Canister vs. HOB on 90 gallon?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Longimanus

Longimanus

Candiru
MFK Member
Feb 19, 2009
405
19
48
BC, Canada
I have a 90 gallon with an AC 110 and a Rena XP4. I find the XP4 a pain in the butt to clean, as it is messier than cleaning the HOB. I tend to get water everywhere lol!

Anyhoo, what does a canister filter do better than a HOB filter? Could I just run a couple of HOB filters instead? Like a 70 and a 110? Tank is pretty stocked.
 
My boyfriend runs a Fluval 405 and a AC110 on his 100gal, and it does perfect. I'm not sure of the differences between the two, but I'd personally rather have two. It might be a little harder to cleaner, but besides the AC110, I've found that Canisters are always the better filter (from personal experience!)
 
I ran 2x AC110s on a 90 gallon for quite some time...

This worked quite well with the single exception that the HOB style filter did not create much movement on the floor of this deep tank which allowed waste to settle on the floor more than I was comfortable with...To solve the issue I simply added a well placed powerhead and was then quite happy with it...

Many people are likely to post that the advantage of a canister filter is it's capacity for "bio filtration". While having a healthy culture of beneficial bacteria is critical to every healthy aquarium, I have never once had an aquarium that "lacked the surface area" to sustain a healthy bacterial colony...

Provided you have adequate water movement throughout the tank (no dead spots) then it is exceptionally unlikely you will have insufficient bio filtration once the system has matured/cycled.
 
On my 90 black water tank. I have a canister and a hob. I clean the hob once a week and the canister every month or two. Water looks great. Hope to get pics soon. I do like the can cause I can put any thing I want in it.:barf:
 
Best of both worlds, a canister and a hob.
 
Thanks for the opinions. I find that I still have alot of debris on the bottom. I think it is because I decided to use the spray bar instead of the power head option for the outtake of the canister. I think I will switch to the power head and aim it at the bottom.

Another thing is that because I chose the spray bar, the intakes of both the HOB and canister are on the same side, which I don't think is efficient enough. I think I'll do some changing around in there.

Can I have the intake and outtake from the canister on the same side? And then the HOB on the other side?
 
I prefer canisters for three reasons: they are out of sight, they are nearly silent, and I don't have to clean them as often

I guess four reasons: I also find they handle a higher workload . . . but it's just a matter of personal preference. I do use HOBs on my smaller tanks
 
Ever considered a sump? They're worth the hassle to set up & you can keep you hands out of the display, I doubt I'll ever go back.
 
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