Canister Filter Help Needed

[svirid]

Hi guys,

My Eheim canister filter got broken and now I am looking for a good replacement. I have 30gal tank now but thinking to upgrade to 90gal soon.
I found this filter that look good to me

http/www.jlaquatics.com/product/em-canp2...ter+Filter.html

can u please advice who knows or maybe u can advice something else.

Also it says it includes some kind of a media I am not sure if I need it, I never use anything before only Purigen and Rowaphos in my filter. Can u please explaine to me the good side for keeping media in a filter?

Thank you very much for your help.

 

[kj23502]

I think the majority of the crowd will tell you that filtration media in a canister filter is a bad idea, unless you have a FO or FOWLR. Then they can be useful, although create a nitrate issue. Nitrate is usually more of a big deal with corals and some inverts. Eheims are generally good filters, however if you upgrade tanks then it's only pushing 2x tank volume in an hour so won't be that effective at cleaning the water.

 

[Anguilla82]

just for an alternative opinion, i used an eheim external canister when i had my 24g Nano.
I put live rock in there and a bag of rowaphos.
The live rock and no light acted as a cryptic zone and so i got a plethora of sponges and other organisms growing in there which helped to filter my water.
i had no problems with a nitrate build up. though you did not to be careful that water could get around the rock freely in the filter.

In my opinion i wouldn't fill a canister with standard filter media except for short periods when running carbon for instance. They would get clogged with detritus too quickly and this is when they become nitrate factories.
not too much of a problem with FO and FOWLR but if you're running a full reef setup i wouldn't bother.

just my 2 cents worth.

 

[svirid]

just for an alternative opinion, i used an eheim external canister when i had my 24g Nano.
I put live rock in there and a bag of rowaphos.
The live rock and no light acted as a cryptic zone and so i got a plethora of sponges and other organisms growing in there which helped to filter my water.
i had no problems with a nitrate build up. though you did not to be careful that water could get around the rock freely in the filter.

In my opinion i wouldn't fill a canister with standard filter media except for short periods when running carbon for instance. They would get clogged with detritus too quickly and this is when they become nitrate factories.
not too much of a problem with FO and FOWLR but if you're running a full reef setup i wouldn't bother.

just my 2 cents worth.

I have already ordered a new filter for my 30gal which is good for 170gal, so basically what u are saying is that I can simple just have Rowa and cou[ple of live rocks insteof of the standard filters right, no micro-filter nothing?

 

[Anguilla82]

yeah thats the way i ran mine, and it seemed to work.
most people don't like to use them, but i found it beneficial.

 

[rabbut]

You can use just standard media, but you have to clean it weekly to avoid it catching Detritus and becoming a Nitrate factory

 

[svirid]

I do prefer to clean it every month or two. So to do so I have to add just Rowa and Live Rocks, right?
Also when I clean it should I completely empty the filter and fill it with a new water? will it kill bacteria there?
or maybe leave a little old water and new one there, not sure how to clean Live rocks based filter?

Thanks for your help

 

[rabbut]

Tip the old water, check the rock isn't too plugged up with gunk, and if it is, swich it in the old water to clean it off. Sling the old rowa and add new, re-assemble and prime ready to go after usual external filter maintenance (seal lubrification and impeller/impeller well clean/soak in Vinegar)

 

[svirid]

Tip the old water, check the rock isn't too plugged up with gunk, and if it is, swich it in the old water to clean it off. Sling the old rowa and add new, re-assemble and prime ready to go after usual external filter maintenance (seal lubrification and impeller/impeller well clean/soak in Vinegar)

Thanks for your help, my only concern is that rocks will collect all the harmful stuff too and generate nitrates also. I am just trying to figure out how not to have it. What if just have Rowa in the filter some Purigen maybe and thats it, will the skimmer do the job, I think in this case filter will be clean all the time, no?

 

[rabbut]

Aye, that would work fine also, provided you have plenty of LR in the display