Is my hob filter too big?

[oicu2]

I have a 10g nano in my office that I started a little over a month ago. I have maybe 10lbs of liverock, 1.5" sandbed and a Penguin 350 Bio Wheel filter which was leftover from a previous tank. It pushes 350 gph. I've added lr rubble inside the filter along with two carbon filter media that usually comes with it. I don't have any powerheads because I felt the filter was more than enough for flow. It takes up most of the back of the tank. I'm just a little concerned about it being overkill. Am I right to assume this?


Katherine

 

[fantastic4]

It will be fine, I ran your exact setup for a while. The only problem I ran into was live sand kept getting stuck in the impeller everytime I cleaned my tank or did anything with my hands like cleaning the sides, then the impeller would stop working or worse make a very loud screeching noise. I ended up dumping the hob bio wheel for a hob Remora and never looked back. Would not worry about overkill or to much current, just adjust your live rock to catch the current or block it, etc...

 

[oicu2]

Thanks for the info fantastic. Did you also use a skimmer with your tank? One of the other members here suggests that a skimmer is not needed if regular weekly water changes are done. What do you think?

 

[fantastic4]

see below

 

[fantastic4]

At the time I only ran the biowheel as that was all that would fit on the back on the 10g (no skimmer at all). If you replace a cup of water each day (everyday), with some good salt mix you should have excellent results as long as your not over feeding and your tank is not cycling or curing live rock. The skimmer is great for creating ultraclear water, however, that biowheel on a 10 gallon would clear your tank just as well (use the carbon inserts). Would strongly reccomend replacing a cup or two of water each day. If you decide to replace the biowheel in the future, buy a used one from the RC selling thread, these are the reasons why I like it better:

* the return is smoother (the biowheel return seems to create sprinkles of water all around my 10g, including the front glass, like a fine spray mist over time, I guess the nature of the biowheel spinning and hitting the water)

* the remora seems to do a better job at keeping the water ultra clean

* no cloging issues with the impeller

* no carbon replacement or cleaning or mechanical failures, pretty much automated

* seems to be able handle what ever you throw at it, vs, I always had the feeling that the biowheel biological aspects were limited in gross volume and the carbon/polyfiber inserts seemed like they were always full of deitris.

Note: I also run a ehiem canister with live rock rubble and carbon in the corner with my remora.

Conclusion: You will be fine with daily waterchanges, but you will probably want to upgrade down the road, the Remora is a good option.

 

[oicu2]

Are you talking about the Remora skimmer or a Remora mechanical filter? I found a AC Remora skimmer but have yet to locate a mechanical filter from them. Where can I find one? I like the idea of replacing one cup of saltwater a day. I think I will try that.

 

[fantastic4]

The remora skimmer (I don't think Aqua makes a mechanical). Please keep in mindthat I only ran the 10g for a few months with the biowheel. I upgraded my 10g to a 33g cube. While I was running the 10g with the biowheel, my mushrooms anenomes, xenia and other softies all grew. I also used a Ehiem canister filter for extra nitrite and phosphate removal (loaded with rock rubble, carbon and polyfiber). The canister was cleaned every two weeks. I ran the canister I had it laying around and figured it was a good idea since I was changing a cup of water every day, nitrate would not be a big issue. Im summary what I noticed was the Biowheel was a bit splashy with the saltwater, noise with the impeller getting sand stuck in the shaft and limiting as the mechanical carbon inserts did not have a large surface area and seemed to colledt deitris fast. The Remora skimmer just removes all that deitris and organics in the collection cup and has no limits as it just removes the bad stuff from the tank VS. the biowheel inserts sit in your water. I would also suggest getting a sandwich bag of chaeto and adding it to your tank as a nitrate reducer, just shove it behind some rock work.

 

[oicu2]

Fantastic, thanks for all of your advice. I'll try your suggestions. This tank is basically a starting point for my office. My coworker nagged me to set one up so I put this one together with stuff I already had. Later I'll upgrade to a bigger office aquarium which my boss says he'll pay for. Since this tank has been up he sees the reaction with his cutomers and he is now hooked. Hey, I don't mind spending his money. Anyway, thanks again!