Help a beginner out please!

[Frostyfish]

Hello all!
I have a 29 gallon tank with 40 lbs of live rock and a 2.5 in sand bed, two clowns, a domino damsel, and a pajama fish. I also have a penguin 350 with bio wheel, and aqueon quiet flow 30 HOB, along with a koralia 240. I can't use a sump due to lack of space. The main question I have is regarding the filters of the HOB's. I have read that they are nothing but bacteria factories and nitrate factories. Is there a better option other than the carbon filters? I would like to add soft corals to my tank.


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[ReefCheif]

Personally I would use an HOB to run a carbon sock and a floss pad. I would use the other HOB as a fuge and put a small light above it and fill it with cheato! DO not use the bio wheels either. Make sure to clean the HOBs out when you do water changes, they collect alot of detrius in the bottoms of them, thus creating a nitrate factory.

 

[ThatsDeep!]

Well, my husband and I are beginners too so take this for what it is worth: We have a 55 gal and since we got it used and scrubbed it and it came with a HOB we just cleaned that and put in new filter medium [ the blue and white common stuff] and got it to start the tank while my husband studied and built a refugium from a 10 gal cheap tank from our last resort [Walmart]. So the HOB bought us time to get the other bio filter stabilized and since we have decided to keep the HOB running til it breaks or whatever. We started with Damsels and created the system as you are talking about. Now, we have ammonia and nitrite at 0, 5 ppm nitrate [which I hear on the forum is good] and live rock and all are thriving as far as we can tell. I had not heard of probs with an HOB as long as it was not neglected but it sounds like you and we two are doing something right.
Best of luck to you - and all of us!

Jody

 

[Aaron]

As long as you replace your carbon often, HOB filters are fine.

My recommendation would be to change it every 4-6 months. I use carbon to remove toxins, especially those put into the water by soft corals. You also might consider putting some GFO in a sock in your filter too to remove phosphates.

Again, the key is replacing your media often.

 

[SkyDiv3r17]

The bio wheels were great on my tank... change the media every 2 weeks to a month. Not 4 to 6 months lol.

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[Aaron]

All 5 of my reef tanks do just fine on 4-6 months. 2 weeks seems like a waste of money, but to each their own I guess.

 

[charleshardy5]

Heck man I used to use the same media until it fell apart... I would just rinse with ro water every few weeks lol. Worked great

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[SynDen]

Ya I used to do that alot with my freshwater tanks, dont know if I trusted it enough to do that on a salt tank though

 

[zombie]

The best hob thing you can possibly get is a skimmer. Also +1 to above for a hob refugium instead of using it as a normal filter.

You might be an engineer if...You have no life, and you can PROVE it mathematically.

 

[Frostyfish]

The bio wheels were great on my tank... change the media every 2 weeks to a month. Not 4 to 6 months lol.

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I'm glad you said that about the bio wheels! One website I read said to get rid of them. I've decided to get rid of the carbon and run filters without it. These filters without carbon are much less $ and I can change them weekly. The other HOB is on the way to becoming a refugium.


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[Miah2bzy]

I have a reef octopus bh-100 hang on back skimmer that's been great for my 30. U can find the older model for relatively cheap on Craigslist. The newer model has the pump outside the tank but I don't mind too much.
I also run an old seaclone skimmer that I modded into a hob refugium.


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[Frostyfish]

One HOB is now full of chaeto, the penguin now has matrix on one side and filters on the other side. My water has never been more clear and the parameters are staying where if want them. Thanks again for the advice everybody!!


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