hob filters on tank sides?
- Thread starter BRUNER247
- Start date
they work fine wherever you put them, its up to you where you want them lol, the only difference is the output is ment to agitate the water surface as to increase your air/water ratios and this current may not be strong enough to agitate a really long tank for that reason it would be best from back to front in some applications
A big HOB on the side is awesome to create a current for fish to swim in...like an Emperor 280 on a 10-20g.
BTW, they are also called H.O.T filters...hang wherever.
BTW, they are also called H.O.T filters...hang wherever.
I disagree! Say 2- AC110 on the back of a 6' 135gal it makes more sense to hang on back n to point their flow 18" across the tank or put one on each end to flow down a 6' tank? The water flows way better length wise than across 2 narrow sections.debris has less chance of getting in a non flow area that almost all tanks have with filters on the back.one on each end puts their flow meeting in the middle. Sit n watch a tank with 2 filters on the back for a while! Then switch em to the ends n watch the difference!I know it won't always work some long tanks have splash guards on ends.n no tops are made for this but most tops are crap anyhow.filters are way easier to clean n inspect also. Just sit in front of your tank n visualize your filters flow both ways! Idk I guess the filters on the ends just makes more sense to me.
I use them on the side a lot for quarantine tank and such. I just scramble pieces of glass and acrylic to get a good lid around the openings and weigh it down with a big rock. Seems to work about the same whether on the side or the back in small tanks.
I also once hooked a HOB over a piece of slate to get it working down inside a tank. It worked for awhile but tended to get scooted around and was making me nervous so I switched it out for an airline covered with a sponge under a stack of donut-shaped lava rock. Good for bio. Terrible for mechanical, but I have daphnia in there, so that's the best I can do.
I also once hooked a HOB over a piece of slate to get it working down inside a tank. It worked for awhile but tended to get scooted around and was making me nervous so I switched it out for an airline covered with a sponge under a stack of donut-shaped lava rock. Good for bio. Terrible for mechanical, but I have daphnia in there, so that's the best I can do.
It makes more sense to me to send the flow length wise down the tank than across the narrow part to be deflected right back around to get sukd up again. The current across the tank is narrow n misses a lot of your tank. A filter on the end sending the flow length wise is flowing to the whole tank. A filter flowing crossways hits the other side n mushrooms out killing the flow (what don't circle right back to pickup). Filter on the end shoots clean water away from your pickup, not just circle it right back to it. At least the circle is way bigger with more chance of cycling all your water. N the agitation of water should be the at least the same its still the same amount of water coming from the filter if anything it should improve it cause all your waters moving.
I wish I would have thought of that before I got my XP4, it probably would have saved a lot of money to get a hob instead, but I didn't think I could use one b/c my tank is too close to the wall.
I have many tanks big-small n short-long. I have a AC70(scored for free from bigals)on a 4'x12"x12" 33gal tank that houses some of my baby rbp. The AC70 on sides blasts across tank n hits the other side n it kills the flow. But that same AC70 on the end makes a nice current 4' away to the other end. If your fish like current who wants to watch their fish from behind? Filter on end you always have a nice profile to watch!