Thread: Tank Setup
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Old 03-29-2009, 02:59 PM
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mike31154 mike31154 is offline
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+1 on the canister. I've been running a Rena XP3 with XP2 motor on my 75 for two years now. I run the baskets empty except for a bag of carbon. Used to run a bag of GFO as well but gave up since my phosphate readings never changed (0) whether I ran the GFO or not. Maybe it's my cheap test kit, dunno, but GFO is expensive and the tank seems fine without it. One of the reasons I'm using the XP2 motor is to reduce the flow through the canister, since lower flow was recommended when running GFO. Might go back to the XP3 motor now that I've ceased the GFO.

Many comments about canisters being a nitrate factory but IME that's another broad statement that I was unable to confirm in my system. When I first set up my system, which was used, it came with a Rena XP2 containing only ceramic media. Being a newb I ran it that way for a while, then decided to insert all the recommended (by manufacturer) media such as filter pads and their own special phosphate removal pad. Nitrates where a bit high but nothing harmful that I could see. Cleaning the pads became a chore though, even more so when I upgraded to the XP3 (also a used unit). Then I read about the nitrate factory issue and decided to remove all the media and run it empty just for the extra flow & water capacity. Even after several months of running it this way, the nitrate readings remained the same, around 20 ppm. The only thing that brought them down was water changes and it didn't take too long for them to get back to the original level. 2 years after setup, still running the canister and my nitrates are now 0. Not entirely sure how this happened. I added some Chaetomorpha about a year ago and a month or so after that the nitrates were undetectable. Could be a combination of adding the chaeto and perhaps my live rock and sand bed finally maturing to the point where the nitrates no longer have a chance.
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