Canister Filter

[marleesan]

I am replacing the aquaclear on my fowlr with a fluval 306. Will switching filters cause a cycle? And should I reuse the chemipure and sponge from my filter in the canister?

 

[scooter31707]

I would run both for awhile until the canister filter is seeded then take the Aquaclear offline. Also be very careful with the canister filter, they can become nirate factories very quickly. They should be cleaned every 2-3 days.

 

[ScienceRulez]

I'm not sure about the chemipure, and my answer comes from my experience in the freshwater world as the filtration system in the marine tank I care for is the live rock. With the disclaimer out of the way, I would say to either run both for at least a week to give bacteria time to colonize the canister filter, and yes, put the sponge in the canister filter.
You may have a mini cycle because the bacteria will be trying to play catchup with it's food supply, but it won't be like your first cycle because there are a lot of bacteria already and they just need time to recolonize.

 

[cougareyes]

If you are only running mechanical and chemical filtration in your ac, then just switching it to the fluval should cause no problem. If the sponge was providing some bacterial filtration then put it in the fluval, gently rinsed in aquarium water to remove dietris only. If the sponge was for mechanical filtration then rinse as usually. If there is more life in your chemipure, rinse it and throw it in.

 

[Diana A]

I would run both filters for a month before discontinuing the aqua clear. I had a 36 reef tank with Fluval 406. I did a water change every two weeks and cleaned the filter once a month. I had no problems. I am currently running a 90 gallon reef with no sand using a Fluval FX6. I am still doing a water change and filter cleaning with the same schedule.