HOB filter placement on 75G

[llmgtab]

I am setting up my first large tank (largest is 20G long) and I am taking my time trying to figure out the setup before putting in water. I had decided to stick with the Tidal HOB as it works for me since we have frequent power outages. My plan was to supplement with a medium sponge filter. 

I only seem to like the placement of it on the left of the tank, and the plan for the sponge filter is on the right corner. My worry is this places the intake well to the left of the tank. Do you think the flow will be OK with this?

Still playing with the hardscape so this may not be final but my favorite so far - the plan would be to mound the substrate a bit on the left.

 

[Lennie]

I think It should work. 

If this is the design you like, I would say go for it, and look whether you will see some dead spots after some time. If you see some sort of detrius accumulating at some locations, then probably those areas are dead spots, so you may try something different. If not, you are probably good to go.

I would try what I like the look of first. You will be the person who is gonna spend time looking at the tank everyday, so finding it good looking to your eyes is important imo. It can be just the filter, but it does affect the way tank looks sometimes. If you see it not working as expected, then going for a change might be a good idea at that point.

Enjoy your new tank!

Edited January 28, 2023 by Lennie

[Ninjoma]

I have a very similar setup. 75g, HOB on the left, sponge filter on the right, but with a powerhead on the sponge filter pointing towards the center of the tank. I noticed a deadspot in the front right corner of the tank, so I added a 2nd powerhead above the sponge filter pointing towards the right side of the tank at an angle. Now I think I have pretty good flow. 

[JMP]

Being an HOB you are limited with directing the water flow in the tank. What I would look at doing is using a power head with the sponge filter. This would allow you to customize the water current in the tank. Using the two water discharges you should be able to get very good circulation with no stagnant zones in the tank.

[llmgtab]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I had never used a power head before so had not thought of that. It would be easy to add to this setup. 

[JMP]

Another option would be to use flex tubing (vinyl hose like on canister filters) to connect the power head discharge to a section of drilled black pvc pipe. You can use the pipe vertically or horizontally for getting a good current of water in tank. It’s a pretty simple setup to make. I use this method in all my tanks with the water return from canister filters. It converts a single discharge of water into a slower larger volume of water movement. The black pvc pipe can be positioned in the back of the tank so it’s not as noticeable. 

[Up North]

I'm a fan of two smaller filters instead of one large.  You will get better circulation than from one filter.