help me understand canister filters

[rowan]

I use a magnum 350 on my FW 72g tank and I did have problems RE-cycling after I cleaned the filter. Something I used to do no problem on my smaller tanks but on this I have resorted to ONLY cleaning the foam but not the media chamber. I'll just leave it there until the thing rots away since cleaning/replacing it caused two minor cycles on my tank. Nothing died but I wasn't very happy. Otherwise nice, quite and does the job well for my moderately stocked and sometimes grosely overfed FW tank

yeah, thats what i'm afraid of, but i'm thinking i'll do one every two weeks.

i dont know.

gael

 

[LittleFish1]

rowan,

U can still use yr canister after the tank mature. Yr LS & LR will do the bio-filteration for u (provide u control yr bio-load). Yr canisters will act as mechanical & chemical filter. Yr canisters will also act as a good water circulation for yr tank. U can save on adding power heads.

Change yr carbon & filter pad monthly. These are the things that trap dirts that cause NO3 boom, IMO. U can also place phosguard & de-nitrate in yr canister. Always safe than sorry. Use yr canister wisely & it becomes a double protection for yr tank.

Cheers.

 

[reefsRcool]

just an FWI if the live sand you are refering to is the kind that comes in a bag from the pet store. don't buy it it's a bunch of junk. reall live sand has all sorts of life, pods worms ect. there is nothing in that bag sand that cannot be produced in your tank withing a week on it's own IMO.

 

[rowan]

just an FWI if the live sand you are refering to is the kind that comes in a bag from the pet store. don't buy it it's a bunch of junk. reall live sand has all sorts of life, pods worms ect. there is nothing in that bag sand that cannot be produced in your tank withing a week on it's own IMO.

ok. i havent seen LS in the LFS, but i did get some online 3 years ago when i set up my reef. i dont remember where i got it, but it was loaded with life and turned my base rock into LR in no time. i also had LR bought from a former reefer in there with the base rock. it wasnt long before you couldnt tell which was which.

in my reef i have a bristleworm thats about 16 inches long and about 3/4 inches fat. he's lovely. should i worry? i've had three arrow crabs vanish over the past couple years...thinking it may be him...or the blasted brittle star i evicted last month.

gael

 

[Tina]

I too am wondering if I need to keep running my fluval filter on my tank. I have a lot of trouble with diatomic algae and wonder if the filter is part of the problem?

I have a 2 year old 54G fish only tank [was a reef tank until a year ago] with approximately 40 lbs of live rock and a BakPak skimmer.

If I remove the filter and add powerheads for circulation, how do I add carbon??

Thanks,

Tina

ps - if you can recommend any links for more info, I'd appreciate it. Haven't really found good info on the net so far.

 

[beerbaron]

You can continue to run the canister, just remove all of the mechanical filtration and only run carbon.
HTH
BB

 

[AllenF]

I too am wondering if I need to keep running my fluval filter on my tank. I have a lot of trouble with diatomic algae and wonder if the filter is part of the problem?

I have a 2 year old 54G fish only tank [was a reef tank until a year ago] with approximately 40 lbs of live rock and a BakPak skimmer.

If I remove the filter and add powerheads for circulation, how do I add carbon??

Thanks,

Tina

ps - if you can recommend any links for more info, I'd appreciate it. Haven't really found good info on the net so far.

Its more likely that your diatom blooms are coming from your source water if it contains salicates (spelling?).

However, the advice is correct, if you have biological filtration established you can remove it from your canister and just use canister for carbon, phosphate removers etc. Like I said in mine I run carbon, chemi-pure (a phospate remover) and crushed coral (to help buffer calcium and provide some cheap mechanical filtration.)

Once your sure your source water is ok, then your source of algae blooms are most likely going to be phosphate and or nitrate.

Using a phosphate remover and keeping the filter clean minimizes these problems.

A descent clean up crew will appreciate the inevitable bloom that tanks periodically go through anyway...

 

[Tina]

Thank you for your replies. I'm struggling with the diatomic algae in my tank. I think a big part of my problem is light.

I use r/o water and phosphates are usually at 0. When the phosphates go above 0, I use Kent Phophate sponge.

I have a dozen turbo snails in the tank, when I get more, they don't seem to find enough food to survive, even though there's plenty of ditomic algae! I have a few blue legged hermits too.

My aquarium is in a bad spot for sunlight [only found that out the summer after we had set it up]. Where I live, we have 18-20 hours of daylight in the summer and I have to dramatically reduce the amount of time the lights are on in the aquarium.

Am going to try your suggestions and see if I add a couple of snails at a time, if they'll find enough to eat.

 

[LittleFish1]

Tina,

Have u tested yr NO3? Yr canister may be the cause for the diatom, IMO. Remove yr all filter media (if u are confident that yr LS & LR can take up the bio-load) & replace with new carbon/chemi-pure. There should also be room in yr canister for some Phosguard & Seachem De-nitrate. Also do a 25% water change. Monitor yr NH4, NO2, NO3 closely for next few days after u removed all the filter media.

Cheers

 

[Tina]

I just tested my NO3, it's 0, but my phosphates are 0.5.

Rather than removing all the filter media at once, I've decided to remove it bit by bit, just to err on the side of caution. I've removed 3/4 of the biological media and added a fresh charge of phosphate sponge. I''ll leave that for 2 days and then add fresh carbon.

 

[shr00m]

i just thought id mention you shouldnt worry about a mini cycle at all... all that magnums are really good for is mechanical/chemical filtration (carbon) the bio wheel will aid in bio... but your not gonna be changing your bio wheels. the bio benefit teh mag 350 gives inside the cannister is soooo small you shouldnt even be thinking about it... i use one and its a great mechanical/chem filter but dont depend on it for biological

 

[Wrassman]

Hey everyone,

As you can see from my signature, I run an Eheim 2213 along with my 85lbs of live rock, 4"DSB, a "skimmer on steroids," and a 20g sump with a refugium. Maybe a few are wondering why I would run a canister at all?

Well, I keep a big bio-load. Right now I have around 20 corals and 10 fish in a 58 gallon tank. I've had many of these critters close to 2 years, so they aren't little either. I have to empty my skimmer's collection cup every day because about 1 cup to 1.5 cup of really nasty skimmate collects in there every day. Which is where my Eheim comes in.

My Eheim is not packed like a normal canister filter. It has no pads, or sponges, or paper, or floss, or anything like that. That stuff just collects detritus and become a nitrate supplier, rather than a nitrate eliminator.

I pack my Eheim with ceramic media on the bottom, sintered glass in the middle, and coarse (6mm) aragonite on the top, so that it acts more as a mechanically driven biological filter, than a mechanical filter.

It is true that the microscopic pores in the sintered glass and the coarse aragonite get full of detritus over a period of 2 to 3 months, and then the law of diminishing returns begins to take effect. So, what I do at that point is take the media out, and carefully wash it in tank water (during a water change), so that I lose as little bacteia as possible. Yes, I lose some, but over the course of a week or so, it is back up to full filtration again.

I just thought I'd share this technique with you. Many of you may have problems with nitrates. This will help reduce your nitrates significantly, but you do have to keep the filter clean. It is not just plug and play --- you have to monitor you nitrate levels frequently, and when you see them beginning to rise, it is probably time to wash the filter media (and do a partial water change).

I hope this has helped someone. Peace to all of you.

Note: I just thought of something that I should have mentioned. The 2213 has a spray bar for return to the tank. This helps facilitate gas exchange tremendously. If you are considering getting a filter withouth a spray bar return, be sure and order one for it. You won't see as good results without the spray bar for gas exchange.