55 Gallon FOWLR HOB Filter

[Dog Whiskey]

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm new to saltwater (have done freshwater before) and am cycling my tank, which will be a 55 gallon FOWLR.

The tank was a gift, and came with a Top Fin Silenstream HOB Filter 75 (~400GPM), which I'm trying to optimize for saltwater use. I understand I may need to upgrade at some time. I know the included filter cartridge is likely not good for saltwater in the long run, and have already investigated protein skimmers (I don't have the space for a sump).

The tank has about 40 lbs of live sand and the same amount of live rock. I'm currently running the filter with the blue plastic insert (which is supposed to gather beneficial bacteria) and am temporarily using the cartridge that was included, with activated carbon hoping to eliminate any impurities. I would like to eliminate the filter cartridge for a non-carbon filter media eventually.

I found this guide which seems to make a lot of sense, but the author is talking about freshwater aquariums: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...tream-aquaclear-and-other-hob-filters.385506/.

My questions:
1. If I plan on removing the charcoal from the stock cartridge and rinsing it during water changes, will that be effective? Or would using new material (conditioned in the tank of course) be preferable?
2. I know Biomax works for saltwater as additional bio-media, and am planning on putting it into the reservoir of the filter. But the reservoir is divided into sides separated by a plastic wall. Would it be possible to use one side to try and establish a small refugium? I love the idea of having a place to grow things like copepods, but I worry the water flow may be too strong.
3. Is plastic really a place where beneficial bacteria will grow? If I remove it, it would allow for more space for a thicker filter media or rectangular sponge.

Thank you again!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Welcome, and congrats on your first post! (Two thumbs up.) Some clear photos of your set up will probably draw the most responses / most helpful advice.

 

[madlos123]

1. I dont think it matters. Carbon will get exhausted and will not regenerate it will also house bacteria but since you got rock and sand it will have a very minimal impact. If your using the cartridge for mechanical that should be ok rinsing it with tap water. Unless the carbon is inside the cartridge then I would remove the carbon (if able) to prevent it from grinding or rinse it gently. If your using new cartridge just rinse it with tap water. If the floss gets too clogged that rinsing is not cleaning it anymore, you can get get polyester quilt batting at walmart.
2. Yes you can do all of that. They can handle more flow. Its more like keeping the algae inside the filter and not from coming out the filter to your tank.
I used an aquaclear 110 on my 40 gallon. I superglued the grates to the output where the water comes back to the aquarium so that my chaeto doesnt come out the filter and into my display.
3. Very minimal, just remove it and place whatever you like it there since your rock and sand is the surface area for bacteria.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

1. I dont think it matters. Carbon will get exhausted and will not regenerate it will also house bacteria but since you got rock and sand it will have a very minimal impact. If your using the cartridge for mechanical that should be ok rinsing it with tap water. Unless the carbon is inside the cartridge then I would remove the carbon (if able) to prevent it from grinding or rinse it gently. If your using new cartridge just rinse it with tap water. If the floss gets too clogged that rinsing is not cleaning it anymore, you can get get polyester quilt batting at walmart.
2. Yes you can do all of that. They can handle more flow. Its more like keeping the algae inside the filter and not from coming out the filter to your tank.
I used an aquaclear 110 on my 40 gallon. I superglued the grates to the output where the water comes back to the aquarium so that my chaeto doesnt come out the filter and into my display.
3. Very minimal, just remove it and place whatever you like it there since your rock and sand is the surface area for bacteria.

Thank you!

 

[Idech]

Check out Tunze Comline doc skimmers if you haven’t. They’re internal, so no mess. And silent (as much as a skimmer can be).

 

[Dog Whiskey]

Welcome, and congrats on your first post! (Two thumbs up.) Some clear photos of your set up will probably draw the most responses / most helpful advice.

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm new to saltwater (have done freshwater before) and am cycling my tank, which will be a 55 gallon FOWLR.

The tank was a gift, and came with a Top Fin Silenstream HOB Filter 75 (~400GPM), which I'm trying to optimize for saltwater use. I understand I may need to upgrade at some time. I know the included filter cartridge is likely not good for saltwater in the long run, and have already investigated protein skimmers (I don't have the space for a sump).

The tank has about 40 lbs of live sand and the same amount of live rock. I'm currently running the filter with the blue plastic insert (which is supposed to gather beneficial bacteria) and am temporarily using the cartridge that was included, with activated carbon hoping to eliminate any impurities. I would like to eliminate the filter cartridge for a non-carbon filter media eventually.

I found this guide which seems to make a lot of sense, but the author is talking about freshwater aquariums: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...tream-aquaclear-and-other-hob-filters.385506/.

My questions:
1. If I plan on removing the charcoal from the stock cartridge and rinsing it during water changes, will that be effective? Or would using new material (conditioned in the tank of course) be preferable?
2. I know Biomax works for saltwater as additional bio-media, and am planning on putting it into the reservoir of the filter. But the reservoir is divided into sides separated by a plastic wall. Would it be possible to use one side to try and establish a small refugium? I love the idea of having a place to grow things like copepods, but I worry the water flow may be too strong.
3. Is plastic really a place where beneficial bacteria will grow? If I remove it, it would allow for more space for a thicker filter media or rectangular sponge.

Thank you again!

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm new to saltwater (have done freshwater before) and am cycling my tank, which will be a 55 gallon FOWLR.

The tank was a gift, and came with a Top Fin Silenstream HOB Filter 75 (~400GPM), which I'm trying to optimize for saltwater use. I understand I may need to upgrade at some time. I know the included filter cartridge is likely not good for saltwater in the long run, and have already investigated protein skimmers (I don't have the space for a sump).

The tank has about 40 lbs of live sand and the same amount of live rock. I'm currently running the filter with the blue plastic insert (which is supposed to gather beneficial bacteria) and am temporarily using the cartridge that was included, with activated carbon hoping to eliminate any impurities. I would like to eliminate the filter cartridge for a non-carbon filter media eventually.

I found this guide which seems to make a lot of sense, but the author is talking about freshwater aquariums: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...tream-aquaclear-and-other-hob-filters.385506/.

My questions:
1. If I plan on removing the charcoal from the stock cartridge and rinsing it during water changes, will that be effective? Or would using new material (conditioned in the tank of course) be preferable?
2. I know Biomax works for saltwater as additional bio-media, and am planning on putting it into the reservoir of the filter. But the reservoir is divided into sides separated by a plastic wall. Would it be possible to use one side to try and establish a small refugium? I love the idea of having a place to grow things like copepods, but I worry the water flow may be too strong.
3. Is plastic really a place where beneficial bacteria will grow? If I remove it, it would allow for more space for a thicker filter media or rectangular sponge.

Thank you again!

Thanks in advance for any help. I'm new to saltwater (have done freshwater before) and am cycling my tank, which will be a 55 gallon FOWLR.

The tank was a gift, and came with a Top Fin Silenstream HOB Filter 75 (~400GPM), which I'm trying to optimize for saltwater use. I understand I may need to upgrade at some time. I know the included filter cartridge is likely not good for saltwater in the long run, and have already investigated protein skimmers (I don't have the space for a sump).

The tank has about 40 lbs of live sand and the same amount of live rock. I'm currently running the filter with the blue plastic insert (which is supposed to gather beneficial bacteria) and am temporarily using the cartridge that was included, with activated carbon hoping to eliminate any impurities. I would like to eliminate the filter cartridge for a non-carbon filter media eventually.

I found this guide which seems to make a lot of sense, but the author is talking about freshwater aquariums: https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...tream-aquaclear-and-other-hob-filters.385506/.

My questions:
1. If I plan on removing the charcoal from the stock cartridge and rinsing it during water changes, will that be effective? Or would using new material (conditioned in the tank of course) be preferable?
2. I know Biomax works for saltwater as additional bio-media, and am planning on putting it into the reservoir of the filter. But the reservoir is divided into sides separated by a plastic wall. Would it be possible to use one side to try and establish a small refugium? I love the idea of having a place to grow things like copepods, but I worry the water flow may be too strong.
3. Is plastic really a place where beneficial bacteria will grow? If I remove it, it would allow for more space for a thicker filter media or rectangular sponge.

Thank you again!

Welcome, and congrats on your first post! (Two thumbs up.) Some clear photos of your set up will probably draw the most responses / most helpful advice.

 

[Jedi1199]

The blue insert you can toss. The rocks in your tank will do the job of bio-filtration just fine. I always felt that blue insert was nothing more than marketing.

If you can afford it, I would suggest a good canister filter to replace the Hang on back one you have now. I personally use a Fluval FX6 on my 55 and I believe it to be well worth the money.

If you plan to keep only fish, you don't need a skimmer or a sump or even good lighting... water changes are all you really need.

A FOWLR setup honestly is not much more complex than a freshwater setup. Just more expensive and requires just a bit more diligence when it comes to actually doing your maintenance.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

Thanks for the suggestion to post some images. This is a video of the filter in action just to get an idea of the flow rate.

This is the filter from the top. I've set it up, as you can see, in its standard configuration at the moment. The blue is the plastic, and the white is the stuff with the carbon.

Here's another shot of the carbon portion. It's a double decker.

In between these two filtration items is a solid plastic wall. I can also move the items forward to get more space in the reservoir. Each side of the reservoir is about 4" wide and 6" deep and can be between 1-2" wide (depending upon where the filtration materials are.

So my thought was maybe one could be a refugium -- with maybe filtration material so everything doesn't go flowing into the tank? Or is that just unrealistic?

BTW, I can adjust the flow on the filter. I thin the video shows it fastest.

And thanks for the skimmer recommendation! I know that will be an addition at some point.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

I should add, the reason I'm interested in thinking about a refugium is because when the tank matures I'd love to add a mandarin, but I know they need a healthy source of food so they don't starve. I'm trying to plan for the end game as I'm setting this up, knowing full well I have a while to go yet.

 

[Jedi1199]

Can you show us a picture of the inside of the stand? If it can fit a 10g standard, there is your refugium.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

Can you show us a picture of the inside of the stand? If it can fit a 10g standard, there is your refugium.

There isn't an "inside" of the stand. It's on a credenza with a lower shelf. A 10 gallon tank can fit and a refugium there could be an idea down the line, but at this point I was trying to see if adapting theHOB filter might be an option or practical working with the equipment I currently have. I'm trying to scale up gradually -- this hobby can get really expensive very quickly!

 

[LPS Bum]

I’ve had a large (240 gallon) FOWLR for 15 years. No sump. The tank has always done really well with a lot of live rock, live sand, a large canister filter and a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer.

Yes the skimmer is undersized, but some skimming is better than no skimming. I run chemipure in the filter and change it out every 2 months. Frequent partial water changes every 3 weeks helps too. I use dechlorinated tap water (but RODI for my reef tank).

If you keep up with your maintenance, there’s no reason a set up like this won’t work well for you too. You don’t need all the bells and whistles with a FOWLR.

Good luck!

 

[dedragon]

HOB refugium can definitely be done using a hob power filter but i have mostly seen it done with aquaclears as they are larger.

If this just to add a safe haven for the copepods you could definitely do that for really cheap just buying a second hob power filter like another top fin filter, turning the flow way all the way down, throwing in a bunch of live rock rubble or ceramic rings, etc, and dosing some phyto. Copepods dont need too much space as much as they need a bit lower flow and a bunch of surface area to breed on, you dont even need a light on it

 

[dedragon]

For filtration in the power filter I would just put in a piece of eggrate and then mostly polyfil as it is super cheap and I also like replacing my mechanical filtration multiple times a week (increase time between water changes imo). Then maybe some carbon in a bag once in a while. Probably a bit easier in like an aquaclear 75 or a seachem tidal 75 as they have a much larger media capacity space.
Same idea of the cannister filter jedi suggested except i do prefer a power filter personally as i like to change the mechanical media (polyfil) often and its easier for myself in a hob filter. If this was a larger tank though 120+gallons i would probably consider the cannister filter as the better option for me, of course just my opinion here

 

[Dog Whiskey]

HOB refugium can definitely be done using a hob power filter but i have mostly seen it done with aquaclears as they are larger.

If this just to add a safe haven for the copepods you could definitely do that for really cheap just buying a second hob power filter like another top fin filter, turning the flow way all the way down, throwing in a bunch of live rock rubble or ceramic rings, etc, and dosing some phyto. Copepods dont need too much space as much as they need a bit lower flow and a bunch of surface area to breed on, you dont even need a light on it

Thanks, that's very helpful! I do mainly want a place of copepods to grow safely.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

For filtration in the power filter I would just put in a piece of eggrate and then mostly polyfil as it is super cheap and I also like replacing my mechanical filtration multiple times a week (increase time between water changes imo). Then maybe some carbon in a bag once in a while. Probably a bit easier in like an aquaclear 75 or a seachem tidal 75 as they have a much larger media capacity space.
Same idea of the cannister filter jedi suggested except i do prefer a power filter personally as i like to change the mechanical media (polyfil) often and its easier for myself in a hob filter. If this was a larger tank though 120+gallons i would probably consider the cannister filter as the better option for me, of course just my opinion here

I'm fine with changing media frequently, and love the idea that can help minimize water changes. But -- and a newbie so correct me if I'm wrong -- I thought the idea of rinsing the filter material during a water change (and I thought it was a salt water not tap water rinse) meant you got rid of most of the garbage but kept helpful bacteria. If you're replacing filtration material multiple times a week doesn't that risk losing the helpful bacteria/microbes, etc that are living there and basically force the system to start anew? If you are using entirely fresh material have you found that does anything to your water parameters?

I get the idea of biological filtration, but I'm obviously still trying to figure out how it balances with the mechanical.

Obviously, at this point for me it's all academic as I have yet to add fish (day 9 of initial cycle), but I'm just trying to be as informed as I can before I start adding them.

 

[dedragon]

No problem at all ask as many questions as you need. It wont matter as biological filtration will depend mostly on the rock/sand having the surface area to contain the correct populations of mature bacterial colonies (also why older tanks are considered more "mature" or biologically stable over time). The filter media will just be taking out any physical grime in the water (fish poop, detritus, etc). Skimmers can help as those physical pieces in the water break down and skimmers can help remove them when they do. Water changes help the best as you are now replacing the too nutrient rich (nitrate phosphate, etc) with less nutrient rich water (but also replenishes necessary major and trace elements).

In short, replace mechanical media as often as you like taking into consideration you have live rock and or bio media to support the ammonia being produced in the tank. Water changes will help as a "harder reset" for tank parameters

 

[dedragon]

I also rinse my filter media (filter socks now) in tap water, that isnt really an issue at all, if you are really concerned you can let it air dry after, then put it into the aquarium. Though polyfil is so cheap you will more likely end up chucking it and adding new polyfil

 

[Jedi1199]

I also rinse my filter media in tap water and have never had a problem from it.

 

[Dog Whiskey]

No problem at all ask as many questions as you need. It wont matter as biological filtration will depend mostly on the rock/sand having the surface area to contain the correct populations of mature bacterial colonies (also why older tanks are considered more "mature" or biologically stable over time). The filter media will just be taking out any physical grime in the water (fish poop, detritus, etc). Skimmers can help as those physical pieces in the water break down and skimmers can help remove them when they do. Water changes help the best as you are now replacing the too nutrient rich (nitrate phosphate, etc) with less nutrient rich water (but also replenishes necessary major and trace elements).

In short, replace mechanical media as often as you like taking into consideration you have live rock and or bio media to support the ammonia being produced in the tank. Water changes will help as a "harder reset" for tank parameters

Thank you!