diamondjim
New Member
All my tanks in the past have had an external hang on power filter for mechinal and bio...but I'm considering making a depature from that on the new tank. The more I work with it the more suspect the HOB does little more than move a little water.
Current setup is 20 lbs dead rock, with 5-10 lbs basic LR and 2 lbs high grade LR on top. Adding another 20lbs of dead rock tomorrow. Current LR will "seed" the rest and make rooting out LFS parasites a whole lot easier. Just takes time and I'm in no rush.
Running slightly under sized air powered skimmer...this I'll upgrade soon.
Thinking of pulling HOB out right and replacing with 2 pumps...a 190 gal/hr unit that drives water long ways across tank and 80 gal/hr pump to drive water across the flow. Idea is to make water tumble instead of a driving straight line. These are sumps that will be operated more like powerheads. This will be the ONLY mechanics to the tank...to pump a good volume of water through the LR.
Tank is just over 1 month old, but had a fully "live" start...live SSB, LR and real sea water (10% mix with Instant Ocean to start)...so it's farther along the curve than a sterile build.
Goal of the tank is modest corals, heavy on inverts and light on fish. Looking for intense, chaotic detail, every square inch will have something living.
So my questions...
Too soon to pull HOB?
Should HOB get pulled at all?
The HOB has done OK for me in the past, but I've never run powerheads. I don't change the filter pads, ever. They plug up with bio mass eventually and then water flows over the pads instead of through them...also aerate external chamber without cover. Seems to me LR does pretty much the same thing...so why bother with HOB if I can push more water through the rock?
Current setup is 20 lbs dead rock, with 5-10 lbs basic LR and 2 lbs high grade LR on top. Adding another 20lbs of dead rock tomorrow. Current LR will "seed" the rest and make rooting out LFS parasites a whole lot easier. Just takes time and I'm in no rush.
Running slightly under sized air powered skimmer...this I'll upgrade soon.
Thinking of pulling HOB out right and replacing with 2 pumps...a 190 gal/hr unit that drives water long ways across tank and 80 gal/hr pump to drive water across the flow. Idea is to make water tumble instead of a driving straight line. These are sumps that will be operated more like powerheads. This will be the ONLY mechanics to the tank...to pump a good volume of water through the LR.
Tank is just over 1 month old, but had a fully "live" start...live SSB, LR and real sea water (10% mix with Instant Ocean to start)...so it's farther along the curve than a sterile build.
Goal of the tank is modest corals, heavy on inverts and light on fish. Looking for intense, chaotic detail, every square inch will have something living.
So my questions...
Too soon to pull HOB?
Should HOB get pulled at all?
The HOB has done OK for me in the past, but I've never run powerheads. I don't change the filter pads, ever. They plug up with bio mass eventually and then water flows over the pads instead of through them...also aerate external chamber without cover. Seems to me LR does pretty much the same thing...so why bother with HOB if I can push more water through the rock?