Pros/Cons of Various Filtration
- Thread starter arodiscus
- Start date
I dont see why you couldnt keep a heater in an HOB. Probably not the best way to do things but it would work.
Yeah maybe if you don't put any media in there and use the smallest heater possible.. ?
Does anyone still use under gravel filters these days.
About to set up a new tank and was thinking it wouldnt hurt to put one in as a backup but they seem to have gone out of fashion.
About to set up a new tank and was thinking it wouldnt hurt to put one in as a backup but they seem to have gone out of fashion.
I know Cory from Aquarium Co-Op is a fan of them. I've never used them, but they don't really seem that serviceable?
It can melt plastic.
I have a few.
A planted 10 gal with low-flow UGF & a Bio-Sponge.
A 16 with UGF and an Aqueon 10 HOB.
A 30 tall with Reverse UGF that feeds from a 10 gal sump in the stand.
A modified UGF in the sump filter for another 30 gal.
For 40 years I ran nothing but UGF. They are a PITA to siphon clean, if the tank is deep and/or you have live plants. You only siphon gravel infrequently unless you overfeed.
For a basic aquarium they can be hard to beat for $ and most fish sellers used nothing else for 50+ years.
I used to use them back in the 90s, had a tank with only them and they worked fine. I've just noticed no one seems to use them anymore. I'm setting up a new tank and thought I could use one along with my canister, shouldn't do any harm I thought.
Only problem I'm thinking of a sand substrate and apparently that won't work too well with them.
You will need very coarse sand, cover the platten with solar screen, and run it in reverse with a low flow rate.
Tee off the canister return line to run it.
Then it will act as a good biofilter.
Tee off the canister return line to run it.
Then it will act as a good biofilter.
We need to discuss this avatar....extremely offensive. Robbed us of an SB appearance
But yeah sumps are the way to go if you have time to set one up. Some filter socks, a pump, and a ton of bio maintenance is a breeze.
It will make your fx seem like seem like a three headed fire breathing dragon (maintenance wise)
If you use sponge prefilters on the HOBs the mulm will collect on those. Rinse and re-serve. My sponge pre filters keep the biomedia whistle clean in their bags. Make sure to have the large cell foam, the fine stuff clogs too easy and reduces filtration.
