# How effective is an HOB vs a canister filter?



## starrlamia (Jul 31, 2012)

For reference my 20l has a sponge filter and an ac30 and it's enough. I think it's all personal preference on canisters and hobs. 

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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

If I was you, both. A canister and an HOB.

This is a 6gal shrimp tank with a planted HOB rated for 50gal and an eheim 2213 rated for 50 gal too.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

I'm with Starr on this. It's all really preference. I prefer to run sponge filters and canisters just because the sponge is air activated and gives the shrimp more to munch on. 

The topfin 30 and sponge filter should be plenty enough filtration for shrimp. Shrimp have a very low bioload compared to fish. If you plan to add other fish, you should be fine until a certain limit which would depend on the type of fish and quantity.

My preference on filtration in general is wet/dry » canister » sponge filter » hob filter » ugf. There may be other filtration I lefted out, but if I did, I probably wouldn't consider it.

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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

If you really want to buy a filter, I would just pick up an ac50 or a larger sponge filter.

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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

Would an aquaclear 70 work pretty good on the 90 gallon if I did use it to replace the canister?


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## discuspaul (Jul 27, 2010)

TheGiantDwarfShrimp said:


> Would an aquaclear 70 work pretty good on the 90 gallon if I did use it to replace the canister?


 
For a 90 gal tank, 2 AC 110's would be far better.


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

Oh the 90 will still have an eheim classic and an eheim ecco even if I do move one ecco to the 20 gallon. What I am asking is would 1 aquaclear 70 be almost equivalent to 1 eheim ecco? The reason I ask is an aquaclear 70 is $1 more than an aquaclear 50 on Amazon right now. I do not thing a AC70 would fit very well onto the 20 gallon.


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## Vincent Tran (Aug 7, 2012)

I have an AC50 on a 20 long as well as a sponge filter. It is more than enough filtration!


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

You'll be fine going that route.



TheGiantDwarfShrimp said:


> Oh the 90 will still have an eheim classic and an eheim ecco even if I do move one ecco to the 20 gallon. What I am asking is would 1 aquaclear 70 be almost equivalent to 1 eheim ecco? The reason I ask is an aquaclear 70 is $1 more than an aquaclear 50 on Amazon right now. I do not thing a AC70 would fit very well onto the 20 gallon.


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

OK so I am leaning towards the Ecco on the 20 gallon and then a AC70 on the 90 gallon to replace it. The only problem with that would be less filtration and less water movement. How much would a good circulation pump cost that has the power of a canister?


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## Waters (Oct 15, 2012)

As far as filtration I agree with everybody else....pretty much personal preference. There are a few benefits of canisters/wet dry filters though. The increased water flow which was already mentioned and also the ability to have more control over the filter media. The canister gives you room to include whatever chemical, biological, or mechanical materials that you want.


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## blacksheep998 (Jan 16, 2011)

I use HOB's mostly because they're easier maintenance and make up for them not being quite as efficient by overfiltering. My 40L shrimp tank uses two AC50 filters.


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## TheGiantDwarfShrimp (Jan 20, 2012)

Wow just found the Sunsun canister filter on ebay for $47. that only $7 more than what I was expecting to pay for an AC70 so I will just go with that. Would this be too much for a 20 gallon?


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## somewhatshocked (Aug 8, 2011)

AC70 is $37 at Ken's Fish, FYI.

SunSuns can be great but you should also factor in the cost of replacement parts. When something fails, how much will it cost to buy a new impeller? U-tube? Power supply?


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## AVN (Oct 3, 2012)

Think we got a bit off topic here.

Shrimp don't need heavy filtration, they also don't even like heavy flow. I say you stick with a HOB and a Sponge filter for shrimp, that's what I do in all my shrimp tanks. Canister filters would remove a lot of the bits shrimp spend their entire day searching for, they're also not shrimplet friendly. You also would not need such massive filtration for the tiny bioload of shrimp.

Canisters are good for larger tanks, with fish that produce higher bioloads and prefer higher flow.


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## pejerrey (Dec 5, 2011)

You can also regulate the flow of a canister, right?


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

pejerrey said:


> You can also regulate the flow of a canister, right?


yuuuup.


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## mistahoo (Apr 25, 2012)

AVN said:


> Canister filters would remove a lot of the bits shrimp spend their entire day searching for, they're also not shrimplet friendly. You also would not need such massive filtration for the tiny bioload of shrimp.
> 
> Canisters are good for larger tanks, with fish that produce higher bioloads and prefer higher flow.


Most filters are not shrimplet friendly other than sponge and ugf filters. They can get sucked into hob, wetdry, and canisters... For hob and canister filters you can just slap a pre filter sponge on the intake and you're good to go. You can also dial back the flow on canisters. Imo wetdry filters outperform canisters for larger tanks with fish that produce more waste and have a larger bioload.

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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Looking at the question from just the point of view 'Which is better" there have been some studies done on how well different filter types remove debris from the water. 
Go to Seachem's web site and look in the library for 'A Primer on Aquarium Filtration'. 
It basically comes down to this:
1) Cartridges are worst. They are so thin that the water blasts off the debris so much that the water has to be run through the filter about twice as often to remove the debris. 
2) Deep layers of media are best. When a deep layer (think Aquaclear sponges compared to a skinny cartridge) the debris that might be knocked off gets trapped again deeper in, so that the filter with the thickest mass of media is better at removing the debris. 
3) Large face of media to spread out the incoming water makes the water move through the media slower, so there is less force of the water to knock the debris off. A sump is probably the best example of this, but a canister or the Aquaclear product line also win out over any of the cartridge filters in this area as well. 

Bottom line:
A canister or the Aquaclear HOB products can be really good at removing debris when the water runs through them at about 5 tank-volumes per hour. So a 29 gallon tank would do OK with 150 gph. At that slower rate, and the larger surface area these filter types are by far the best at trapping debris. If the water flow created is appropriate for the livestock, go with whichever of these you want. I would get a bit more than that based on the label, though. The label always seems to over estimate the performance.

The cartridge style media filters need to run the water through twice as much, so need 300 gph. When you get the water flowing through a cartridge style filter that fast, even more debris is knocked loose. It is a lose-lose situation. Don't go here. 

I usually start with 10x, according to the label on the filter. Then I add a power head aimed at any slow areas to increase the flow. This might be too much for shrimp.


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## mrsdorothy (Oct 12, 2003)

As for the ac70 for a 90g, it won't fit. the trim on top of the tank is too thick, unless you have a rimless tank. I tried it. had to get an ac110 to fit the tank.


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## hobos (Feb 19, 2012)

good choice you will love it


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## In.a.Box (Dec 8, 2011)

move one canister to the 20, end of story.

2 canister can handle a 90 no problem.


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Different viewpoints have been expressed, and you can take your pick.

One other potential issue, however, is noise. In my living room, I have a 30g cube with a can. The spraybar is 2-3" below the rim. So, when I neglect it, it becomes a bit obnoxious after a couple of weeks when I'm trying to watch TV, or occasionally fooling around on the computer in the next room, on the other side of the wall. But because of the depth of the spraybar, it's rare that this happens.

In my bedroom, however, I have 3 tanks - a 10, a 20L, and a 25, all with HOB's. After a week following top-offs, the filters are very distinct. A week after that, with no maintenance, i start having weird dreams.

So, if you're good with maintenance, and you don't expect that to change, or your HOB's will be in places where you don't need quiet, disregard this post. However, if you're more of a "peace and quiet is my gig, and on top of that I'm sorta lazy" type of person (like me), noise is definitely a potential issue.

Other than that, HOB's and cans do the same basic thing. Cans are more expensive, but you can add stuff inline to remove equipment from the tank. Cans, are overrated, IMO, but they have a couple important advantages. However, as far as simple high filtration goes, your dollar is far better spent on a HOB. And you can always stuff a sponge over the intake for better filtration, for shrimp or fish fry purposes.


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