Newbie filtration question

[NicoNico]

Hey all! I am pretty new to the fish keeping hobby(started about 6 months ago) and I had what may be a dumb question, but I have a new 20g that I wanted to set up as a freshwater community tank for a very small number of fish/species. I bought an aqueon starter kit from my local big box store and began scaping and setting it up to begin cycling it. With this size of a tank, would having the HOB filter that came with it(with some minor modifications of course as I believe cartridges to be a waste of money) AND a sponge filter be overkill? Like I said this may be a dumb beginner question but I can’t seem to find anything on this. Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

[813aquatics]

I think you are doing things pretty perfectly to start out. If you mod the HOB so that your media includes sponges/polyfil/ceramics you will have far better results than expensive cartridges, like you pointed out. Having the sponge filter doesn't just add additional filtration but it's also a very useful fail-safe if something were to go wrong with your HOB, especially power outages. Losing power to your HOB may mean losing any beneficial bacteria colony housed inside of it and your media. Losing power with a sponge filter doesn't pose the same risk, as it remains submerged. Additionally the sponge filtration will provide excellent aeration which is especially helpful when starting out.

You can't really "overfilter" per say, it eventually just comes down to space and appearances. In my 20L I always use this same setup. When it comes to maintenance you can also rotate between which filter you clean on a given cleaning, allowing your system to experience less stress if you were to accidentally remove or kill a bit of the bacteria on one filter. If you want to further increase the biological and mechanical filtration, you may want to consider adding a coarse pre-filter sponge to your HOB intake. It will also save you maintenance headaches/extend your HOBs life by keeping large particles from damaging your impeller.

Look forward to seeing your tank's progress!

[Flumpweesel]

The hob is probably sufficient on its own depending on what you decide to stock the tank with.  There are bonuses to having two lots of filtration but unless you have high stock levels or particularly high waste fish one is enough.

I would say run with what you have and add something later if needed.

Generally speaking extra filtration is a good thing but the bacteria grows depending on its food source it needs good flow and surface area to thrive but it will either be mainly in your hob or spilt between the two  (as well as being on every other surface in the tank). Having two filters does allow you to alternate cleaning which can be useful in newer tanks where the bacteria load is still developing. Also having a filter you can use to help cycle a quarantine tank can be handy. 

I had a secondary filter in my tank that I added because I wanted to take the canister off line to service (10years old so time to really check it over) I left it in for about 6 months some to season it before taking the other off and then to support the tank while the canister re-established. When I finally removed the second filter nothing changed as far as how much or how often I needed to water change.  However when I kept goldfish I had at least two filters all the time and needed them.

[NicoNico]

On 2/1/2022 at 2:43 AM, 813aquatics said:

I think you are doing things pretty perfectly to start out. If you mod the HOB so that your media includes sponges/polyfil/ceramics you will have far better results than expensive cartridges, like you pointed out. Having the sponge filter doesn't just add additional filtration but it's also a very useful fail-safe if something were to go wrong with your HOB, especially power outages. Losing power to your HOB may mean losing any beneficial bacteria colony housed inside of it and your media. Losing power with a sponge filter doesn't pose the same risk, as it remains submerged. Additionally the sponge filtration will provide excellent aeration which is especially helpful when starting out.

You can't really "overfilter" per say, it eventually just comes down to space and appearances. In my 20L I always use this same setup. When it comes to maintenance you can also rotate between which filter you clean on a given cleaning, allowing your system to experience less stress if you were to accidentally remove or kill a bit of the bacteria on one filter. If you want to further increase the biological and mechanical filtration, you may want to consider adding a coarse pre-filter sponge to your HOB intake. It will also save you maintenance headaches/extend your HOBs life by keeping large particles from damaging your impeller.

Look forward to seeing your tank's progress!

Thank you so much that helps a lot! I too am excited to see what I can do with this tank! I’ve wanted a community tank since I entered the hobby but never had the confidence to start!

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@NicoNico welcome to the forum and the hobby! I started with a 20 gallon Aqueon kit myself- that tank now has 2 sponge filters running but I did actually like the stock HOB (Aqueon Quietflow 10) so I have it running (modified with sponges I put in there and some crushed coral) on my 10 gallon (overstocked) Oto tank- WITH a sponge filter. 

One tip I can give you: what has worked IME is using 2 filters- ALL of my tanks have 2 filters either both sponges or a pump system or HOB HOWEVER (keeping in mind I only have small tanks no bigger than 20 gallons most of them are under)- at least one of the sponges in each of the tanks are supported by an air pump that has a lithium back up battery. Meaning, if the lights go out at my house at least 1 pump in ALL of my tanks continue to run. It's really a stress and lifesaver for me. 

Edited February 1, 2022 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[NicoNico]

On 2/1/2022 at 9:14 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@NicoNico welcome to the forum and the hobby! I started with a 20 gallon Aqueon kit myself- that tank now has 2 sponge filters running but I did actually like the stock HOB (Aqueon Quietflow 10) so I have it running (modified with sponges I put in there and some crushed coral) on my 10 gallon (overstocked) Oto tank- WITH a sponge filter. 

One tip I can give you: what has worked IME is using 2 filters- ALL of my tanks have 2 filters either both sponges or a pump system or HOB HOWEVER (keeping in mind I only have small tanks no bigger than 20 gallons most of them are under)- at least one of the sponges in each of the tanks are supported by an air pump that has a lithium back up battery. Meaning, if the lights go out at my house at least 1 pump in ALL of my tanks continue to run. It's really a stress and lifesaver for me. 

Never thought about it like that! With power outages being somewhat frequent during some parts of the year here that sounds like a great idea! Thanks!

[Gannon]

Unless you have fish that dont like excessive flow there is scarcely a problem with overfilteration. Sponge filters are nice, super easy, reliable, and all around great to have. They can also act like a bubbler with the bonus of extra filteration if you choose to see it that way. Additionally I've had aqueon HOB filters last years and some not long at all, so it would be good to have a cycled sponge filter on hand in case the HOB ever had a problem. 

[Dwayne Brown]

Welcome to the hobby.

 

I started out the same as you with a kit from a big box store, I eventually just decided to do away with the hob and replace it with a spine filter. There is definitely nothing wrong with using both I just prefer the simplicity. Depending on the hood of your tank you may want to modify it, mine had a space cut out for the hob I ended up just covering it with taped on clear plastic lol. 

[Cinnebuns]

Hey!  You have some good responses here. I would like to add something to the mix. I have the aqueon 29 gallon kit so similar. I have the HOB filter running with an additional small HOB filter running. The reason I do this is mainly to keep the smaller filter cycled. I can then throw it on a smaller tank when needed as a hospital tank or whatever. The added filtration doesn't hurt but this is the main reason I do it. 

[Scott Stevenson]

I prefer to ditch the carbon replaceable filter, and use sponge filter material or ceramics. sounds like ur starting right and asking good questions. take ur time dont b too anxious to add fish yet. learn as much as possible about the water cycling, make sure ur tank is for sure cycled before adding fish. have fun.

[Guppysnail]

A 20 gallon is taller than the available surface area. You are wise to add the sponge for aeration and backup. Things break 😒 all the time. 

[Torrey]

You got great answers from everyone. 

Remember that plants are also filters, and you are off to a great start. All of my tanks have 2 or more filters. 

All but 2 tanks have undergravel filtration, most tanks have a sponge filter, all tanks have air stones or a pump to break water surface, and every single tank has plants growing. 

Oxygen, plus surface area for beneficial bacteria, plus some kind of physical "trap" to remove particulates from the water column make for a great tank and healthy water quality. 

Redundancy is peace of mind, and healthy fish and water despite emergencies.