Canister filters

[CrayolaViolence]

Has anyone found these usable instead of a protein skimmer and refugium? Or to compliment a hang off the back protein skimmer? Thanks

 

[chimmike]

no.

 

[PAXpress]

I'm using one with a HOB skimmer. I don't think it could ever replace a skimmer/sump/refugium combo, however if you clean the canister out weekly you won't get the nitrate factory issue you will probably hear about. I'm using a HOB Remora and a Canister and haven't had issues yet. I will however be switching to a sump in the future. If you can go the sump route I would, will save you time and frustration in maintenance.

 

[gone fishin]

I really do not think one could replace the other. They each do different things. I will say I use to run a 29g with a canister filter, very maintenance intensive.

 

[chimmike]

the key to this hobby is doing it right the first time, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel for one reason or another, via looking for ways to justify what you want to do versus what you should do.

 

[shifty51008]

The canister would work to run carbon and gfo but it does not replace a skimmer or even compliment it

 

[joshbrookkate]

the key to this hobby is doing it right the first time, rather than trying to reinvent the wheel for one reason or another, via looking for ways to justify what you want to do versus what you should do.

+1
I keep my canister filter filled with floss and ready to run only when I am disturbing rock and/or sand. Then I disconnect it, clean it, fill with floss again ready to use as needed.

Michelle

 

[Sounds Fishy]

I have mine an FX6 Fluval recirculating in my sump filled with Sea Chem. Matrix. . Also some carbon,and no filter material.I have a UV sterilizer running off of it,as well.

 

[bryhan67]

Good info

 

[Martini5788]

I did the canister filter thing for awhile, and for me it was a nitrate factory. For a fish only tank, it may not be that bad but
For a reef I wouldn't do it.

 

[e048]

Canisters are good as reactors for emergencies (carbon,gfo,floss) etc

I use canisters to fight algae problems that sometimes come up

They are nitrate and phosphate factories tho if used too long unless you're cleaning it every two weeks

 

[Sk8r]

Canisters are an old piece of tech, still useful for trapping particulate, but only so useful as your habit of cleaning them, because that particulate builds up into a nitrate problem. Your live rock and sand reduce the same gunk to nitrogen gas, which floats up as bubbles and vanishes, and your skimmer gets out amino acids by turning them into frothy crud and green/black soup which you toss when the cup gets full. A canister is not good for a reef, and while they can be used with a fish-only, because fish can tolerate a nitrate level that would harm corals, the fish-only would probably be better off with a better balance of fish-mass/water/live rock. This is where I swear that reefs are much easier than fish-onlies, because they don't involve filter-cleaning, my least favorite aspect of the hobby. Skimmer-cleaning is nasty enough.