Ideas for getting my canister filter ready

[mkpetersen]

Just don't. Unneeded waste of money. Just keep the HOB. The best would be a nice HOB skimmer and maybe some mechanical filtration. Keep it simple!

My experience has been that canisters make maintenance easier, and make for a cleaner looking installation.

 

[REEFRIED!]

Not to be rude but sometimes people on here say the most ridiculous things.

You are fine, get a canister filter if you want to. Especially if you think it will look better. HOB filters are fine too, although depending on what you place in them they can be prone to overflowing. It’s always a good idea to make sure the output, or return back to the tank never gets clogged or blocked with a piece of filter media, filer floss, or anything else that can restrict flow.

Canister filters are good also. They are definitely much less likely to cause a mess of water all over your house. Assuming all hose connections and fittings are installed properly. The one issue I see with canister filters is the fact that you definitely have to clean them out fairly often. This can become a pain and can be messy. You pretty much have to remove it and bring it to the sink once a month or so. Which can definitely be done easily if you put some thought into simple ways to disconnect. You can easily plumb in a couple of quick disconnects, a ball valve or two and taking it apart to do maintenance will be much easier.

You don’t need a skimmer. Don’t run out and buy one. Hang on back skimmers are almost all completely useless. People will chime in here and tell you that “x” brand HOB skimmer is amazing. And I’m sure there may be a couple that are decent. However for the most part they are all pretty useless at actually skimming. Which is a form of both mechanical and mostly biological filtration. A HOB skimmer can be very frustrating.

You have to decide what you want your tank to be. Then you can take steps towards that goal. If your tank is going to be a mostly fish, and possibly a few softies and zoas tank, then you can keep it very simple and have a great system. It’s up to you.

Go ahead and swap out the HOB with a canister filter anytime you want. There is no worry of disrupting any biological, or beneficial bacteria in your system.

 

[mkpetersen]

I run 2 fluval fx6s on a 25 gallon all-in-one without any mechanical filtration. Just full of liverock. Every once in a while I'll drain the sediment, but I don't clean them. Occasionally I'll throw in some filter floss when the amphipod exoskeletons get to be too much. Otherwise the only other filtration is an HOB skimmer. IMO canisters are underrated.

 

[FishLvR]

Taking out all those sponges and media every two weeks sounds worse than cleaning a month's worth a filter socks. The price of two Fx6 is double what one sump would cost, but hey, whatever.

 

[Freenow54]

Why do you change the media? What media are you referring to? It takes me probably less than 5 minutes to clean a canister. I do a water change on my tank every week, and cleaning the canister is the first step. I scoop a small bucket of water, put my filter media in the bucket, hit the bottom with a quick brush, dump the water, reinsert the media, fill with water, and done. You probably don't have to clean it this often, but it's easy and I like to keep my tank clean.

I don't get why people think cans are such high maintenance. There is nothing to it, and it works way better than a HOB. I have 35,50,110 both Tidal and AquaClear hobs, which don't even come close to a canister. I have run HOBs with just media and floss, with the inTank inserts, and an AC110 with a refugium. None of them come close to effectiveness from a mechanical view, and you can run media reactors with canisters, which you can't do with a HOB.

Because I use bulk media . Cheaper but involves buying replacement bags , and getting rid of the used media. I don't mind because to me you are not locked into anything experimentation is ok. Like I said I do the media in the canister monthly

 

[Freenow54]

Taking out all those sponges and media every two weeks sounds worse than cleaning a month's worth a filter socks. The price of two Fx6 is double what one sump would cost, but hey, whatever.

I see really good results. I have amazing coralline growth in my first tank. Just trying to figure out why not in second tank. Have some but not like the other. A mystery I am going to figure out

 

[Freenow54]

Taking out all those sponges and media every two weeks sounds worse than cleaning a month's worth a filter socks. The price of two Fx6 is double what one sump would cost, but hey, whatever.

I do not like filter socks, and never have been effective for me. They were connected directly to the pipe from my main display and did nothing but get a little discoloured. However downstream I put in folds of baton from a fabric store costs me 20 for two months worth. I pull it out and discard it every week. Always filthy. I have no clue why but that's the way it is

 

[FUNGI]

I would run both for a month or so, and then take out the HOB....your canister will be "seeded" within a month

 

[FUNGI]

I run 2 fluval fx6s on a 25 gallon all-in-one without any mechanical filtration. Just full of liverock. Every once in a while I'll drain the sediment, but I don't clean them. Occasionally I'll throw in some filter floss when the amphipod exoskeletons get to be too much. Otherwise the only other filtration is an HOB skimmer. IMO canisters are underrated.

Same...except 3 FX6's. Once a year clean, hose out any sediment.

 

[Freenow54]

I run 2 fluval fx6s on a 25 gallon all-in-one without any mechanical filtration. Just full of liverock. Every once in a while I'll drain the sediment, but I don't clean them. Occasionally I'll throw in some filter floss when the amphipod exoskeletons get to be too much. Otherwise the only other filtration is an HOB skimmer. IMO canisters are underrated.

Sorry don't understand probably because I don't know what a fluval fx6 is. My cups are always full of disgusting green stinking foul revolting please stop me filth which I have to wear a mask to clean it out

 

[Freenow54]

Why do you change the media? What media are you referring to? It takes me probably less than 5 minutes to clean a canister. I do a water change on my tank every week, and cleaning the canister is the first step. I scoop a small bucket of water, put my filter media in the bucket, hit the bottom with a quick brush, dump the water, reinsert the media, fill with water, and done. You probably don't have to clean it this often, but it's easy and I like to keep my tank clean.

I don't get why people think cans are such high maintenance. There is nothing to it, and it works way better than a HOB. I have 35,50,110 both Tidal and AquaClear hobs, which don't even come close to a canister. I have run HOBs with just media and floss, with the inTank inserts, and an AC110 with a refugium. None of them come close to effectiveness from a mechanical view, and you can run media reactors with canisters, which you can't do with a HOB.

I don't care about time look up Fluval media I use them all. Get results so I don't mess with the routine

 

[mkpetersen]

Taking out all those sponges and media every two weeks sounds worse than cleaning a month's worth a filter socks. The price of two Fx6 is double what one sump would cost, but hey, whatever.

Doubt I'd get away with a sump under my office desk. Trying to fly under the radar. No one really notices the cans. And they don't really need to be cleaned.

 

[mkpetersen]

Sorry don't understand probably because I don't know what a fluval fx6 is. My cups are always full of disgusting green stinking foul revolting please stop me filth which I have to wear a mask to clean it out

They're essentially 5 gal cans. I don't use any mechanical filtration in them. Just rock. My only other filtration is a skimmer. The skimmate smells a bit ocean at low tide. But not strong.