question about canister filter with live rock rubble

abbaskyle

abbaskyle

New member
hello all,

so i have a 180g flatback hex tank i bought earlier this year. unfortunately it has canister filters and is a undergravel system so cant really add a sump as i would like. anyways, jorell convinced me to add live rock rubble to my filters instead of pads, so we filled both canisters and put a carbon bag in one and some other denitrifying bag in the other (name slips my mind)

so my question is should i, and if so, how often should i clean them out? ive been told not to as all the good bacteria is in them. on the other hand i constantly have a high nitrate problem despite monthly water changes and gravel cleaning. i only feed once a day btw. any help would b appreciated :) thank you.
 
IME, not in any particular order...

1) if you insist on using canister filters, make sure you clean them once a week
2) not a fan of rubble in the canister. it traps a lots of good stuff, but also bad stuff along with it. I would use the pads and clean them once a week or less, just to polish the water.
3) make sure you don't disturb your sandbed. IF your using "gravel" that might be one of your nitrate contribution problem. I never need to "clean" my sand.
4) your live rock and live sand with plenty of flow is biological filtration and the skimmer is your mechanical filtration. IMO, that's all you need, no need for a canister filter.
5) toss out the undergravel system

Again, this is just my opinion from experience. not saying what's right or wrong :)
 
i dont believe i can do a skimmer on this setup. its not like my 125 reef which has the dual overflows. buddy at the pet shop (dylan) said i would need to run a stand pipe up and out of my tank if i wanna do a sump. so unless i do that im pretty much stuck with the undergravel filter systems what i was told. so no choice at the moment but to use the canister filters. as for the gravel, i believe its crushed coral? (came with the setup) i didnt think i could do "sand" bc of the undergravel filter system wouldn't allow it. so once a month i clean the gravel and get all the fish waste etc. dont know if i mentioned this or not but it is a fowlr system. and as for cleaning it once a week its a nightmare bc water pours out regardless of what i do so i have a mess to clean up everytime i even open them. (i hate canister filters!!!) makes me wanna get a new tank in general and be done with this one :(
 
and thank you for the quick response still a learning experience for me even tho i have 3 tanks lol. (125g reef, 180g fowlr, and new 38g marine nuvo)
 
what i really want is to turn this thing into a sump setup so i can put a skimmer in so if anyone knows how and would like to help me do so i would be the happiest person in the world lol.
 
i dont believe i can do a skimmer on this setup. its not like my 125 reef which has the dual overflows. buddy at the pet shop (dylan) said i would need to run a stand pipe up and out of my tank if i wanna do a sump. so unless i do that im pretty much stuck with the undergravel filter systems what i was told. so no choice at the moment but to use the canister filters. as for the gravel, i believe its crushed coral? (came with the setup) i didnt think i could do "sand" bc of the undergravel filter system wouldn't allow it. so once a month i clean the gravel and get all the fish waste etc. dont know if i mentioned this or not but it is a fowlr system. and as for cleaning it once a week its a nightmare bc water pours out regardless of what i do so i have a mess to clean up everytime i even open them. (i hate canister filters!!!) makes me wanna get a new tank in general and be done with this one :(
 
If you do your research, there are a few hob skimmer that does a pretty good job. Next best thing if you cant have in sump skimmer.
 
Francis is right...canister fillters were created for the sol purpose of trying to sell someone a "miracle" filter that requires minimal service. They might be ok for FW applications and like Francis said, if your willing to clean it regularly, it should be ok for your system. An HOB skimmer would be a good alternative if you can find one large enough for your tank size. I use a Bubble Magnus HOB which I think is rated up to 120 gal. It works ok for a HOB but I'm not a big fan of them in general.
 
I'm going to be selling my esshopps psk-100 shortly if your interested it's a hang on back skimmer has worked great for me
 
Francis is right. Jorell was wrong.

If I were you, I'd drain it, drill it for an overflow, replace the cc with sand, then ditch the under gravel filter and canisters. Ug filters and canisters are primarily for fw setups. The easiest overflow to install is a glass-holes box. Then you can add your sump.
 
I am in no way savvy when it comes to stuff like drilling. Hell, I had Dj setup everything for me. I'd need someone's to proly do it for me :( maybe I can convince Dylan from the pet shop to help. I definitely wanna get rid of these canisters. Would make my life a whole lot easier. Thnx all for the advice! :)
 
You can pretty easily design a hang over the back system that fills up and over the back and down into a reservoir behind the tank. I believe they released a nano skimmer with this same design, just forgot the brand.

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abbaskyle said:
I am in no way savvy when it comes to stuff like drilling. Hell, I had Dj setup everything for me. I'd need someone's to proly do it for me :( maybe I can convince Dylan from the pet shop to help. I definitely wanna get rid of these canisters. Would make my life a whole lot easier. Thnx all for the advice! :)
Click to expand...

I could help depending on what route you take. I'm set up for drilling tanks and building sumps. You would have to empty it, however. Not sure if that is feasable for you.
 
Woah, somehow I missed the tank size in your first post. Yeah this is all sorts of wrong. Good news is, it can be corrected. No wonder you're have water issues. Pm me your number if you want some help.
 
so i did a huge water change yesterday 88 gallons to b exact in the 180g tank. and after testing today the nitrates are still thru the roof!!! they are easily 160 or more as the tests are coming out completely red…..
 
I wonder if the problem is that the live rock in the canisters aren't getting any light which is effecting the bacteria growth. Also, macro algae is the big nitrate remover and I don't think that will grow without light.

What about a hang on back overflow that feeds to a small refugium and returning the canisters to filter media?

Bob
 
i just bought a couple of things im gonna try out like sea chems de-nitrate, bought some purigen, and red seas new no3po4-x got a lot of good reviews. hopefully this works or im done and gonna just sell it and find a bigger tank that already has a sump and what i want :(
 
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