Hob Filter Question

[Hippoherder]

I'm looking for filter that will do the best job of maintaining water quality while causing as little current disturbance as possible for a dwarf seahorse tank of 10 gallons (maybe 20 partitioned into 2 10- gallon sections) but most likely 10. I was going to go with a a whisper 10 HOB model from tetra as I've read one or two other dwarf setups that had that. I was told today that the whisper 10 from tetra is useless in salt as was the carbon media. Can someone suggest something that might suit my needs? A sponge filter might work according to some but I was hoping for something with a bit more ability. It doesn't have to be a HOB type, just something that gets the job done. Thanks in advance.

[jvision]

Any HOB the right size will work. Instead of using the media that comes with, make the chamber as big as possible (may need some modifying) and fill it w. LRR. If you want mechanical filtration, add a sponge to the intake - just make sure to rinse it often, as trapped crud will create nitrates (not a big problem in FW - up to 40ppm is fine - but, we want as close to 0 as possible in SW).

[Hippoherder]

Sorry to sound so new but what is LRR? Live Rock? I am definately going to use a sponge on the intake.

Thanks

[BettaFishMommy]

i believe LRR is live rock rubble, smaller chunks/pieces of live rock.

[jvision]

What she said ^

[Hippoherder]

Any HOB the right size will work. Instead of using the media that comes with, make the chamber as big as possible (may need some modifying) and fill it w. LRR. If you want mechanical filtration, add a sponge to the intake - just make sure to rinse it often, as trapped crud will create nitrates (not a big problem in FW - up to 40ppm is fine - but, we want as close to 0 as possible in SW).

Here is where I get a little confused. When you say rinse the sponge, do you mean in tap watet or to swish it around in water that has been changed out of the tank? I thought I could just rinse it under tap. A person at my LFS insists I will undo my cycling of the tank if I do. I don't understand how that can be with bacteria in the sand, rock, and water. I am finding a lot of what my LFS tells me to do is not anything close to what experienced hobbyists tell me to do.

[BettaFishMommy]

IMO lfs employees aren't all that knowledgeable, lol.

i would say rinse it in tank water if you are concerned with losing the amount of beneficial bacteria in the sponge. i know a number of freshwater folks that rinse their pre-filter sponges under the tap, and i have done so myself on occasion. not sure if things are any different in sw, but i would suspect the same theories apply, bacteria will live on any surface they have available to them.

[Hippoherder]

IMO lfs employees aren't all that knowledgeable, lol.

i would say rinse it in tank water if you are concerned with losing the amount of beneficial bacteria in the sponge. i know a number of freshwater folks that rinse their pre-filter sponges under the tap, and i have done so myself on occasion. not sure if things are any different in sw, but i would suspect the same theories apply, bacteria will live on any surface they have available to them.

I would think it wouldn't make much of a difference if I lost the bacteria in a sponge as it would probably be recolonized in a day or two. I just scratch my head when I am led to beleive that if I rinse out the sponge my whole tank cycle will be ka-put. I would think a proper rinse of the mechanical filtration media would only do great things for the tank health.

[jvision]

If you're running approx 1lb of LR per gal, plus a bunch of Rubble in the HOB, rinsing a sponge under the tap won't hurt your bacteria colony. If you're nervous, give it a shot before you add much in the way of livestock. Once your tank has cycled - with the sponge on the intake - rinse the sponge under the tap, then test for ammonia and nitrites over the next couple days. If you don't get any, you're fine.