2 canister filters in tank good or not ?

Rayhaifa469 · Aug 11, 2016

I have a 38 gallon tank with live sand live rock some soft corals 2 clowns. Also have a protinee skimmer hob, I'm running 2 canister filters in know a sump is better but with the stand I have on now it will be exposed and not look good. One of my cainster filter is fuval 206 for 45 gallon tank I have media,carbon,and polyfilter
the other one if made by national geographic set up for a 50 gallon tank I got it for 30 dollars from pets mart they have them on clreance that's why I bought it anyways it have bio pellets,carbon and also the Polyfilter. Running 2 canisters in my small tank with the stuff in them that I have mentioned is good or bad please advise?

GoldeneyeRet · Aug 12, 2016

IMO a sump with good equipment would work better and be better looking as well.

Rayhaifa469 · Aug 12, 2016

I know a sump is always better but what the way I have it know would it hurt my tank?

mcarroll · Aug 12, 2016

I'd remove any mechanical filtration that you aren't willing to go in and clean weekly. Difficulty of maintenance is the main downside to a canister on a reef IMO. Removing the mechanical filtration usually solves this. I'm not anti-canister....but you have to be realistic about them.

They're still more difficult to service than a sump and less flexible.

It may be debatable if they look any better than an exposed sump too.

I think a Tunze Skimmer Kit looks pretty nice and probably even take up less floorspace than the two canisters:

A pretty good deal at $750-$900 too....includes everything you'd need in a sump: filtration/skimmer (or just skimmer), ATO, return pump and glass sump.

You'd just have to add on something like this to drain the water down to the sump:

Rayhaifa469 · Aug 12, 2016

Your saying to remove the
Mechanical filter from my canisters? Is yes why removing them?
QUOTE="mcarroll, post: 3098989, member: 19871"]I'd remove any mechanical filtration that you aren't willing to go in and clean weekly. Difficulty of maintenance is the main downside to a canister on a reef IMO. Removing the mechanical filtration usually solves this. I'm not anti-canister....but you have to be realistic about them.

They're still more difficult to service than a sump and less flexible.

It may be debatable if they look any better than an exposed sump too.

I think a Tunze Skimmer Kit looks pretty nice and probably even take up less floorspace than the two canisters:

A pretty good deal at $750-$900 too....includes everything you'd need in a sump: filtration/skimmer (or just skimmer), ATO, return pump and glass sump.

You'd just have to add on something like this to drain the water down to the sump:

[/QUOTE]

Rayhaifa469 · Aug 12, 2016

Your saying remove the Mechanical filter from my canisters if so why?

mcarroll · Aug 12, 2016

Because typically mechanical filters are very good at what they do, they trap a lot of food and detritus. If this isn't removed about weekly, bacteria will start breaking down that waste into nitrates. Unfortunately most reef tanks already have too many dissolved nutrients, so canisters with a normal load of mechanical filtration media end up being a problem in most tanks due to creation of nitrates/lack of removal of trapped detritus.

Untamedrose · Aug 12, 2016

Its not a Yes or no answer there.

Can one run a SW tank off a canister filter? Yes is two rather then one kinda unusual Yes...but I dont think 95 gallons filtration rates to a 38 gal tank is bad about what I'd expect. just two instead of one larger one.

only answer is a questions...How's your tank doing? everything happy health tank stable?
How are your chems doing???? is the big one. (and if your tempted to just say Fine, good or the LFS say it's ok....your in trouble)

saltyfilmfolks · Aug 12, 2016

Fwiw. I think two are a bit too much.
The folks here that run canisters usually run A bio media of some sort. Carbon and mechanical filtration like floss. Floss on the top. They clean the floss and canister regularly with fresh water Every two weeks or so at water change time. The carbon gets a rinse and the bio media is mostly left alone as it is an extension of the bio filter. They don't want to remove the layers of bacteria.
The fear most have is that the filter esp the media and floss will contribute to the exess nutrients as detritus builds up. Cleaning the floss and canister will help that. If you still are getting nutrients after that cleaning the media may need a light rinse of detritus. A way to judge that is the overall health of the tank and little clues like more algae on the glass than usual.
As macarol stated this still does cause a buildup of nitrates so it's important to remove them or limit them The most reliable methods for that are water changes. A refugium. And skimming. To limit them be cautious of the amount you are feeding.

When I have run a canister on my 30 gallon I found it pretty easy at water change to mix
A five gallon bucket of salt water clean the filer(1gal) and take four gal out of the tank.
So if you keep up on it it works quite well.

I would not run bio pellets as it kind of contributes to the bacteria producing nitrates and you are not skimming.

Clownaround · Aug 12, 2016

I use canister filters for my reef tanks strictly for biological filtration using bio balls, and foam pads. To be honest I probably haven't cleaned the filter in over a year and I have no issues with clogging and everything is fine with no crashes. That is just my experience though can't say it will be the same. Of course the most effective would be a sump but the filters are doing just fine for me.

Jacques Sberro · Aug 12, 2016

We run 2 Fluval 206's on our 45G tank. It's been set up this way for a couple of years now and does just fine. We try (emphasis on try) to clean one of them each week. One just wasn't enough on this tank when we set it up. Added the second one about 4-5 months later. An added benefit was that when the first one suffered an o-ring failure and had to be turned off, we still had the second one running, so it provides some system redundancy when needed.

salty150 · Aug 12, 2016

Canister filters, if done right, can be just as effective (and even a better choice for some) than a sump.

The benefits of a canister filter (or multiple canister filters) outweigh the "work" it takes cleaning them.

With a canister filter you don't have salt creep all over your cabinet and equipment; there is less evaporation; no smell; no noise; cleans and polishes the water MUCH better than a sump; MUCH easier to clean than a sump, etc.

If you have live rock and a hang on protein skimmer in your tank - you are good to go!

Fourstars · Aug 13, 2016

Canister filters bad. You want to run with as little mechanical filteration as possible. I only run a sock on my tank when I'm cleaning algae, feeding, or my weekly storm sessions. Right now I'm not even running a skimmer, only turf scubber. We'll we if that lasts.