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  #1  
Old 01/04/2008, 10:24 AM
StrategicReef StrategicReef is offline
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Canister filter

I have no mechanical filtration, only skimmer, but my water always has alot of particles in it and the detritus collects in the sump.. a mechanical way to trap some of this would be great.

I am considering getting a canister filter and run filter floss and change it once a week, and maybe move the carbon from the phos reactor to the cansiter as well. Does that seem like a good idea or not?
  #2  
Old 01/04/2008, 10:26 AM
sjm817 sjm817 is offline
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Use a filter sock on the drain.
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  #3  
Old 01/04/2008, 10:32 AM
ihopss ihopss is offline
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I use a sock on my drain.
  #4  
Old 01/04/2008, 10:49 AM
taillonjohn taillonjohn is offline
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I love my canister filter on my tank. I dont have a sump, so it works really well for me. But I already had my canister that wasnt being used, so decided to use, and glad I did. But I dont know if its worth to go out and spend $100 for a new canister filter. I would suggest that you wait for other people to speak up to advise how you can make the best use of your sump without buying a canister filter
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  #5  
Old 01/04/2008, 11:00 AM
bellusangel3 bellusangel3 is offline
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Taillonjohn do you use this canister filter on the reef tank or just fish only?
  #6  
Old 01/04/2008, 11:12 AM
taillonjohn taillonjohn is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by bellusangel3
Taillonjohn do you use this canister filter on the reef tank or just fish only?
on my reef tank. I keep floss and carbon in it.
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  #7  
Old 01/04/2008, 11:19 AM
bellusangel3 bellusangel3 is offline
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I had to ask because I been trying to figure out why all corals won't grow in the tank that has a canister filter. I think the canister filter is the problem. Since you say you use your canister filter for your reef it makes me think the problem is some thing else. How are your corals doing?
  #8  
Old 01/04/2008, 11:29 AM
taillonjohn taillonjohn is offline
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I think my corals are doing well. I've had most of them for about a year now, and I've seen new heads grow on my candy cane and hammer, everything else is grown well and split too. I dont know why you would think its the canister, cause its basically just a powerhead, where I can run carbon. You dont have any bio-media in there do you? (rings or whatever?).
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  #9  
Old 01/04/2008, 11:42 AM
cardiffgiant cardiffgiant is offline
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I use a cannister because my sump and fuge are fairly small. If you have a large enough fuge and sump, I would just get a handful of filter socks.
  #10  
Old 01/04/2008, 12:05 PM
bellusangel3 bellusangel3 is offline
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I have sponge filters in the canister. Once a month I will add a carbon filter but only leave it there for a week and do the same with filter floss. I've been told by some reefers on RC that canister filters are bad for reef aquariums. You say your reef is doing good with a canister filter..now I'm confused.
  #11  
Old 01/04/2008, 12:08 PM
AquariaOCD AquariaOCD is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by bellusangel3
I have sponge filters in the canister. Once a month I will add a carbon filter but only leave it there for a week and do the same with filter floss. I've been told by some reefers on RC that canister filters are bad for reef aquariums. You say your reef is doing good with a canister filter..now I'm confused.
I have a cannister and my reef does fine. I think the trick is routine maintenance. Mine gets cleaned once a week. Neglect cleaning it and you could have a nitrate problem......................
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  #12  
Old 01/04/2008, 01:31 PM
taillonjohn taillonjohn is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by bellusangel3
I have sponge filters in the canister. Once a month I will add a carbon filter but only leave it there for a week and do the same with filter floss. I've been told by some reefers on RC that canister filters are bad for reef aquariums. You say your reef is doing good with a canister filter..now I'm confused.
The sponge filter is your problem, it is trying to act as the bio-filter, but your LR and sand are the bio-filter. I dont quite understand the science behind it all, but basically, your sponge filter has converted nitrite to nitrate, and is leaking the nitrates back into the water. Take it out and your problem is solved.

Like I said, I use it for floss and carbon ONLY. this means the canister filter is bascially a giant powerhead which is capable of running carbon. A canister filter is BAD if you leave the bio-media in. Hope this helps
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  #13  
Old 01/04/2008, 01:45 PM
snagged by reef snagged by reef is offline
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steer clear of the canister. i have first hand experiance. i bought the Fluval 304 and am now using it strictly for flow!!! i'm actually thinking about getting rid of it all together. its a serious nitrate breeding ground, let alone a pain in the *** to clean!!!
  #14  
Old 01/04/2008, 02:09 PM
nattarbox nattarbox is offline
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Has anyone tried filling a canister filter with live rock? I have a Fluval 404 on my turtle tank and in addition to being very reliable with a powerful turnover rate, it seems like the media capacity is very flexible. I could imagine filling it with several pounds of live rock rubble.

Keep in mind I have zero reef experience, just starting to research the hobby myself.
  #15  
Old 01/04/2008, 02:09 PM
ArgonDreams ArgonDreams is offline
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I have a canister and will continue to run a canister. I have no problems with growth or corals. I also don't have a nitrate problem.

Clean your canister. I do weekly water changes and I clean my canister then. My canister takes all of 10 minutes to clean. I do recommend not running the bio-media in the canister or the pads. I use it as a chemical media chamber and if I have consistent fine particles I will put in a pad for a short time. I DON'T recommend just leaving pads in on a Reef based system.

There is nothing wrong with canisters as long as they are cleaned.
  #16  
Old 01/04/2008, 02:14 PM
bellusangel3 bellusangel3 is offline
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I don't get it...I tested for nitrates and nitrites and the API test kit says 0 for both of them.
StrategicReef, IMO its probably a bad idea to add a canister filter. My 24 gallon doesn't have a canister filter or a skimmer. My corals and everything I have in it is growing and thriving. The only thing I do to that tank is weekly water changes.
  #17  
Old 01/04/2008, 02:22 PM
masonicman masonicman is offline
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I have a magnium canister that I use to use for micron filtering and carbon. I had high nitrates. I keeped live rock in it now for the past month. Water changes and my new HOB refugium has done the trick. My corals are growing more and more now. I listened to other RC reefers and got rid of the media use in the canister.
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  #18  
Old 01/04/2008, 04:39 PM
steri steri is offline
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I use 2 canisters on my reef tank. I use LR in the media containers instead of the media. I run carbon in one of them. I have tons of pods and worms that live in them. They seem to be working for me. Hope that helps.
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  #19  
Old 01/04/2008, 07:10 PM
nattarbox nattarbox is offline
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Interesting to hear. As far as I can tell a large canister filter isn't functionally different than a sump system, just less flexible with regards to what can be placed into it.
  #20  
Old 01/04/2008, 07:18 PM
sjm817 sjm817 is offline
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Canister filters are simple devices. They take water in, pump it through media, send it back out. Most of the "cool new" devices like this are called "reactors". They dont do anything differently. They are just small and not built as well. A canister filter wont create nitrates unless there is biological filtration going on in there. You can have that happen, or not. Its your choice. Use bio media, and mechanical filtration, or dont.

A canister filter is a great way to run carbon, or other chemical media. Better than many other methods.
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  #21  
Old 01/04/2008, 07:27 PM
nattarbox nattarbox is offline
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Possibly off the topic of this thread, but I'm not quite grasping what the difference between the filtration effect provided by live rock and that of biological filtration as the rest of the aquarium world understands it (bacteria living on substrate). It seems that somehow the live rock organisms also remove nitrate, where the biological filtration tends to stop at nitrite resulting in increased nitrate levels?
  #22  
Old 01/04/2008, 08:01 PM
sjm817 sjm817 is offline
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Yes. Some LR, not all. Denitrifying bacteria live deep in larger rock, and deep into sandbeds. Shallow sand beds and small LR does not have this function.
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  #23  
Old 01/05/2008, 03:33 PM
75pxatr 75pxatr is offline
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Canister filter

Canister filter should not be necessary and if not maintained a good source for Nitrate to build. Sounds like the root cause is some problem with sump set up.
  #24  
Old 01/05/2008, 03:55 PM
howdy777 howdy777 is offline
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skimmer is all you really should need. add a bag of carbon.. filter sock I never felt was really necessary, but some guys like to have one...
 

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