Canister filter pulse vs constant mode

[womanhead]

I have a 60 gallon fish only tank with a Top Fin® PRO120 Multi-Stage Canister Filter - Powered by Eheim. Filtration is great. I have no complaints but I do have a question regarding flow. I'm able to wirelessly connect with the canister to check how clean it is and other things. I noticed that in the flow area I can set how many gallons an hour as well as a constant or pulse mode. In a video about the filter it said the pulse mode was made for saltwater aquariums to imitate wave/sea motion. I can set duration of the pulse in seconds, and the amount of flow in gallons per hour. Does anyone have an opinion about using this mode and if so, what should I set as pulse duration and gallons per hour flow? Do you feel it would be beneficial? Thanks much in advance. Lauren

 

[fishguy242]

Hi, @sfin52 may be able to offer you some advice, happy reefing...

 

[His Coral Highness]

I don’t think it would make much of a difference as far as the fish can tell, but I would think all the starting and stopping would create a lot more wear and tear on the pump and reduce it’s life. I would personally just run it on continuous

 

[Doctorgori]

Wow, I agree to the above, not certain exactly how useful “pulse mode” is for a canister filter, well in any event it wouldn’t be my primary choice for flow…
BTW we have a wireless “Smart Stove” that we haven’t found the use for either

 

[womanhead]

I don’t think it would make much of a difference as far as the fish can tell, but I would think all the starting and stopping would create a lot more wear and tear on the pump and reduce it’s life. I would personally just run it on continuous

Thanks so much. I hadn't thought of that aspect.

 

[womanhead]

Wow, I agree to the above, not certain exactly how useful “pulse mode” is for a canister filter, well in any event it wouldn’t be my primary choice for flow…
BTW we have a wireless “Smart Stove” that we haven’t found the use for either

Love the stove reference. Lol. Getting the canister connected was a real mess and took me almost 2 years to figure it out. (I had it on a fresh water tank before.) It basically tells me how clean the filter is, which I assume is measured by the flow. Right now it says not to clean it until November. Since my parameters are ok I will go with it. Other than controlling the flow rate that's about it. Thanks for the help.

 

[brandon429]

if your tank uses live rock in the display vs plastic decor the pump isn't needed at all, so however you run it doesn't matter, because if you unhooked it and put a common pump in the tank/a powerhead the entire system would run the same way. live rock surface area is enough, the canister surface area doesn't make the tank better it's actually a small tax on the system (oxygen command, alkalinity depletion source) but the tank can handle that extra bioloading within the filter setup. our reefs can tolerate the massive extra unneeded bacterial loading from canisters.

if this is a plastic display tank, then run the filter on it's normal high setting there isn't a benefit in slowing down water pass rates, that lowers filtration efficiency. plastic front systems don't have lots of surface area, they aren't tolerating a double loading so the canister is indicated in this rare reef fish setup.

 

[sfin52]

I would run the canister in constant. This would maximize filtration. Use wave pumps for water movement. Thank the canister as a return pump in a sump.

I would strongly encourage cleaning the canister monthly.