HMF

[lnelms2]

Anybody use one?

I'm finally moving (again) and I'm picking up a 300 DD for the new house. I'm pretty sure I'll do a sump with k1 for primary filtration but I been gone for a while so I wanna check out all the current options...

 

[lnelms2]

Anybody use one?

I'm finally moving (again) and I'm picking up a 300 DD for the new house. I'm pretty sure I'll do a sump with k1 for primary filtration but I been gone for a while so I wanna check out all the current options...

Sorry doing this from my phone.

HMF's seem like a great option but I don't think they'll be able to keep up with how much waste rays produce. I thought about replacing the plastic overflow with an HMF and letting the standpipes pull through the foam into the sump.

I'd like to grab an Ultima but the tank only has 1" bulkheads and the only Ultima's I've seen are plumbed with 1.5" or 2" pvc.

Just trying to figure out my best filtration options for this tank.

 

[JK47]

Sorry doing this from my phone.

HMF's seem like a great option but I don't think they'll be able to keep up with how much waste rays produce. I thought about replacing the plastic overflow with an HMF and letting the standpipes pull through the foam into the sump.

I'd like to grab an Ultima but the tank only has 1" bulkheads and the only Ultima's I've seen are plumbed with 1.5" or 2" pvc.

Just trying to figure out my best filtration options for this tank.

I wouldn’t trust the HFM turnover rate with rays. Tons of bio capacity yes but the amount of ammonia between turnover cycle with cause large swings.

Holes are super easy to drill. Glass is harder but not bad either. Glass cages .com sells kits. Acrylic just needs a standard hole saw for wood. There are a ton of resources over in setup/filtration regarding Ultimas. Have a look and see if there’s an approach you like. They are great filters.

 

[lnelms2]

I wouldn’t trust the HFM turnover rate with rays. Tons of bio capacity yes but the amount of ammonia between turnover cycle with cause large swings.

Holes are super easy to drill. Glass is harder but not bad either. Glass cages .com sells kits. Acrylic just needs a standard hole saw for wood. There are a ton of resources over in setup/filtration regarding Ultimas. Have a look and see if there’s an approach you like. They are great filters.

I've drilled acrylic tanks before, never glass. The thought of cracking an expensive glass aquarium makes my stomach hurt lol. What's your current setup?

 

[lnelms2]

Nevermind lol, I've actually been following your last build. It's probably the cleanest setup I've seen.

 

[blackwolf911]

I have that tank with over flows.. 60 gal went dry sump I made and an fx5 .. I never have any problems.. my fish produce too much waste so I have trouble staying ahead of nitrate but I think that's a common problem

 

[JK47]

I've drilled acrylic tanks before, never glass. The thought of cracking an expensive glass aquarium makes my stomach hurt lol. What's your current setup?

Nevermind lol, I've actually been following your last build. It's probably the cleanest setup I've seen.

Thanks L lnelms2 !! That was a QT tank

Drilling glass is scary. It takes one of those, "screw it.. just do it" kind of confident moments to get started. All downhill/easy from there. Diamond bit, simple putty and slow and no force.

 

[JK47]

N nzafi knows way more about HFM than I do. Thoughts?

 

[nzafi]

L lnelms2 im doing an HMF and ultima combo on my 530g. I wanted to be closed loop and low maintenance. The HMF can handle a very heavy bioload but it takes longer to setup than other filters and I agree with JK47 that it might struggle with the swings of ammonia.

I am using my HMF to hide my drip and heaters the way you would use a sump. The ultima I am then using for mechanical and bio. The one drawback of hmf is the slow turnover so you need to run other powerheads.

Do a search on the key terms “germany”, “aimara”. It will bring up a thread of a guy in Germany running a 600g for his 2ft aimara. At the end of the thread his aimara died and he ended up stocking his tank with a couple rays, bass and other fish with just the hmf filter.

Sorry for the long answer. Personally I would not run solely a hmf with rays. The big plus with hmf is the bio capacity and that you only clean it once every 12-18months. My understanding of how much rays eat and generate waste makes me think that the hmf will clog very fast.