacteria to colonize. It also acts as a ditreus trap (bad) and is not recommended to use (along with not using the sponge). The only way to know what output to expect from your light is to get a PAR meter and take some readings ($350). Barring that, I'd go like 50-80% on all bulbs and see how your corals fair. If you have too much light, they will start to bleach and you can lower the intensity. Too low and you'll see them wither a bit. It should not take too long to figure out the lights.

On the skimmer, that skimmer has the pump portion in the actual tank as apposed to hanging off the filter behind the tank like the 1000/2000. Not a big deal, but you will see the pump whenever you look into the tank. I had one like this (coralife) and hated it and removed it after about a week.

You also need a circulation pump in the tank. I recommend Hydor Koralias as they are the best bang for the buck. A single 750-1050gph should be perfect.

What should I be running in the HOB filter? Right now it has the bio-media and a sponge. I'll pull the bio-media when I get home. My skimmer should be here tomorrow.

jgraz · May 30, 2013

drewsteriam5 said:
What should I be running in the HOB filter? Right now it has the bio-media and a sponge. I'll pull the bio-media when I get home. My skimmer should be here tomorrow.

As I stated before if maintained properly the filter is a great piece of equipment. There is no reason to pull the sponge. Just give it a good squeeze in the old water during changes and replace. It will be fine. It will also add a bunch of flow to the tank. I do agree with above about the koralias though. 1 750 would be great, 2 of them would provide all the flow you will need in a tank of that size.

ReeferBob · May 30, 2013

I don't use a mechanical filter at all. Just about 60 lbs of live rock plus the skimmer (and sump). My water is crystal clear. Mechanical filters are fine as long as you religiously clean them. And it is not enough to just rinse out the sponge, you really need to remove the entire filter and clean it as you will see the first time you do this - a lot of ditreus collects in the bottom. I'd add an extra power head and lose the filter altogether.

For fish only you could get away with the HOB but coral and invertebrates are very sensitive to high nitrates.