3 Pieces of Equipment You Should NEVER Use

May 3, 2010

#1: Hang on the Back (HOB) Overflow Boxes

HOB overflow boxes came about so people with non reef-ready tanks (tanks that are not drilled) could use a sump. HOB overflows work by creating a syphon to draw water over the top of your tank and then down into your sump. When the syphon breaks, then your return pump in your sump pumps all the water in your sump into your tank, causing an overflow.

Many people drill me for saying HOB overflows are bad because they assert that when HOB overflows are setup properly, then they are fail safe. Setting them up properly requires buying extra pumps and modifying the overflow, which is like buying a new car and the salesman says, “to make sure it runs right, you have to bang on the hood twice, turn the key just right, then check under the hood every other day” Who would buy that car? Not me.

Lots of people have stories about HOB overflows that have run fine for years, which is great. I also have several friends who had HOB overflows which were professionally installed, and they all had several floods each. They don’t have any floods anymore because they switched to a drilled, reef-ready tank. Just because you can play with fire and not get burned, doesn’t mean you should keep playing with fire.

#2: Canister Filters

Canister filters are great for freshwater setups, not for saltwater tanks. Unless they are cleaned regularly (like weekly, EVERY week), then these canisters become nitrate factories and cause more problems then they are worth. Maybe you reef junkies would be up for that kind of work, but if you are a reef junkie, then you are going to have a sump and won’t need a canister filter anyway.

#3 Tap Water

Yes, its paid for, but if you use it, you’ll pay for it down the road. Tap water is full of all kinds of nasty stuff we can’t see with our eyes – metals, chorine, rust, sediments, etc. Using straight tap water introduces a whole bunch of things that will either harm (and probably kill) your fish, or create a huge food source for nuisance algae. There are declorinators that condition tap water to an extent, but make it easy on yourself. Use ONLY RO/DI water in your tank.

Posted in Reef Enthusiast, Reef Junkie, Tank Dabbler, Uncategorized