Use my canister filter?

ScubaSteve4Life · Apr 21, 2017

I'm on day 16 of my tank cycle and have brownish algae starting to grow over my dry rock. I started with about 25 lbs of dry dead rock and 20 lbs of live Carrib sea sand in my 29 gallon tank. I'm currently using Red seas reef mature pro kit and it mentions I need a protein skimmer but nothing about a filter. I have my new reef octopus HOB 100 skimmer running constantly. I have a Marineland c-160 canister filter but I have yet to even use it. My first question is: Should I use it with my tank during the cycle to build bacteria? My second question is: Should I be ok using it if I cleaned it as well as I could with vinegar and water being as it was previously used by someone on their freshwater tank?

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 21, 2017

Yea should be clean and fine.

IMO, you can add the canister but just run floss. Itl keep the particulates down. you can run the carbon and gfo in it too. Id clean it one a month and not make it a permanent addition.

be patient.

ScubaSteve4Life · Apr 21, 2017

saltyfilmfolks said:
Yea should be clean and fine.

IMO, you can add the canister but just run floss. Itl keep the particulates down. you can run the carbon and gfo in it too. Id clean it one a month and not make it a permanent addition.

be patient.

I don't remove the bio balls and the filter foam do I? Does this added amount of water from my skimmer and filter put me at more of a risk for an overflow situation if I don't have any overflow prevention on my tank? Thanks for your help again. I appreciate your time to help me out. I took your advice from a previous post and ended up buying red seas test kit and nutrients of ca alk mg. Now I'm trying to learn how to dose lol

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 21, 2017

ScubaSteve4Life said:
I don't remove the bio balls and the filter foam do I? Does this added amount of water from my skimmer and filter put me at more of a risk for an overflow situation if I don't have any overflow prevention on my tank? Thanks for your help again. I appreciate your time to help me out. I took your advice from a previous post and ended up buying red seas test kit and nutrients of ca alk mg. Now I'm trying to learn how to dose lol

No sweat. Dn't worry about dosing yet/ in short, The tank will use x, and you need to replace x. Right now its 0 or close to it.

No you can fit the canister any where it fits. Not sure if you men the stuff in the canister to remove it?

Basicly a canister is like a spagetti strainer but with very fine holes. In freshwater(and some folks saltwater) you also hose balls or media to host bacteria and fresh water lacks places for bacteria to grow. In our tanks we have live rock and live sand(both are actually coral skeleton or aragonite)
My suggestion would be to run just a filter floss or sponge in the canister if the tank is particularly silty. it removes those particles completely from the tank.,.

You can practice the canister set up by simply putting the hoses in a bucket on a table and the can on the floor.
Its nor super likely, but the canister flow may be too strong and empty the back of the cube too quickly, not likely though. when you add it to the tank you will have to fill it and prime it so you'll likely have to top off the tank.
I dont think you run into an overflowing problem.

Keep in mind this is an option and not a need. you'll have to judge if you have room for the canister, and if there's enough silt to actually use it.
A skimmer does not pull as many particles as a can. and the floss in the aio may not pull as much as well.

ScubaSteve4Life · Apr 21, 2017

I'm just learning about the dosing for when the time comes, probably when I get some corals. So if I wanted to eventually run my entire canister (layers: polishing filter, bio balls, 2 carbon bags, 2 filter foams) would it be bad to run that constantly 24/7. I understand I'd have to clean regularly due to rise in nitrates and what not if I don't. But I feel I could do at least once or twice a month. I read some negative things about carbon but don't know whether it was a personal opinion of someone or actually true.

ScubaSteve4Life · Apr 21, 2017

Also, since this brown algae is starting to grow over my rock, should I add anything special to develop purple corraline algae? I'm planning on trying to buy some hermits and snails for a CUC soon with corraline already on them. I've heard of that purple up stuff and was wondering if I was supposed to add that.

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 21, 2017

ScubaSteve4Life said:
would it be bad to run that constantly 24/7.

no its best, stopping it will suffocate the bacteria.

ScubaSteve4Life said:
But I feel I could do at least once or twice a month.

in my 30, once a month seems fine. its actually hardly dirty.

ScubaSteve4Life said:
I read some negative things about carbon but don't know whether it was a personal opinion of someone or actually true.

when used agressivley its been shown to be bad for some fish. I run passively in general with a bag.

ScubaSteve4Life said:
I add anything special to develop purple corraline algae? I

definitely not unless you like to spend money. its all in the tank already.

with what you have right now, you could do absolutely nothing at all(except top off) for the next 3 weeks and the tank will be fine. It would actually be better probably.
then do a 100% water change and put live animals in two days later..

Its hard for many to fathom how simple a process it actually is mainly because of so much internet opinions.
that's not pointed at you, it a general thing. Many don't realise a good piece of live rock old tank water and a small powerhead a fish can live in a bucket.

I point that out as a means to visualise the simplicity of the process.

the only reason to recommend a canister temporarily is to cut down on the dust in the tank. Some of the dust is diatoms some is other organics etc. that in a couple months you'll be reading as No3 and Po4 after it rots.
some of the dust is aragonite dust. it contains some silicates from the outer layer of the dry rock that the diatoms are feeding from partially. GFO and floss will pull that out and might(MIGHT) make this a tiny bit less ugly in the ugly phase.

ScubaSteve4Life · Apr 21, 2017

What do you mean when you say you run carbon passively?

saltyfilmfolks · Apr 21, 2017

ScubaSteve4Life said:
What do you mean when you say you run carbon passively?

not in a reactor. or higher flow area. I leave a bag in a med flow zone and don't use a large amount..
a reactor increases the efficiency of chemical media.

crystalseatexas · Apr 21, 2017

The brown algae is abnormal part of the process of establishing a tank. Next you will get green algae. You could go through a number of algae "blooms". Personally I wouldn't use a canister filter at all. I prefer putting my efforts into nitrate control, especially in a new tank, as it doesn't have the amount or diversification of bacteria needed to handle nutrients. You could install an HOB filter, remove the lid and filter media, and place chaeto (algae) in it, maybe some rubble.

Also, might consider getting one or two pieces of really good live rock, to build biological diversity. Amazing things happen with tanks that have good diversity.