Best HOB Filters of 2024
We examined quality and value to find the best HOB filters among vetted candidates.
15
Products
Considered
8
Hours
Researched
156
Consumers
Consulted
Buying a HOB filter can be difficult because there are so many different factors to consider. Here we break down the most important factors we found through hours of research and product analysis.
Hang on back filters are commonly used as alternatives to canister filters and sump systems which are notoriously more difficult to setup and clean. The more convenient a filter is to clean, the more likely you are to actually clean it. Many companies have come up with great ideas from media baskets to drip tray lids and even self-priming impellers inside the tank.
Keeping a filter easy-to-use shows that the company has thought about real use cases. Designing with the consumer in mind also shows that the company puts time and effort into their products.
Filters that make it so you don't have to pour water into the compartment to prime it with pumps that are inside the tank are also quieter and restart by themselves after a power outage or water change.
The ability to put whatever kind of media you need into your filter makes it more accomodating to a much wider variety of situations. You can add or remove media that you need after stirring up ditritis, or you can add pre-cycled biological media to jump start your tank's nitrogen cycle.
Many people have plants in their aquarium, and in this case they opt to remove the carbon from the filter because it filters out nutrients the plants need. It also allows them to add in more mechanical or biological filtration to use it as additional filtration for a tank.
Having a large customizable media basket is one of the most important features when choosing a filter that can be changed to your needs.
A lot of people have tanks setup in bedrooms or living rooms where the sound of flowing water isn't welcome. While adjusting the flow rate on a filter can impact how loud the water is coming out of the filter, key design features can reduce the sound even more.
The most popular and common complaint people have is their filter lid rattling on the Aquaclears. While there are some that say it's not a problem, it's worth taking into consideration when buying a filter for your bedroom tank.
A quiet filter can be key when looking at long term use and reliability. With more quality parts, such as impellers, lasting longer, a filter is less likely to create noise with broken parts.
We spend an inordinate amount of time researching products, analyzing third-party opinions, studying candidates first-hand, and synthesizing conclusions. Our analysis considers a wide range of online reviews, buying guides, and our editorial team's hands-on experience. We may earn money when you purchase products recommended on our site, but we do not earn money from placement. This does not affect our selection of products or our editorial integrity. Unlike other sites, we don't rank products based on the amount of affiliate commission provided. You'll regularly find more affordable products ranking on top of our lists, precisely because we also take into account value. In cases where more expensive products rank well, it is only because they justify the value.
In our reviews, we also consider the range of other reviews available online and try to synthesize across a large number of ranking lists. You'll find many product reviews across the internet, and not all of them agree. We do the research to ensure that the best-of-the-best lists here reflect a wide range of opinions, and we also weight authentic opinions more highly. The results here will reflect not only our own opinions but also a consensus across many reviewers.