75 Gallon Tank Canister Filter v HOB Filter

I have a 75 gallon tank I started a couple months ago, and just use a hob filter rated for 75 gallons. After awhile my Grandpa became very interested in my tank and decided to start his own aquarist journey and he picked up a 55 gallon for himself. I helped him with getting all the starting things for his tank and which LFS's were the best to go to, but when talking about filters he said he'd done some research on canister filters, and that they're supposedly much better at the job than HOB's. I guess my question here is, should I consider buying a canister filter? it seems as if my hob is doin the job just fine, but I guess I really don't know what I'm missin out on when it comes to canisters. Lemme know!

 

My thoughts on them is i kind of feel they are a waste on anything below about a 55 and probably the best bet on anything above 90 gallons. Definitely worth looking into for a 75. Money can be a real factor though. Probably looking at at least $200+ easily for a decent canister.

 

Have three tanks and they all have canisters now. They hold more media and filter material than hobs and you don’t need to clean them as often. And it looks better having no hob on the tank and the canister can be hidden in the cabinet or ground. Also I use spray bars with mine for better surface agitation. Best thing I ever did was switch. I have two or pen plax cascades and a Hydor. Hydor seems a little better quality but I haven’t had any issues with any. Oh I also added inline heaters so the heater is under the cabinet on the return line to the tank.

 

On this topic I could go for a while. Boiled down, my opinion is: How much filter do you need?

This might be not such a simple question, but to put it like this:

I run all my tanks planted heavily and do regular water changes. My stock densities are not that high either. In a 75g tank I have 20 or so corys, 5 angels, 4 puffers, and a handful of guppies and other random community fish. My tank is about 50% swimming area 50% plants though. Its quite the box of green. With all the plants, I never really run into problems with water quality and I have gone two months without a water change before. I only have a HOB filter rated for 75g on there. Personally I want to take it out and switch it over for two large sponge filters as I feel it will give me more water movement inside the tank. After all, the HOB I have is basically a box with a pump that moves water over a sponge. I would simply like to move toward an air driven system because I don't care for looks that much nor do I really need much filtration, thus why sponge filters in tank would do me great.

On the flip side, what if you had a 75g tank with zero plants and 35 African Peacocks that you have to feed like half a pound of food a day (exaggerating about food). All those fish need to go to the bathroom and something has to pick it up, so you need something with a higher turnover and capacity for waste. You need more space for media such as bio rings, mechanical filtration, and even some chemical filtration in there due to the such high densities. A canister filter would provide all of that for you for high stocking densities.

At the end of the day it is pretty much asking what do you want to use. Speaking in terms of bio rings/balls, sponge, filter floss, chemical sheets, etc. And how much sponge do you need?

Another thing to note is that if you have a canister and do not see it, nor do you have a set regimen to maintain it, it might just be forgotten about, which is not good.

In my opinion, depending on what you want to keep, I would push you toward a fluval 307/407 canister for your 55/75, and if you want to do HOB, I would go aquaclear 70 on a 55 and a 110 on a 75. The aquaclear 70 doesn't fit on a 75 rim (or at least mine).

Another thing is that if something is working, don't worry about it! If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Not that this is a large thing to consider, but you are speaking in regards of your grandfather here. If he will be doing maintenance, I don't think having a canister in the back of the stand may be the most convenient for him to crawl under there and clean it. Perhaps a HOB would be better suited for his application due to the fact that he can work on it all right at chest level, unless he wants a canister next to his tank outside of the stand, but that defeats the purpose in my opinion.

Honestly it boils down to preference. I am obviously partial to sponge filters and not so fond of the idea of canisters, but to each their own. This is just my opinion

 

My thoughts on them is i kind of feel they are a waste on anything below about a 55 and probably the best bet on anything above 90 gallons. Definitely worth looking into for a 75. Money can be a real factor though. Probably looking at at least $200+ easily for a decent canister.

Fair enough! I sorta had the same type of thought, where HOB's were more suited on smaller aquariums, so I'll definitely look into a canister more, thank you!

On this topic I could go for a while. Boiled down, my opinion is: How much filter do you need?

This might be not such a simple question, but to put it like this:

I run all my tanks planted heavily and do regular water changes. My stock densities are not that high either. In a 75g tank I have 20 or so corys, 5 angels, 4 puffers, and a handful of guppies and other random community fish. My tank is about 50% swimming area 50% plants though. Its quite the box of green. With all the plants, I never really run into problems with water quality and I have gone two months without a water change before. I only have a HOB filter rated for 75g on there. Personally I want to take it out and switch it over for two large sponge filters as I feel it will give me more water movement inside the tank. After all, the HOB I have is basically a box with a pump that moves water over a sponge. I would simply like to move toward an air driven system because I don't care for looks that much nor do I really need much filtration, thus why sponge filters in tank would do me great.

On the flip side, what if you had a 75g tank with zero plants and 35 African Peacocks that you have to feed like half a pound of food a day (exaggerating about food). All those fish need to go to the bathroom and something has to pick it up, so you need something with a higher turnover and capacity for waste. You need more space for media such as bio rings, mechanical filtration, and even some chemical filtration in there due to the such high densities. A canister filter would provide all of that for you for high stocking densities.

At the end of the day it is pretty much asking what do you want to use. Speaking in terms of bio rings/balls, sponge, filter floss, chemical sheets, etc. And how much sponge do you need?

Another thing to note is that if you have a canister and do not see it, nor do you have a set regimen to maintain it, it might just be forgotten about, which is not good.

In my opinion, depending on what you want to keep, I would push you toward a fluval 307/407 canister for your 55/75, and if you want to do HOB, I would go aquaclear 70 on a 55 and a 110 on a 75. The aquaclear 70 doesn't fit on a 75 rim (or at least mine).

Another thing is that if something is working, don't worry about it! If it ain't broke don't fix it!

Not that this is a large thing to consider, but you are speaking in regards of your grandfather here. If he will be doing maintenance, I don't think having a canister in the back of the stand may be the most convenient for him to crawl under there and clean it. Perhaps a HOB would be better suited for his application due to the fact that he can work on it all right at chest level, unless he wants a canister next to his tank outside of the stand, but that defeats the purpose in my opinion.

Honestly it boils down to preference. I am obviously partial to sponge filters and not so fond of the idea of canisters, but to each their own. This is just my opinion

Well, right now my tank is stocked with 42 fish, you can see my stocking under my aquarium details. Honestly I don't mind the HOB filter, it looks alright and for me, the noise helps me sleep. My Grandpa picked himself up a Fluval 307 from our LFS for like 110 I think. Not bad, but still something I want to take some time to consider if it's really necessary before I switch over.

 

I use both together on our aquariums to get 10x water volume turn over per hour in filtration.

 

Depends....My friend has a 75 with 2 Aquaclear 110s and his tank is heavily stocked and is doing fine. He has to clean them about once a week but they don't take long to clean at all especially compared to a canister. I have 3 tanks and all of them have canister filters, a 16 gallon, 22 gallon and 48 gallon. I get much better filtration and go much longer between cleanings. Cleaning my canisters and hoses takes time and can be tedious. I like the fact that they are dead quiet and I can put my tanks completely against the wall. Guess it depends on what you want. HOB are WAY easier, I would definitely consider one on a low stocked tank somewhere where the noise of it won't matter.

Fair enough! I sorta had the same type of thought, where HOB's were more suited on smaller aquariums, so I'll definitely look into a canister more, thank you!

Well, right now my tank is stocked with 42 fish, you can see my stocking under my aquarium details. Honestly I don't mind the HOB filter, it looks alright and for me, the noise helps me sleep. My Grandpa picked himself up a Fluval 307 from our LFS for like 110 I think. Not bad, but still something I want to take some time to consider if it's really necessary before I switch over.

I can highly recommend the Eheim Classic line. A 2217 may do the trick and maybe add a HOB as well for even more filtration to extend the time between changes on the canister. All my Eheims are several years old, one of them is over 10 years old and still going strong. Never had to replace a single thing on any of them. Old design, just works period.

I use both together on our aquariums to get 10x water volume turn over per hour in filtration.

I had a 29 gallon with 2 ranchu gf with an Aquaclear 50 and an Eheim 2217. It was the cleanest tank in the house. I could go 2 weeks before it would start to look funky. GF are pigs btw .

 

My thoughts on them is i kind of feel they are a waste on anything below about a 55 and probably the best bet on anything above 90 gallons. Definitely worth looking into for a 75. Money can be a real factor though. Probably looking at at least $200+ easily for a decent canister.

If you go on ebay, you can get a Fluval 407 for under 200$, and they have a great reputation, not just decent...