Hi, I am fairly new to the fish tanking addiction I have some questions reguarding filtration. I upgraded from a 35gal to a 100gal. This is fairly larger and I have questions. I was running a 50gal HOB and a UGF with 2 powerheads in my 35gal, right now I have 2 110gal HOB and the original 50gal HOB filters on the tank. I am swithcing to canisters, 1 possibly 2 ocean clear 375 canister filters with a spray bar. My questions are what is the best way to set up canister filters, are the ocean clear 375s good ones to go with, do I need UGF with this tank. Thanks for the help guys, and sorry if these are stupid Q's but as I said I am new to this and I am addicted so I want the best possible setup I can manage. Thanks again
New to tanking with questions about filtration
- Thread starter gun66
- Start date
UGF is optional... They are widely considered an outdated / inferior form of filtration but there are a few people out there who still promote their use. If you do use it I highly suggest you thoroughly clean the gravel weekly...
Mentioning the filters by name will help us a bit more. I'm going to step out on a limb and assume the "110 gal HOBs" are Aqua Clear 110s...
If you remove 2x 500 gph HOBs + the smaller HOB... and add two (rated) 375 gal canisters you will have considerably less flow in the tank...
HOBs typically function at about 75% the flow rate they are rated at (AC 110s flow at around 400 gph)... Canisters typically flow at around 50% their rated flow rate...
While there is a lot more to filtration than simply flow rates... flow rates do matter...
What improvements do you expect to acheive by switching over to canisters?
I'm personally not to much of a fan of canisters. There are pros and cons to every form of filtration, and I do not deny that canisters have some valuable pros... but with my current filtration goals, their cons do not outweight their pros... but knowing what you expect to gain by switching over to them will help us suggest whether or not they will be worth it for you...
Mentioning the filters by name will help us a bit more. I'm going to step out on a limb and assume the "110 gal HOBs" are Aqua Clear 110s...
If you remove 2x 500 gph HOBs + the smaller HOB... and add two (rated) 375 gal canisters you will have considerably less flow in the tank...
HOBs typically function at about 75% the flow rate they are rated at (AC 110s flow at around 400 gph)... Canisters typically flow at around 50% their rated flow rate...
While there is a lot more to filtration than simply flow rates... flow rates do matter...
What improvements do you expect to acheive by switching over to canisters?
I'm personally not to much of a fan of canisters. There are pros and cons to every form of filtration, and I do not deny that canisters have some valuable pros... but with my current filtration goals, their cons do not outweight their pros... but knowing what you expect to gain by switching over to them will help us suggest whether or not they will be worth it for you...
like nc said, don't really know why you'd want to get rid of what you are using now, if it is the ac110s, but if you go with a canister i personally love the fluval fx5 for any tank between 75 and 125. If you can get it at a good price. i pay about $239 for them here.
I understand what you are saying about the pros and cons of canisters, I didnt not know about those percentages though. It was to my understanding that a canister filters (of good quality) require less maintenance. not that this is a big issue for me I usually do a pretty good cleaning of my tank and filters once every month. not to mention the the canisters I am geeting have UV filters as well. I try to keep my tank pristine.
of the main reasons is for the astheticness of my tank as well as more space from the back of the tank but I will not sacrifice the quality of my tank for that.
The filters I am running are aqua clear 110 and penguin 350, and a rena 55, they are the remnants of my 3 consolidated tanks. Thank you so much for replieing as I said I am very new to this (only a few months) and I love it any advice and I mean anything you can give is awesome. thanks again.
oh PS what are your goals from filtering and what are you using?would a canister HOB combo be a good Idea?
GUN
of the main reasons is for the astheticness of my tank as well as more space from the back of the tank but I will not sacrifice the quality of my tank for that.
The filters I am running are aqua clear 110 and penguin 350, and a rena 55, they are the remnants of my 3 consolidated tanks. Thank you so much for replieing as I said I am very new to this (only a few months) and I love it any advice and I mean anything you can give is awesome. thanks again.
oh PS what are your goals from filtering and what are you using?would a canister HOB combo be a good Idea?
GUN
aquaclear 110's are actually pretty well respected filters. so I would say what u got is fine. i have a 125 which has a canister rated for tanks at 200+ gallons with some hob's but the filtration didnt really kick up until i added a ac 110 so my experience has been food with them.
Canister filters do not need less maintenance than HOBs, unless you use a prefilter. In this case the prefilter will need frequent maintenance but you can let the canister itself run for much longer between cleanings.
What is your intended stocking for the tank? Your existing filtration may be sufficient. Also consider the possibility of a sump (under-tank) filter. These combine the flexibility and easy maintenance of HOBs with the low visibility of canisters. Premade sumps are a bit expensive, but it is cheap and easy to make your own; there are plenty of threads on DIY sumps in the DIY subforum.
Canister/HOB combos are fine and many hobbyists use them. Having multiple filters is a good idea, as it gives you backup in case one fails, and also allows you to dedicate different filters to different things. For example, since pristine water is important to you, you could dedicate one HOB to fine mechanical filtering, with lots of very fine media, and leave the canisters and other HOBs with coarser media for general biological and mechanical filtration. You would then need to do frequent maintenance on that one filter but could let the others run longer.
You mentioned the UV filters in the canisters you wish to buy. UV filters are fine and well, but really shouldn't be necessary unless you have a green water or pathogen outbreak; the rest of the time they are just wasting power, restricting flow, and cutting down the lifespan of expensive UV bulbs. I think of them like medication: only use when necessary.
What is your intended stocking for the tank? Your existing filtration may be sufficient. Also consider the possibility of a sump (under-tank) filter. These combine the flexibility and easy maintenance of HOBs with the low visibility of canisters. Premade sumps are a bit expensive, but it is cheap and easy to make your own; there are plenty of threads on DIY sumps in the DIY subforum.
Canister/HOB combos are fine and many hobbyists use them. Having multiple filters is a good idea, as it gives you backup in case one fails, and also allows you to dedicate different filters to different things. For example, since pristine water is important to you, you could dedicate one HOB to fine mechanical filtering, with lots of very fine media, and leave the canisters and other HOBs with coarser media for general biological and mechanical filtration. You would then need to do frequent maintenance on that one filter but could let the others run longer.
You mentioned the UV filters in the canisters you wish to buy. UV filters are fine and well, but really shouldn't be necessary unless you have a green water or pathogen outbreak; the rest of the time they are just wasting power, restricting flow, and cutting down the lifespan of expensive UV bulbs. I think of them like medication: only use when necessary.
To me for a cleaner look go with the canister but i like the use of HOB or sumps but in your case just use the two HOB for the 110 and leave the setup for your 35 and have a second tank. Hey save you some $ until needed
i agree, i like the look of not having the HOB filters, or with my canopy it's easier to clean a canister than to remove the canopy to get to the HOBs, plus the canister lets me have the tank closer to the wall. but if you have no canopy i believe the HOBS are actually easier to maintain than the canister. Just go with what you like, you could easily add another ac110 to the tank and just run the two ac110's and that would be cheaper than buying the canister and prob. filter just as good but if you want the eye apeal buy the canister.
Waste contributes to the pollutants in a tank until it is removed from the system… So it does not matter one bit whether it is rotting inside of a canister or an HOB…
IF (big if) you take steps to prevent your canister from taking in solid waste, you do not have to clean it as often… but if your canister is used to remove solid waste from the tank it should be cleaned just as frequently as any HOB filter…
The reality is, mechanical media needs to be cleaned often… Bio Media does not need to be cleaned often, but Bio Media needs to have solid waste kept out of it via Mechanical Filtration…
A lot of people like to half understand this process and then start giving faulty advice based on a half understanding…
As for UV lights… I have never seen a canister filter that uses a large enough UV to kill parasites at the flow rate of the canister. In my opinion it is not worth running a UV light unless you are going to get it’s full effects.
On some tanks I do run UV lights full time to prevent parasitic infection and to keep water clarity up. While a UV light does nothing to remove particles from the water, they do make a consider improvement to the clarity of clean water.
IF (big if) you take steps to prevent your canister from taking in solid waste, you do not have to clean it as often… but if your canister is used to remove solid waste from the tank it should be cleaned just as frequently as any HOB filter…
The reality is, mechanical media needs to be cleaned often… Bio Media does not need to be cleaned often, but Bio Media needs to have solid waste kept out of it via Mechanical Filtration…
A lot of people like to half understand this process and then start giving faulty advice based on a half understanding…
As for UV lights… I have never seen a canister filter that uses a large enough UV to kill parasites at the flow rate of the canister. In my opinion it is not worth running a UV light unless you are going to get it’s full effects.
On some tanks I do run UV lights full time to prevent parasitic infection and to keep water clarity up. While a UV light does nothing to remove particles from the water, they do make a consider improvement to the clarity of clean water.