Upgrading current HOB filter

[Beginner fish owner]

I currently have a Marineland Penguin power filter 150 with the bio wheel that the store recommended. After watching the Aquarium Co-Op video on upgrading your filter and replacing the throw away cartridges I decided that is the way to go.  I want to purchase the Co-Op sponge pad coarse, bio rings and amonia filter pad to replace the disposable one. What order would I place the filter media for best results, or is there a better solution. Beginner here, not sure, any suggestions would be appreciated. Also recommendation on a better filter for a 20 gal. tank since I will be purchasing a new one and using the current as a backup.

Thank you.

 

[MN-AQUARIST]

I would do the coarse pad then the bio rings, you likely don't need the ammonia pad in an established tank but during the switch over you could slot it in after the bio rings to "clean" up ammonia not eaten by the bacteria.  

As for future filters you have lots of options. If you wanted another hob I personally like aquaclears, they aren't perfect but they have lots of mods you can do. 

[MJV Aquatics]

You always want to filter coarse first, then finer, and finally any bio-media (although I find that sponge material makes a great media for beneficial biology.

As for filters, I too have been a fan of the Aquaclear filters for many years, but if I was buying a HOB today, I'd be tempted to get a Seachem Tidal as it has the same media flexibility, along with the submersible pump and some other nice features.

[Dwayne Brown]

2 hours ago, Beginner fish owner said:

I currently have a Marineland Penguin power filter 150 with the bio wheel that the store recommended. After watching the Aquarium Co-Op video on upgrading your filter and replacing the throw away cartridges I decided that is the way to go.  I want to purchase the Co-Op sponge pad coarse, bio rings and amonia filter pad to replace the disposable one. What order would I place the filter media for best results, or is there a better solution. Beginner here, not sure, any suggestions would be appreciated. Also recommendation on a better filter for a 20 gal. tank since I will be purchasing a new one and using the current as a backup.

Thank you.

 

 

 I would recommend using a sponge filter. In my experience they aren't as load and they are cheaper in the long run all you have to do is buy an air pump airline tubing an airstone and the filter itself. aquarium coop sells a pretty good one that I use. Heres a few links for everything you would need

 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/aquarium-co-op-coarse-sponge-filter?variant=29459429195845

 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/aquatop-air-pump?variant=21602334980

 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/aquarium-co-op-black-airline-tubing

 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/check-valve

 

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/never-clog-air-stone

 

Heres a link to a video and webpage that explains how to put it together  https://www.aquariumcoop.com/products/never-clog-air-stone

[Beginner fish owner]

Does the sponge filter replace the hob filter or is it in addition to the hob filter?

Thank you.

[Dwayne Brown]

It replaces it I have a 29 gallon that i bought as a starter kit I didnt like the hob so I replaced it with a sponge filter and threw the hob away

[JohnT]

Are there any advantages of HOB filters over sponge filters?

[Dwayne Brown]

Yes with the hob you can add different layers of filters such as chemical and mechanical. But thats about it.

[Jungle Fan]

Two thumbs up for @MJV Aquaticsrecommendation on the Aquaclear HOB. When it comes to HOB those are the way to go. Their HOBs can be easily customized, whether you just want sponge, or sponge and bio, or sponge, bio and chem. The advantage over just regular sponge filters is that with the HOB you can have two different types of sponge, coarse, and fine, aside from adding bio, or chem, or both.

[JohnT]

I bought an aquaclear recently (my first HOB filter) and returned it the next day. I couldn't make it prim - yes, I poured a lot of water into it and even waited a long time.. tried a lot of things and it didn't work! After some research I found this is a common problem with aquaclear filters. Just saying... 

Edited March 26, 2021 by JohnT

[Fishdude]

Also let me put in a plug for buying a coarse foam pad from the Co-op that you can cut to size and use in the HOB filter. You get a lot of sponge for the money and it's less likely to clog and very easy to clean and re-use. I actually discarded a sponge that was designed specifically for the aquaclear because the pores were so fine and it kept getting really clogged with muck. One sponge pad from aquarium co-op was enough to add sponges for more than one of my Aquaclear HOB filters.

[MJV Aquatics]

17 minutes ago, JohnT said:

I bought an aquaclear recently (my first HOB filter) and returned it the next day. I couldn't make it prim - yes, I poured a lot of water into it and even waited a long time.. tried a lot of things and it didn't work! After some research I found this is a common problem with aquaclear filters. Just saying... 

I've had several Aquaclear filters for years and years and years and never had a problem. If/when not maintained properly they can fail to restart after a power failure. This is because crud can build up in the impeller magnet cavity. Not a problem if the motor/impeller is cleaned once every month or two. Another 'problem' is if/when a water change is done, the filter may back siphon back to the tank requiring a manual refill before it will run properly. The best way is to simply remove the inlet tube just prior to the water change, then reinsert it after the tank is refilled. Finally, the Aquaclear has a unique positioning of the inlet tube that allows for flow control. To the left positions the tube directly above the impeller for maximum flow. Rotated slightly to the right results in less output with maximum re-filtration. When first starting, the tube needs to be directly over the impeller for maximum flow to get all the air out of the inlet tube.  🙂