Should I remove my Canister Filter???

[Strickland_673]

I have just set up my 25g as a reef tank, currently being cycled. I have a Rena XP4 on the tank and horrible POS seaclone skimmer. I have been reading a few posts about ppl not recommending canister filtration because of the nitrate problems.

So I ask you should i remove my canister filter and upgrade my skimmer?
will this POS skimmer be ok for now?

I don't have the room for a sump or fuge. but am planning on getting a HOB fuge within the year.

Please any input is appreciated.

[Skimmerking]

use the canister filter for a polishing device. take all the floss and ceramic crap out of it and use it as a another powerhead. and when you need to run say phosban you can put some in a small bag and same as carbon......

get a good skimmer. better yet with a 25 gal i wouldt worry about a skimmer a 5 gal waterchange. is alot better in the long run.

HTH mike

[Wingin It]

I stuffed my canister full of live rock. But still have a sump in the works...i'm the poor slacker type ;) lol

[MrGoodbytes]

I've heard those Sea Clones are pretty bad. The HOB Remora I have is pretty good on my 20L if you're thinking of that sort of skimmer (HOB), since you're sumpless. The canister filter could be used as a reactor like Skimmer King suggested, although it's sort of an expensive option when compared to, say, a BRS reactor. Of course, if you already have it...

[Edmonton newbie]

i took my 404 fluval off my 50 gal a couple months ago no issues as long as you have a good skimmer and lots of live rock

[daniella3d]

I have a canister filter in both my skimmerless 21 gallons and my 75 gallons and both have zero nitrates, at least none that can be detected with my tests and I feed quite a lot my coral because I have non-photosynthetic.

The secret? I have micro-algae, caulerpa mostly, that feed on the nitrates before it even have a change to raise in the water.

I don't have nuisance algae problem either.

I find the canister filter usefull for carbon filtration and to polish the water. I clean them once a month.

However a canister filter cannot possibly replace a skimmer. They do very different things.

I don't have a room for a sump either so this is why I keep my canister filters. If you don't want to put micro algae, how do you plan on export your nitrates?

Also the type of liverock play a very important role in nitrification and denitrification. More porous liverock is best for that job like the Totoka. I beleive that my very low nitrates is in part due to my Totoka liverock.


I have just set up my 25g as a reef tank, currently being cycled. I have a Rena XP4 on the tank and horrible POS seaclone skimmer. I have been reading a few posts about ppl not recommending canister filtration because of the nitrate problems.

So I ask you should i remove my canister filter and upgrade my skimmer?
will this POS skimmer be ok for now?

I don't have the room for a sump or fuge. but am planning on getting a HOB fuge within the year.

Please any input is appreciated.

[Strickland_673]

Thanks. the LR rubble in the canister actually sounds like a good idea!!!

as for the macroalgea, i was planning on haveing some in my DT as i don't have a sump or fuge at this time.

[gobytron]

Macro Algae you mean.
Micro Algae in the reef are generally problematic and very hard to prune and controll compared to macro's.


Just think of your cannister as a sump in and of itself.
Pack it with LR and leave a media basket chamber available for phosban or carbon or anything else you might need to run here and there down the line.
The mistake people generally make and refer to when talking about how these things can be nitrate factories is to leave thie filter largely setup for fresh water or fish only systems where the bio filtration is approached a lot differently.


Water changes are key though in a small system.
you could likely forgo the skimmer and filter if you just did a 5 gallon change every 2 - 4 weeks after the tank has cycled.

And other than having to make sure aggressive algae doesnt take over corals spaces, having some macro in the display is a great idea...just make sure you prun it properly or it will go sexual on you and in a 25 gallon, will likely choke everything for lack of oxygen.

[jorjef]

Just curious because I hace a Fluval 205 running on my system...What would be the benefit of putting LR in the canister vs. the tank itself? I run floss and in the past Purigen, carbon and presently De-nitrate.... None of these reduced my Nitrates to any extent ( maybe because they are off the chart to begin with..... like fighting a fire with a garden hose) ...Puting in some Cheato in the DT to see how this helps.