tips on using a canister filter for a reef aquarium - Page 3

Tautoga · 05/12/2016, 07:01 PM

I use a Fluval 406 on my tank that Ive had up since September/October.

I use it for mechanical and chemical filtration. I have the large foam pads that are on the side. It has 4 chambers. The bottom chamber I put foam that is smaller mesh than the first foam pads, above that I have ceramic pieces which I am going to switch out to something else (probably carbon or other media) The top has SeaGel for silica and phosphate removal because I started the tank with dead rock and it was leaching silica.

I dismantle and rinse everything once a month and the SeaGel is replaced every 4 months. Its never filthy but it does the job I wanted it to do which is catch debris.

I had the usual diatom blooms, small Cyano bloom, hair algae bloom etc. They've all pretty much died out now and I have coraline algae starting to colonize the rocks along with feather duster worms and amphipods.

The tank looks great and keeps getting better and better every month.

Jackie_Long · 12/28/2016, 10:00 PM

I am a new member. I have a 1 year reef tank 100 litters. I quite sure the canister filter work great like a reactor. I am using JBL Proline 901 which has seachem Purigen, Rowa Phos,Rowa Carbon.

BarIzoN · 01/24/2017, 06:32 PM

Hi,

I just installed a Fluval G3 on my 55G sumpless system. It's running for two days.

The unit is small (smaller than I expected) and fits easily under the tank's cabinet - which has limited space.

So far, it was easy to assemble, and to start, I washed all the filters and cartridges with RO/DI water, not with tap water as said in instructions.

I'm not worried about the conductivity values nor with any other "feature" of the filter.

I think I needed a sump, but I have no room to add, so I'm giving a shot with this filter.

I noticed the water is way clearer and crystalline - that may be for the carbon filter in place.

I'll wait a week to see how the filter is doing...

I have an Aquamaxx HOB skimmer and the skimate is less dark as before.

With that said, I'll track the nitrates and keep posted here.

- BarIzoN -

silz86 · 09/20/2017, 04:41 PM

I know this post is old, but it has some good information. Hopefully somebody will see this and chime in on this.

I have a JBJ 10 gallon desktop series tank. I HATE MY mechanical filtration on this sucker. It doesn't even work! I was thinking about scrapping this tank and getting a different one but really liked the dimensions of this tank. So I wanted some input from people with canisters to see if my idea would work.

I currently have a reef glass skimmer and my heater that would be in the tank. I would run a small powerhead for flow and I would also have the return pump from the canister for surface agitation.

I have 10lbs of live rock and 10 pounds of lives sand for biological filtration.

If I get a fluval g3/g6 and empty all the chambers and put the following:

Chemipure , phosban and some of those marine pure spheres.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/marin...2-spheres.html

You guys think I will be able to run this and have crystal clear water? I would not use filter floss but maybe for a day before a water change just to help me rid of the other particles. but overall there will be no sponges or floss just because I do NOt want to deal with this so called "nitrate factory"

Any advice or input would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

whittaker727 · 10/12/2017, 06:21 PM

I'm glad I found this thread for my first post on this forum. I'm rookie reefer and I too have a canister filter that I'll be using to start out with because that's what I already have and I'm trying to be intelligent about spending my money in this expensive hobby to get started. I have a Marineland C-530 and a 60 gal aquarium tank that is not drilled for a sump or a hang off the back type sump. I'm not afraid of maintenance and hope that diligent cleanings, water changes and being engaged in what's going on in my tank will allow me success until I can save up the coin to venture into a reef specif designed tank. I'm looking forward to what the site has to offer.

OldReefGuy · 10/13/2017, 05:04 PM

IMO, They are great and I have always used them in the past and with my new tank, that was my first purchase also.
Canisters Good....Bad Husbandry Not Good.

Oiler3535 · 10/15/2017, 07:56 PM

I’m running a 46 bowfront. 6 month’s old with a pair of Oci, a Royal Gramma, Banggai, and tiny still see through tiger blenny. And while I hadn’t planned to go reef so soon, kept getting corals essentially given to me by local reefers making room for new corals. Big Colt, bunch of ricordea, bunch of mushrooms, gsp, Xenia, frogspawn, and bunch of different zoos. No room for a sump, and yet to find a reasonably priced hob skimmer (just heard of one rated for 75g I might get for 160 CAD so crossed fingers). Using my canister from when ran freshwater. Water running crystal clear (weekly clean light algae on glass bc forced to use tap water). Ammonia and Nitrates negligible. pH 8.2, and phosphates between lowest 2 colours on API kit. Alkalinity 10. Monthly ~20% water changes, and clean my canister at same time. Yet to have a problem. After reading horror stories about nitrate factories I had been cleaning canister weekly, but physical filters were barely dirty so moved back to monthly and still fine. Running ceramic rings, purigen, carbon, and phosguard. Going to remove the rings and add GFO ASAP.

05/12/2016, 07:01 PM	#51
Tautoga Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 113	I use a Fluval 406 on my tank that Ive had up since September/October. I use it for mechanical and chemical filtration. I have the large foam pads that are on the side. It has 4 chambers. The bottom chamber I put foam that is smaller mesh than the first foam pads, above that I have ceramic pieces which I am going to switch out to something else (probably carbon or other media) The top has SeaGel for silica and phosphate removal because I started the tank with dead rock and it was leaching silica. I dismantle and rinse everything once a month and the SeaGel is replaced every 4 months. Its never filthy but it does the job I wanted it to do which is catch debris. I had the usual diatom blooms, small Cyano bloom, hair algae bloom etc. They've all pretty much died out now and I have coraline algae starting to colonize the rocks along with feather duster worms and amphipods. The tank looks great and keeps getting better and better every month. Last edited by Tautoga; 05/12/2016 at 07:07 PM.

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12/28/2016, 10:00 PM	#52
Jackie_Long Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 1	I am a new member. I have a 1 year reef tank 100 litters. I quite sure the canister filter work great like a reactor. I am using JBL Proline 901 which has seachem Purigen, Rowa Phos,Rowa Carbon.

01/24/2017, 06:32 PM	#53
BarIzoN Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Denver, CO Posts: 163	Hi, I just installed a Fluval G3 on my 55G sumpless system. It's running for two days. The unit is small (smaller than I expected) and fits easily under the tank's cabinet - which has limited space. So far, it was easy to assemble, and to start, I washed all the filters and cartridges with RO/DI water, not with tap water as said in instructions. I'm not worried about the conductivity values nor with any other "feature" of the filter. I think I needed a sump, but I have no room to add, so I'm giving a shot with this filter. I noticed the water is way clearer and crystalline - that may be for the carbon filter in place. I'll wait a week to see how the filter is doing... I have an Aquamaxx HOB skimmer and the skimate is less dark as before. With that said, I'll track the nitrates and keep posted here. - BarIzoN -

09/20/2017, 04:41 PM	#54
silz86 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Posts: 3	I know this post is old, but it has some good information. Hopefully somebody will see this and chime in on this. I have a JBJ 10 gallon desktop series tank. I HATE MY mechanical filtration on this sucker. It doesn't even work! I was thinking about scrapping this tank and getting a different one but really liked the dimensions of this tank. So I wanted some input from people with canisters to see if my idea would work. I currently have a reef glass skimmer and my heater that would be in the tank. I would run a small powerhead for flow and I would also have the return pump from the canister for surface agitation. I have 10lbs of live rock and 10 pounds of lives sand for biological filtration. If I get a fluval g3/g6 and empty all the chambers and put the following: Chemipure , phosban and some of those marine pure spheres. https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/marin...2-spheres.html You guys think I will be able to run this and have crystal clear water? I would not use filter floss but maybe for a day before a water change just to help me rid of the other particles. but overall there will be no sponges or floss just because I do NOt want to deal with this so called "nitrate factory" Any advice or input would greatly be appreciated. Thanks

10/12/2017, 06:21 PM	#55
whittaker727 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 1	I'm glad I found this thread for my first post on this forum. I'm rookie reefer and I too have a canister filter that I'll be using to start out with because that's what I already have and I'm trying to be intelligent about spending my money in this expensive hobby to get started. I have a Marineland C-530 and a 60 gal aquarium tank that is not drilled for a sump or a hang off the back type sump. I'm not afraid of maintenance and hope that diligent cleanings, water changes and being engaged in what's going on in my tank will allow me success until I can save up the coin to venture into a reef specif designed tank. I'm looking forward to what the site has to offer.

10/13/2017, 05:04 PM	#56
OldReefGuy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Granada Hills Posts: 542	IMO, They are great and I have always used them in the past and with my new tank, that was my first purchase also. Canisters Good....Bad Husbandry Not Good.

10/15/2017, 07:56 PM	#57
Oiler3535 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2016 Location: Ottawa Valley, Canada Posts: 90	I’m running a 46 bowfront. 6 month’s old with a pair of Oci, a Royal Gramma, Banggai, and tiny still see through tiger blenny. And while I hadn’t planned to go reef so soon, kept getting corals essentially given to me by local reefers making room for new corals. Big Colt, bunch of ricordea, bunch of mushrooms, gsp, Xenia, frogspawn, and bunch of different zoos. No room for a sump, and yet to find a reasonably priced hob skimmer (just heard of one rated for 75g I might get for 160 CAD so crossed fingers). Using my canister from when ran freshwater. Water running crystal clear (weekly clean light algae on glass bc forced to use tap water). Ammonia and Nitrates negligible. pH 8.2, and phosphates between lowest 2 colours on API kit. Alkalinity 10. Monthly ~20% water changes, and clean my canister at same time. Yet to have a problem. After reading horror stories about nitrate factories I had been cleaning canister weekly, but physical filters were barely dirty so moved back to monthly and still fine. Running ceramic rings, purigen, carbon, and phosguard. Going to remove the rings and add GFO ASAP.