won a filter! should i run it?

[grabthereef]

:dance:hello RC community,
it was customer appreciation day at our lfs the other day and i won a filstar xp3 canister filter. cool right? well my question is if i should even run it at all.
My current tank is a 28 gallon bowfront mixed reef, 4 t5s (2 blue +, 2 abspecials), octopus bh-1000, and vortech mp10 on reefcrest or ntn at 90%.
i run chemipure 24/7 in the return side of my skimmer, do weekly to tri-weekly water changes (depending on school and work scheds), i dose mb7 but am about to switch to special blend, and vodka.
My tank is over a year old and is sps dominated, with a ton of frags (~23 sps) and tons of zoas, a frogspawn and duncan, lobo and acan, and a maxima and derasa. the swimmers include a true perc, talbots damsel, chromis, yasha, and a female mandarin. there are just a couple turbos and a few hermits for a cuc. i have been having a small issue with phosphates and have just started winning a month-long battle with dinos and cyano.
So i won this huge canister filter in a raffle..sweet! my question is this: can i achieve the same results by running phos-ban and chemipure in the return side of my skimmer? would setting this thing up shock my precious sticks? would you guys run it?
i need the opinions of the pros...you guys! any information would be greatly appreciated. i will try to work on getting some pics for you guys (even though they arent really relevant, everyone loves pics)

THanks in advance crew!
-hunt

 

[JamesJR]

It could definitely come in handy. The problem with canister filters is they are a royal pain to clean. It could come in handy to quickly polish up the water after a water change just make sure you clean out any mechanical filtration components several times a week at a minimum. It would probably serve you best to run Carbon in it.

 

[mutateddogbone]

IMO i would use it as a carbon reactor. take out all pads and cram nothing but carbon or other media in it. they can be nitrate factories if running pads and not cleaned regularly

 

[grabthereef]

The maintenance issue is what is keeping me from setting it up. can i run too much carbon? what about phosban type material? i dont want to set up a filter and lose livestock

 

[mutateddogbone]

well technically you cant run "too" much carbon.. the carbon at the bottom of the filter will get used up first and will move up. if it is the multiple basket design i would do 2 baskets and change one out every week. about 1 cup per basket that way you are replacing carbon weekly. this is how i run my 2 chamber carbon reactor and my water is crystal clear 24/7. you could also throw phosban in there if you wanted to but if you have a fuge with cheato there is no need.

 

[scaryperson27]

It looks like a good little cheap filter. Running your media through that should be no problem. The only difference is that it will not tumble like in a reactor. To compensate for that, you can open it up when you do your water changes and nead the media.

I think it will be great to also use it to add flow to a dead spot in your tank.

 

[grabthereef]

so i took this thing out of the box...now my question is, what is the difference between running this huge seemingly PITA canister, and simply running the media in the return side of my skimmer or even a whisper?

my flow is straight

 

[dmorazan]

xp3

xp3

I have the same filter and only use it when I'm setting up the tank or I should say when I changed tanks.I keep it just for emergencies but i try to run it an natural as I can. Skimmer,filter sock,phosphate reactor, etc.is very easy to clean but your nitrates will go up. for the size tank that you have is to much, i will keep it for emergencies or sell it. great for fresh water

 

[DankReefer]

I would just pawn it off for something you need. Rena makes a great FW filter, I have a few on some of my tanks.
But i think you should just sell it and use the cash to buy a real media reactor and not have to deal with the fuss of a canister filter.

 

[scaryperson27]

Trade it in for credit at another fish shop and get some cool corals

 

[grabthereef]

haha thanks guys for all your words of wisdom...i dont think it has a place on my current setup after all. i wish i had room for another coral might just give it to my dad as he isnt interested in keeping corals