Canister filter

[vlangel]

I also have an Oase on a 75g. I did buy the biggest Oase the BioMaster thermal 850 and it has lots of flow with rubble rock in all the baskets. For a low volume easy coral 75g it might be all you need for flow. For a more traditional reef a powerhead or two can give you the extra you need.

The pre-filter is invaluable to me since all you do is turn off the canister, shut the intake & output valve and lift up the prefilter without opening the top. Literally its a 5 minute chore once a week. I love it and I have had sumps in the past. This is quieter, less costly, simpler to set up and run and generally easier for an uncomplicated reef. Here is a pic of mine. Oh yeah, mine is skimmerless.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If i would run a skimmer where would i place it? I believe this is what i have at home (it was gifted to us) would i have to put the skimmer in a sump? Never used one and im new to canister filters and sumps for salt water, i think im going to settle for pads (clean them 2 weeks, matrix, and rock rubble)

There is in-sump skimmer and hob, these are 2 different things. Hob stands for Hang On Back so it hangs off the rim of the aquarium.

 

[Evil1]

Take a look at the aquaready job skimmers BRS or the Reef octopus brand HOB. Both great

 

[Bear22]

I like your guys idea and yeah i understood the need of nitrates and po4, since our porcupine puffer will produce a lot of waste would a rock only canister be a nitrate producer? Lately with my tank that i have right now i have a gsp and the puffer and a sixline wrasse with hermits and nasserius snails, and my nitrates will not settle, if i used a canister wirh your guys feedback would a rock and filter pads be enough? I understand that a sump with skimmer and refugium would be so much better but for the sake of what my girlfriend wants im just trying to understand how i can go about just using a canister filter.

I wouldn't get too hung up with putting LR in the canister trays. If you are going to run a canister you want the best combo of flow and surface area (for the biome). There are inert filter materials designed for surface nitrification bacteria and flow.

There are all means of tank systems out there. There are people keeping very nice and successful mixed reefs with no filtration whatsoever. Just wave makers/pumps for in tank flow and water changes - that's it.

 

[Fish Fan]

Live rock rubble, for the win

If you're going to run anything besides live rock rubble for biological media, I'm going to suggest that you use a little bit of specifically plastic bio media like bio balls or plastic pot scrubbies, which I find at my local dollar store. I'd stay away from the ceramic media as at least some can leach heavy metals like aluminum. And having some cycled plastic bio media on hand will allow you to very quickly setup a hospital tank if/when the need arises, and plastic media won't interact with medications like rock rubble would.

 

[luffy]

Live rock rubble, for the win

If you're going to run anything besides live rock rubble for biological media, I'm going to suggest that you use a little bit of specifically plastic bio media like bio balls or plastic pot scrubbies, which I find at my local dollar store. I'd stay away from the ceramic media as at least some can leach heavy metals like aluminum. And having some cycled plastic bio media on hand will allow you to very quickly setup a hospital tank if/when the need arises, and plastic media won't interact with medications like rock rubble would.

I never realized there was hang on skimmers and now that i know my credit card might be in for a use, but other than that i like the information, i think i will look into doing live rock in the canister, definitely pads, some of the plastic media like you were saying, we run some in our store and our tanks are good, im leaning towards matrix for the amount of ditruis my puffer will produce, but is matrix going to do the same as plastic media?

 

[vlangel]

I never realized there was hang on skimmers and now that i know my credit card might be in for a use, but other than that i like the information, i think i will look into doing live rock in the canister, definitely pads, some of the plastic media like you were saying, we run some in our store and our tanks are good, im leaning towards matrix for the amount of ditruis my puffer will produce, but is matrix going to do the same as plastic media?

What I like about Live rock is it is a place for worms and pods to live and reproduce without being preyed on by the fish. Copepods are good for my fish and coral but that may not be as needful for your tank.

 

[luffy]

I never realized there was hang on skimmers and now that i know my credit card might be in for a use, but other than that i like the information, i think i will look into doing live rock in the canister, definitely pads, some of the plastic media like you were saying, we run some in our store and our tanks are good, im leaning towards matrix for the amount of ditruis my puffer will produce, but is matrix going to do the same as plastic media?

What I like about Live rock is it is a place for worms and pods to live and reproduce without being preyed on by the fish. Copepods are good for my fish and coral but that may not be as needful for your tank.

Mmmmmmm, i see what you mean, i do want more corals once i set that up and would like to see how much of a difference live rock would make, for now i think im set to what i want for my tank and all this has been perfect

 

[Freenow54]

If i would run a skimmer where would i place it? I believe this is what i have at home (it was gifted to us) would i have to put the skimmer in a sump? Never used one and im new to canister filters and sumps for salt water, i think im going to settle for pads (clean them 2 weeks, matrix, and rock rubble)

Use a HOB Skimmer . You only need about 4.6 inched between Tank and a wall behind the Tank. No need to put the skimmer in a sump they are sealed units. Since you have it I obviously would use it. I would look around for replacement seals though. I have extra for my Fluval and the parts are readily available as are the media bags. I have had no reason to use them but they are on hand. I have three and never had leaks in any of them . I clean mine every month , and I would say once you get a routine going , and figure out how not to spill media around if your using bulk ( I just sacrifice the bag ). It takes me about 30 minutes maybe a little longer to do the maintenance . They also contribute to flow nice touch

 

[v!kas]

canister filters are nitrate factories and had to cleaned very frequently

 

[FUNGI]

I never realized there was hang on skimmers and now that i know my credit card might be in for a use, but other than that i like the information, i think i will look into doing live rock in the canister, definitely pads, some of the plastic media like you were saying, we run some in our store and our tanks are good, im leaning towards matrix for the amount of ditruis my puffer will produce, but is matrix going to do the same as plastic media?

IMO,

You are better off buying used skimmer. As most people new to hobby start in your (and mine) position and buy all HOB, they migrate to sump and HOB equipment is sold cheap...just IMO.
In fact, I have two HOB's for sale: Aquamaxx ConeS and Octo BH2000. Not trying to make a sale, just letting you knwo to maybe look on the marketplace

 

[luffy]

I never realized there was hang on skimmers and now that i know my credit card might be in for a use, but other than that i like the information, i think i will look into doing live rock in the canister, definitely pads, some of the plastic media like you were saying, we run some in our store and our tanks are good, im leaning towards matrix for the amount of ditruis my puffer will produce, but is matrix going to do the same as plastic media?

IMO,

You are better off buying used skimmer. As most people new to hobby start in your (and mine) position and buy all HOB, they migrate to sump and HOB equipment is sold cheap...just IMO.
In fact, I have two HOB's for sale: Aquamaxx ConeS and Octo BH2000. Not trying to make a sale, just letting you knwo to maybe look on the marketplace

How much are u selling them for?

 

[vlangel]

canister filters are nitrate factories and had to cleaned very frequently

That is not true of the Oase BioMaster canister with a pre filter.

 

[Subsea]

canister filters are nitrate factories and had to cleaned very frequently

I have heard that for >30 years and it’s b.s. I use them as cryptic refugiums. All mechanical filtration is removed and it’s seeded with reef rubble. With respect to nitrogen demand, I dose ammonia to keep up with coral consumption

 

[Dom]

Not with today's better understanding of the NEED for PO4 and nitrogen. In my system (Oase canister) I struggle to keep these levels up and where I would like them to be.

This tribal lore with canister filters needs to go bye bye.

Well... to be fair, the canister filter I owned was on a 20 gallon tank about 20 years ago. It didn't have a built in heater or any of the other gadgetry current models have.

So if they have improved in this regard, I didn't know.

 

[vlangel]

Well... to be fair, the canister filter I owned was on a 20 gallon tank about 20 years ago. It didn't have a built in heater or any of the other gadgetry current models have.

So if they have improved in this regard, I didn't know.

Yes, and back in the day folks were not putting live rubble rock in a canister filters baskets with the idea of running like a cryptic sump. Its utilizing biology to do the filtering which is more efficient.

 

[Bear22]

Well... to be fair, the canister filter I owned was on a 20 gallon tank about 20 years ago. It didn't have a built in heater or any of the other gadgetry current models have.

So if they have improved in this regard, I didn't know.

Besides canister filters, much has changed from 20 years ago...

 

[Dom]

Yes, and back in the day folks were not putting live rubble rock in a canister filters baskets with the idea of running like a cryptic sump. Its utilizing biology to do the filtering which is more efficient.

This is a great idea.

I had one tray filled with ceramic bits, but the rest had polishing pads of one type or another.

 

[vlangel]

This is a great idea.

I had one tray filled with ceramic bits, but the rest had polishing pads of one type or another.

Yes, it does not collect gunk for the most part, and worms and pods will be able to live and reproduce there to be a continuous supply for the aquarium. If you want to polish the water, you can put one polishing pad in the top basket and occasionally rinse that pad out without disturbing the other baskets.

 

[George03]

Nano AIO 25 here. Is there such a thing as a chamber add on? My sock delete design is, The smallest skimmer they make in the return chamber with also the intake tube to the fluval 107. So no sock filter. Inline 6 watt UV on the canister return, which goes to the middle chamber which agitages rubble and ceramics in a bag. A second UV in the third chamber inline with the return pump. So running both. The skimmer does the heavy lifting, the canister is usually pretty clean, and does the activated carbon and flow work.