I have 12 tanks running in my small fishroom. 3 75s each have 2 Tidal 110s and 1 sponge filter each. 2 40Bs have Tidal 110s and a sponge, 2 40Bs have Tidal 75s and 1 sponge each. 1 55 with a Tidal 110 and 75 and 1 sponge, 1 55 with Tidal 75, Penguin 400 and sponge. 2 29s both with Tidal 55 and sponge. All the tanks are fairly well stocked (I wouldnt say “overstocked”. Is my filtration way overboard?
Too many HOBs?
- Thread starter AR115
- Start date
I’m a supporter of redundancy because mechanical devices do fail and often without warning. That being said, since I don’t know your stocking I cannot comment if this is too much.
Another factor to consider is power usage. That might help guide you to an answer.
Another factor to consider is power usage. That might help guide you to an answer.
Thats what Im trying to determine. Basically eliminate a few HOBs for sponges. Heres the stocking
75- 4 EBA, 4 Geo RedHeads, 9 shwarz corys, 1 albino sailfin pleco
75- 1 7” Oscar
75- 2 juvy RS Sevs, 1 7” BP, 2 polar blue convict BPs, 1 BN pleco, corys
55- 1 EBA, 1 Angel, 4 juvy clown loaches, 2 Bos rainbows, 2 BN plecos, 1 RTS, 4 congo tetras
55- 1 3” JD, 1 3” GT growout
40B- Breeding pair EBA
40B- juvy Goldenbase FH female
40B- juvy Red dragon FH female
40B- 3 zebra loaches, 5 syno vals, 2 baby angels, 1 BN pleco, 4 candycane tetras, 2 peacock gudgeons
29- baby EBJD growout
29- 4 baby firemouths growout
Fish room is evolving weekly and tanks will be added as fish get bigger etc.
75- 4 EBA, 4 Geo RedHeads, 9 shwarz corys, 1 albino sailfin pleco
75- 1 7” Oscar
75- 2 juvy RS Sevs, 1 7” BP, 2 polar blue convict BPs, 1 BN pleco, corys
55- 1 EBA, 1 Angel, 4 juvy clown loaches, 2 Bos rainbows, 2 BN plecos, 1 RTS, 4 congo tetras
55- 1 3” JD, 1 3” GT growout
40B- Breeding pair EBA
40B- juvy Goldenbase FH female
40B- juvy Red dragon FH female
40B- 3 zebra loaches, 5 syno vals, 2 baby angels, 1 BN pleco, 4 candycane tetras, 2 peacock gudgeons
29- baby EBJD growout
29- 4 baby firemouths growout
Fish room is evolving weekly and tanks will be added as fish get bigger etc.
I think you're doing fine and you sure can't beat HOBs for simplicity and reliability. You really like those Seachem tidals? I've got a Tidal 110 on my 75gal along with a Marineland C360 canister. The Tidal has been running for 4yrs or so without a hiccup. Not sure i love them though. I don't care for how much filter is hanging in the tank on them and mine seems to draw most, if not all it's water from the top skimmer and nothing from the strainer, no matter how I adjust it.
I started with the tidals and havent looked back, every tank is crystal clear. They are “bulky” and they do draw quite a bit from the top skimmer. I recently tried a “test” to see how much crap the bottom actually sucked up. I put pre filter sponge sleeves over the tubes and they were brown full of gunk after a few days so theyre definitely working for me that is. Plus I like how much media you can pack in then esp the 110s. All of mine are loaded with 3 layers of different sponge, layer of poly and stuffed media bags
I agree with the general mood of the responses you've received...
Redundancy keeps you said when there is a failure.
That said, if you don't like the HOBs, try something else. Running a single filter is a risk, but everything in life comes at a risk. Decide if this is one you're willing to take.
I ran HOBs and sponges in a large fishroom for several years. But in the living room I didn't like the splash of the HOBs and phased them out replacing them with canisters.
In my fishroom I wasn't worried about having spotless tanks. The filters job was to maintain water quality, it was my job to remove the waste. Plus the more waste that the filters got the more often I had to clean them. I'd rather vacuum the tank with each water change than clean out a bunch of dang filters.
What I'm saying is... at that point, you have a bunch of options. Each one comes with pros and cons. Decide which ones suit you and your situation and go with it. And adjust it a minimum of 300 times a year. ;-)
Redundancy keeps you said when there is a failure.
That said, if you don't like the HOBs, try something else. Running a single filter is a risk, but everything in life comes at a risk. Decide if this is one you're willing to take.
I ran HOBs and sponges in a large fishroom for several years. But in the living room I didn't like the splash of the HOBs and phased them out replacing them with canisters.
In my fishroom I wasn't worried about having spotless tanks. The filters job was to maintain water quality, it was my job to remove the waste. Plus the more waste that the filters got the more often I had to clean them. I'd rather vacuum the tank with each water change than clean out a bunch of dang filters.
What I'm saying is... at that point, you have a bunch of options. Each one comes with pros and cons. Decide which ones suit you and your situation and go with it. And adjust it a minimum of 300 times a year. ;-)