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Marineland H.O.T. Magnum HOB Canister Filter

O

old salty

Anyone have any feelings on this type of hang on back canister filter? It also comes with a BIO wheel attachment (optional). I have a 30g reef with a few fish. Good, bad? Does anyone have it now? How big is it?

Old Salty -
 
mynd

mynd

It is not that big, but big enough I would not want it hanging off my tank. The nice thing to use it for is cleaning day.. I would do a water change, blow off all the rock and the bottom of the tank ( bare bottom ) and all the debris would just get sucked up by it. Very nice for cleanings.. Leave it on for an hour and just keep ( turkey basting ) the entire tank ( pristine water conditions ) Then I would take it off, clean it out and put it away until the next time. Great unit..

pPETS-3756657dt.jpg
 
O

old salty

Well, im thinking of upgrading what I have right now which is just a basic HOB filter, TOPFIN 30. Been fine for the past year but thinking its maybe time to improve my filtration. Would you have measurements? I have about 3 1/2 inches between my wall and back of tank.
 
mynd

mynd

The dimensions are as follows:

Total Canister: 5" wide x 6" deep x 13 1/2" high.

I am not sure if I would personally use this on a normal basis.. The filter captures everything in it ( might create nitrates over time ) and is super fine so cleaning it would have to be very often ( depending on how dirty your tank is, detritus created etc.. ) No sump? How long has the tank been active? Is there at least 60lbs of LR in the tank? Do you NEED to really add this?

In my nano I only used filter floss and chemipure elite in the back chamber, nothing else.. the rock too care of the filtration for me.
 
Tazmaniancowboy

Tazmaniancowboy

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
mynd said:
It is not that big, but big enough I would not want it hanging off my tank. The nice thing to use it for is cleaning day.. I would do a water change, blow off all the rock and the bottom of the tank ( bare bottom ) and all the debris would just get sucked up by it. Very nice for cleanings.. Leave it on for an hour and just keep ( turkey basting ) the entire tank ( pristine water conditions ) Then I would take it off, clean it out and put it away until the next time. Great unit..
Click to expand...

I have done the same in the past. I had a hard time cutting down on free floating particles so I bought it. It has 2 types of insides. One of the inside filters is pleated and takes out the fines in the water, forget the micron. the other one is actually a basket type insert that you could put carbon or such in and has a foam sleeve around the outside to trap larger particles. Note you can only use one insert or the other.

I still have it and still like it for polishing the water or running a little media if I need to.


Taz
 
JRWOHLER

JRWOHLER

I think a lot of people run a filter like this ..and for nanos that particular one...for doing weekly cleanings. For that it is a great idea, constant use though will have the pitfall that mynd suggested.
 
O

old salty

I have 30lbs live rock. I use the filter pad but also put in some chemical filtration, PURA COMPLETE. It's been doing the job. I also vacuum my substrate once a month when I do my big water change. I'm just thinking about how long that filter will live for and looking to see what my next option is? I don't have a huge area for my tank and its in my living room so any new filtration needs to be quiet and small. I not only want to improve my filtratio but also add some type of skimmer. Are surface skimmers any good? What type of filtration would you suggest? And that magnum filter would be too big. Haa haa.
 
mynd

mynd

If you are still interested, this is a pretty good price from a reputable place ( I have dealt with before myself ) LPS's or Retail would be about 20 dollars or more for the pro system. Consider shipping ( not sure what it would be ) it might be best to get it from your LPS instead.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17290/si1382181/cl0/marinelandhotmagnumprosystem

okay scratch that.. did not see your last reply before i posted this.. You can get some canister filters if you want to go that route that have surface skimmer attachments available.. You might want to research that as well. The canister can be placed under or next to the tank behind a plant ;) Personally I would add 30lbs of cured LR and do weekly water changes and save yourself money and another variable for disaster..
 
O

old salty

Really, 30 lbs more! damn thats a lot of rock! I already do small weekly water changes plus a big one each month. Maybe I'll just stay with the same type filter and keep doing what I am doing. Do you have a skimmer? I sometimes see a thin milky film on the surface of the water...not sure if this is buildup that could be removed by aurface skimmer. Any ideas?
 
mynd

mynd

Suggested typical value of LR / Gallon is 1.5 to 2 lbs per gallon of water ( suggested ) for a 30 gallon tank I would have between 45 and 60 lbs of rock in the tank ( personally I would have 60 ) getting my rock from Dr. Mac ( able to ask for certain sizes ) minus the high silicates it came with, was excellent. I do not have a skimmer nor think you need one for a tank that small. Optional of course... Skimmers remove not only salt but trace elements from your tank. On smaller tanks we work hard enough ( not really ) to maintain proper levels of trace elements ( stront, moly, cal, alk, borate, ph, iod....) I am not into putting something in the tank that can a, fail b, make me spend more to add back things it is taking out and c, get the same result naturally. LR will filter your tank naturally.. as far as the film on the top of the tank.. take a piece of paper towel and lay it on top of the water for one sec, flat... then remove it quickly.. I guarantee your film will be completely gone.
 
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