running xp2 canister filter on my newly setup saltwater

[-=WildPony=-]

i bought a used 65gallon tall tank and stand last night and im gunna do FOWLR in it and was woundering would i be able to use the xp2 cannister filter that came with the tank on my saltwater? i was told by someone that it really wont do much buti just wanted to check. i have just mechanical filtering material in both baskets i figured what can it hurt? i dont want the filter to go to waste.

thanks for the help

[ACBlinky]

Sure, why not? I have an XP2 on my QT. Because the QT has no LR, I use a little bio media in the filter basket. This tank goes through long spans with no inhabitants, and gets daily water changes when there are fish in QT, so I don't worry about nitrates building up.

In a reef, I'd use the canister to run carbon or other chemical media - skip the biological or mechanical media (unless you want to run some floss to clear the water, then remove it). Leaving mechanical media long-term can result in nitrate issues down the road, but using the canister itself won't hurt a thing. I like the spraybar attachment - it gives me lots of surface movement in my QT (a 21g tank). You could use it at the surface, or behind the rockwork for extra water movement.

For FOWLR you could use the media if you choose, but I'd let the LR do the work for you - that's why it's there. That way, if you choose to go reef (many of us do ) you won't have any nitrate issues to worry about.

By the way...

To Reef Central

[HumanIMDB]

I run a canister (Fluval 104) with carbon and some live rock rubble on my 10 gallon nano and haven't had any issues.