Best HOB filter?

I actually have a couple

If I need a filter for a 10 gallon and price is an issue I get the AquaTech 5-15. It does it job filtering and with a prefilter sponge the cartridge lasts a long time. And actually pretty quiet.

If I needed cheap filter and noise was not a concern (like a fishroom), I would get the Whisper power filters. Noisier than an Aquaclears, but with custom media it can almost filter as well.

Now if I was making a display tank and I wanted a filter that was quiet. Then I would get the Aquaclear or Seachem Tidal.

 

Really like aquaclears- only downside is that they don't self prime so if you live in an area with lots of power outages then you have a filter that is not working when the power comes back on. You have to physically fill them back up. This can be a problem when you go on holiday if you don't have someone watching your house/fish.

 

When I started in the hobby in November 2016 I bought a Marineland 10 gallon kit that came with the Penguin 100 bio-wheel filter.

It had issues with the wheel stopping on a regular basis as well as the filter losing it's prime.

I live in an area where we can have power interruptions or blips on a regular basis.

I looked at other options for replacing the Penguin.
I read that the Emperor filters did not have the bio-wheel problem due to the spray bar, but they didn't make smaller models.

Keep in mind that my comments below are regarding looking for filters for 10, 16, and 20 gallon tanks.

I was all set to get an AquaClear until I found out they don't self prime.

I also looked at the Fluval C series filters, which are basically next-generation AquaClear filters featuring a wet/dry bio-media chamber and back-to-front filtration vs bottom-to-top.
They are like a HOB canister.
They also do not self prime.

I chose the Aqueon Quietflow Pro LED filters for my tanks because they self prime.
They use cartridges, but I've modified mine to use sponges or filter floss combined with bio-media.

At that time the Seachem Tidal was just coming into the hobby.
They don't make filters that fit my smaller tanks, so were never an option for me.

If Hagen/Fluval addressed the self priming issue on the AquaClear and C series filters, I'd have no qualms getting those.

 

Really like aquaclears- only downside is that they don't self prime so if you live in an area with lots of power outages then you have a filter that is not working when the power comes back on. You have to physically fill them back up. This can be a problem when you go on holiday if you don't have someone watching your house/fish.

This is not quite true.

The AC will restart after a power outage if the aquarium water level is as high as the HOB. The only HOB I know of that doesn't have this issue is the Aqueon QuietFlows that have the motor in the aquarium and not on the bottom of the HOB.

 

I am a fan of SeaChem products. I like what I just read about the Tidal.

I went from a Penguin to a Seachem Tidal and it’s SO much better. Really happy with it. Couldn’t see using any other HOB.

 

Self-priming Aqueon 75 for my money.

 

To me it comes down to the amount of media a filter can hold. I just purchased my 1st tidal 75 and whilst I love the nerdy features it has, I'm a little disappointed about how much media it can hold compared to the Aquaclear. Don't get me wrong, it's more then any others I have seen but less then the Aquaclear.

 

Jmarcf any chance you could put up a picture of the interior of that filter

 

Jmarcf any chance you could put up a picture of the interior of that filter

Unfortunately it's already up and running. If you have a look here , in this thread it shows the size of the foam, it might give you a rough idea.

 

Have a few 10+ year old aquatechs, and tetra WPF's and they still all work smooth as day one. Cant say the same for the newer stuff, sadly a lot of it isn't made like it once was and tetra especially produces poop products now imo. I just reuse 30ppI pads and ceramic media, and rinse in dirty tank water once a week, no problems with those filters ever though. That being said I also have a few newer aqueon 55/75, AC 110, and emperor 400 and love them so myself short answer is it's a toss up and if you could take all the great features out of all the brands out there and combine them, that'd be the best hob. Dang patents lol

 

Hi,
I love my aqueon 10 for the small tanks. It's easy to use other media and throw in media from another tank you have an instant cycled QT.
I also like my Fluval C4 and aquaclear 50 & 70. I agree with above about putting in what media you want and if the water in my tank is at the bottom of the top black rI'm it is self priming when there's a power outage.
A rookie mistake on the AC filters...I read you don't change sponges until they are falling apart. Each week I squeezed and squeezed and squeezed my AC sponge. It wasn't falling apart so I didn't change it for nine months. It looked fine to me. One morning the lid was about 1/2" up, the basket was 1/2" sticking up and water was seeping out on to the floor. Well you know what I had to do. Tear down everything and let the wood stand dry. Thankfully it is solid wood.
The sponge still looked fine to me...only the center was starting to wear. Anyway, don't wait nine months to change the sponge!!!
I do wish they didn't cost so much.

 

Toran you don’t have to use the company sponge. You can buy sponge by the sheet and cut it to fit. It’s easy and you usually get 2-3times as much for the same price

 

I really like what I hear about fluval but they are very expensive. The sun sun I've heard a ton of complaints from. I agree I'm torn. For whatever reason I know I don't want a canister filter. I've always liked HOB

I actually saw a video from diy king about making a canister filter that hangs on the back of the aquarium. It's just a 4 inch painted pvc pipe with media in it.
I plan on making my own canister because there is no way I can afford fluval!

 

Sander look into sun-sun much cheaper. I’m using 2 now and no problems

 

Aquaclear 20, pretty silent running, has a nice 'lift up' basket to help with maintenance. The water flow is good but it is pointed down quite a lot so it will move your soil or sand.

Unfortunately sold it thinking I wouldn't need it and now I have some cheap £8 hob from Ista, its horrible, rattles like crazy, sounds like its about to takeoff. Taking it back.

 

Sander look into sun-sun much cheaper. I’m using 2 now and no problems

HOB or canisters?

Do they have one for a 60gal?

 

Canister yes the 402b moves 250gal an hour and comes with a uv steralizer.

 

Canister yes the 402b moves 250gal an hour and comes with a uv steralizer.

Cool. I'll look em up. Thanks

 

Toran you don’t have to use the company sponge. You can buy sponge by the sheet and cut it to fit. It’s easy and you usually get 2-3times as much for the same price

Good to know. Is it about the same thickness? Can I buy it on Amazon?

 

Yes amazon or eBay.

 

Canister yes the 402b moves 250gal an hour and comes with a uv steralizer.

Is the 400 series better than the 300?

 

I think just a newer model. I also have a 304b that moves 350gph. The b means it has the up steralizer

 

I purchased a Leecom HI430 hob filter, cost around £8/US$11.
One of the quietest hob filter, similar to an Aquaclear.

It has a very nice surface skimmer add-on which seems to work.
Media is 2 standard slot-in cartridge consisting of foam/carbon/floss....standard stuff.
I removed both for now and just placed Siporax/Bio-mech in it for cycling.

The motor is exceptionally quiet, how long it will last....I'll have to wait and see.

 

I just switched from an old inherited Aquaclear 70 to a Seachem Tidal 55 (on a 20G).
Here's some differences, they may be pros or cons depending on each individual tank and needs:
- AC and Tidal appear to be similar in terms of media customizing, except Tidal 55 has smaller reservoir volume (not sure how volumes of AC70 would compare with Tidal 75), and sponge shape is specific to Tidal (cutting a block of sponge to exact shape for Tidal would be trickier, but doable).
- Tidal motor appears quieter (but I acknowledge in my case its new, vs older AC)
- Tidal has a much greater range of flow adjustment. But, if you dial it down too much - which you can't do on the AC's - it becomes less a matter of reducing water return turbulence and more a matter of whether you're moving enough water for your cycle to do its job (so you could shoot yourself in the foot with the Tidal if not careful).
- Tidal is wonderfully feature rich, including surface skimmer, adjustable-depth intake, ability to vary proportion of incoming water from depth vs skimmer, pop-up button showing clogging, even the fact that the lift-out media basket can be secured on the inverted lid...
- Return flow from tidal is directed more across surface than to depth (I'm very happy with this feature)
- As noted, the Tidal is self-priming (because pump is on the intake side, ie in tank, not in the canister), but this is more of an issue after water changes than for power fails, because as noted previously in this thread, the AC would only lose its prime if the water level in the tank falls below the corresponding level in the filter box.
- I'm also finding that the fitted/custom sponge that comes with the Tidal is much coarser and lets through a lot more suspended matter, ie my water is less polished and now I'm looking for additional/alternative sponges (recommendations anyone?).
FWIW, the Tidal is really well built. Strong plastic, great fitting parts, etc.
When making the switch, I put the net bag of cycled ceramic rings from the AC right into the Tidal. Instant cycle. I did not switch sponges, because they are vastly different shapes. In retrospect, I should have macgyver'd it for a few weeks for bb to colonize the new sponge.
Overall, at this time I have to say I had more confidence in the AC (at least in terms of protecting my fish), but I think once I've sorted out the sponge issue, and after enough time to build confidence in the Tidal, I'll be happy with the switch.

 

@Sanderguy 777 I also use a SunSun Canister. A 304b. You want the canister to have a flow rate 5x’s your tank volume. So you would need a rate of 300 gallons per hour (gph). It is always better to be over filtered than to be under filtered. So be sure you are getting one that has enough filtration.

You can get a SunSun HW-304b full of filter media, for around $80. It has a flow rate of 525gph.

The SunSun 303b has a rate of 370gph. This would be perfect for your tank.

SunSun Hw303B 370GPH Pro Canister Filter Kit with 9-watt UV Sterilizer

 

I had Aquaclears and switched over to Tidal filters. While the ACs are excellent, the Tidals just have so many cool features. Self-priming alone is a godsend, but then factor in all the other neat things (surface skimmer, self-cleaning impeller, heater clip, cover which doubles as a tray, maintenance reminder, near-silent operation, etc.) and it's a winner. Yes, the media basket is slightly smaller than the AC, but that's an acceptable tradeoff, and it is still more than any other HOB filter. I have two Tidals in my 65g anyway, so I have a very well filtered tank.

For media, I use their sponge at the bottom, a filter floss layer above that to trap fine particulates, then Purigen, and then Matrix on top. I should really buy stock in Seachem considering all the products of theirs I buy.

 

For 6 months I have had the Seachem Tidal 110 on my 46gal and have been very pleased with it. Self priming. Crystal clear. I dial it down for slower flow so that the media is more effective. You have a lot of space to add whatever media combination you would like. Don't worry what some say about back flow, at max rate your bio media does not get enough contact time.

 

Aquaclear for me. This might give you some ideas of what you can do with it.

 

I was recently recommended the aquaclear filters on this forum and they don't disappoint. They have a very large capacity for biomedia, and run very clearly and a lot quieter then the top fin power filter I have running on one of my other tanks. They also have an adjustable flow rate, and work like a canister filter, running water from the bottom up through all of the filter media. I bought a lot more media at petsmart to use and it fit like a glove. They are very customize-able and offer really good filtration.

 

I have two aqeon quiet flows, and while they are not the best, they are definitely good for the price.

 

I've been happy with the Marineland Emperor 350 /350b for years. Just keep the calcium build up from jamming the bio wheels.

 

This is not quite true.

The AC will restart after a power outage if the aquarium water level is as high as the HOB. The only HOB I know of that doesn't have this issue is the Aqueon QuietFlows that have the motor in the aquarium and not on the bottom of the HOB.

That is not my experience. Tha aquaclears are great filters but I've burned out 2 motors (to the point of melting/ warping the housing area) with water level at the top of the tank.

My marineland biowheel filters don't have this problem. I get dozens of power outages each year and marineland has restarted unfailingly.

 

This is not a HOB filter, but a canister type. About 2 years ago I bought an AquaTop 400 (for a 55 gal aquarium). NO this is not the same as SunSun filters, despite looking similar. I was very impressed with how well this AquaTop worked that several months later I went out and bought 2 more, another 400 and a 500. All are completely quiet, they have UV lite built in, and have never given me any problems at all. I change the UV bulbs every 9 months. My opinion on the HOB filters is that if I were to go back to using one again I will certainly buy an AquaClear strictly due to the flexibility of biomaterial options you can use in them. I've used biowheel HOB filters of various brands and all sizes and love the concept. But after several years of frustration with the wheels sticking and always taking them apart to clean, I ended up giving most of them to non-friends.

 

AquaClear.

I have tried all kinds ... I only have AquaClears now. So simple and yet so powerful.

 

This is not a HOB filter, but a canister type. About 2 years ago I bought an AquaTop 400 (for a 55 gal aquarium). NO this is not the same as SunSun filters, despite looking similar. I was very impressed with how well this AquaTop worked that several months later I went out and bought 2 more, another 400 and a 500. All are completely quiet, they have UV lite built in, and have never given me any problems at all. I change the UV bulbs every 9 months. My opinion on the HOB filters is that if I were to go back to using one again I will certainly buy an AquaClear strictly due to the flexibility of biomaterial options you can use in them. I've used biowheel HOB filters of various brands and all sizes and love the concept. But after several years of frustration with the wheels sticking and always taking them apart to clean, I ended up giving most of them to non-friends.

That 9-watt U/V "sterilizer" installed in a filter that pushes 525 gph (advertised) - is doing absolutely nothing but inflating the price of that filter. I so hate it when companies do this. They put in something to make it look like you're getting something.

This is partly the reason for U/V's having such a bad name - because there are so many out there that are just "for show". I always tell people if they're going to go for U/V - then go "big" (greater than 20 watts) - and spend the time and money to put it in a system with a very LOW flow rate. You can use other things with high flow rate for mechanical filtration - but a U/V requires a slower flow.

Check this link for your optimum flow rates when using U/V sterilizers.

 

i’m starting a 29 g tank for the office. It’s going to be a conversation piece so I don’t want a couple of double sponge filters like all my other tanks although I will start the cycle with a couple.

I have a couple of HOBs now. All 3 came as part of kits and I only really care for one of them.

I want a HOB I can customize the media with, is quiet, and will completely filter a 29.

Thoughts? Advice?

 

Aqua Clear is what I have and I personally use. It is my absolute favorite. I also don't hear the filter, which may be a plus in a work setting.

 

My Cascade 300 is nice and very quiet and has a large space for putting in media. If you remove what is in there, there's a 4in wide x 6.5 tall x 8.5 wide space to stuff with media. The intake is pretty small, but it seems to be effective

 

Can you add media? Or is it a cartridge?

Question was for lunatic. Sorry

 

Question was for lunatic. Sorry

No catridge. The pack that it comes with 3 types of media. Carbon Bag (dont have to use it, I do because I have tannis issues otherwise) Bio Cubes and a Sponge. On amazon you can add extra bio sponges or media for under 5$ (or if you have extra of your own that's great too).