HOB for sand

**admael** · 08-15-2010, 06:15 AM

My friend visited me weeks ago and he took notice of my tanks and he decided to join the hobby. I help him setup a 29g and picked out everything he needed to startup.

I seeded his tank and its now fully cycled. I picked out an aquaclear 50 for his tank but it's not doing so well, the motor for the impeller makes sound since he uses sand. He has an intake sponge but it still siphons the finer grains of sand into the motor.

Can anyone recommend a HOB filter for sand? :<

**Little Embers** · 08-15-2010, 06:34 AM

I never had sand substrate, but always had HOB filters. You may just need to raise the intake tube higher up away from the sand. Once the sand completely settles and compacts, it shouldn't be a problem.

**Lady Hobbs** · 08-15-2010, 01:31 PM

Have him pull his impeller out so the sand that's trapped can get cleaned out in the shaft. He probably turned his filter on too soon after adding the sand. It needs a few minutes to settle. If the AC is stirring the sand up too much with the flow, add some rocks below the flow or a piece of driftwood or a decoration or something. A pre-filter on the strainer will help a great deal, too. I just cut one from a piece of foam.

**Northernguy** · 08-15-2010, 02:50 PM

The sand may be too fine if the filter is disturbing it.
I used an aqua clear sponge over my intake.Its a great prefilter.Just cut a small slit in the sponge(not all the way through) and slide it over the intake.
This will catch any sand before it gets into the filter.
On fully cycled tanks the sponge can be removed in a month and used to start another tank.