canister filter

[harleymike]

Ok set up my second tank. 60 gallon.
But using a canister filtre. I didnt want a hob and couldnt fit a sump in.
My question is this, do i need some sort of aeration with a cansiter filtre.

mike

 

[TORX]

Re: canister filtre

This is for your predator only tank right? FOWLR will still need aeration. A canister filter does not provide water aeration.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

eel,lionfish, maybe puffer.
Might put in some soft corals.
Will I need too add aeration then.
Mike

 

[TORX]

Re: Re: canister filtre

...FOWLR will still need aeration. A canister filter does not provide water aeration.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

k thanks

 

[TORX]

Re: canister filtre

Go for a bubble curtain across the back wall of the tank.

Sent from my SGH-T989D using Tapatalk 2

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

IM going too add some live rock. Not much and a few maybe mushrooms. But mosltly fish in it.
thanks for the help

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

I think i;m going too make a spray bar along the back for the returning water.

 

[TORX]

Re: canister filtre

That could work,

In my fresh water tanks I had a bubble curtain at the back which looked nice, but now they have gotten even better...LED Bubble Curtain Wand (i always had the wand hidden in my rocks...but that was before they were LED. lol)

Introducing Bubble Wall In 5 Gallon

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

thats kinda cool
I think they sell those at pet smart

 

[unibob]

canister filtre

IM going too add some live rock. Not much and a few maybe mushrooms. But mosltly fish in it.
thanks for the help

From my understanding a FOWLR still needs a good amount of liverock, as this will be your main filtration. What are you planning on doing with the canister? If it was me, I would be taking whatever is in it and pack if full of liverock to get some out of tank , but make sure you are not cutting the flow down too much with adding rock in canister. I have also heard of people running chemi pure in there canisters, but it needs to be swapped religiously or else you are going to make a nitrate factory from my understanding. Keep us updated

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

Its got a layer of foam, carbon,bioballs,ceramic noodles,and then foam again.
Thinking of replacing the bioballs with something else. Not sure yet.
I will still add 30 or 40 pounds of live rock for sure. Just want it more open, less congested.

 

[Duke]

Re: canister filtre

Its got a layer of foam, carbon,bioballs,ceramic noodles,and then foam again.
Thinking of replacing the bioballs with something else. Not sure yet.
I will still add 30 or 40 pounds of live rock for sure. Just want it more open, less congested.

They do sell those bubble wands at petsmart, they are Marineland brand led wands. that's a neat option, it would look good I think and that's probably the best way to get enough oxygen into the water if you aren't going to be running a skimmer, which I strongly suggest you try and find a hang on back type skimmer setup u can live with, aggressive fish are really messy and make for a really dirty tank, most people have to oversize everything to handle the nutrients in the water with that kinda setup. I would do what you were thinking and remove the bio balls and probably most of those ceramic noodle things too and replace them with live rock rubble, and still run the carbon but try and change it every few weeks. and look for the smallest livestock you can find. hopefully as they grow the tank will mature enough by then to help handle the bio load well.

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

thanks Duke
Thats a good idea. The canister has trays inside. I will cut one open so it makes one bigger tray and add some live rock.
I will have too find some rubble too put in there.
Ya, probably get a skimmer. I keep putting it off. Need one for both tanks.

mike

 

[koop]

Re: canister filtre

I have the fluvial fx5 on my 90 gallon reef tank just filled with matrix and water Polish pads and 90 - 100lb of live rock in my tank and hob skimmer and I have no problems and have not cleaned it in over a year and all my peramaters r in check

 

[AdInfinitum]

Re: canister filtre

I ran my "old school" tanks for years with just canisters full of rubble and some bulk filter pad in the top layer...every few weeks pop off the top, rinse out the floss when it gets to dirty cut a new piece.

I'm not such a fan of the bubble bars and even spray-bars breaking the surface tension (the key thing for O2 exchange).  I started doing this in the undergravel filter days and the amount of salt spray from the bubbler tubes was huge.  You had to have a glass top to contain it and then you were constantly having to clean the salt off the underside.

One of the best developments in the canister filter days were the surface skimming inlets.  Eheim started it, I think, and later they were available as accessories to add to any type of canister. They're the inlet pipes with the floating inlets so the filter is pulling the surface layer of water where all the dirt and proteins collect and block the free exchange of gasses.  One of those will improve the O2 content immensely without any splashing/salt spray.  Add a spray-bar just below the surface, angled to drive the water near the surface down and you will be OK.

One upside to predators is that you can grow large crops of macro algae in the tank to add to the aesthetic appeal and export nutrients the old fashioned way.  My old no sump/no skimmer 125gal was like that...fish thrived, I rarely changed water, just cleaned the floss regularly and I pulled a five gallon pail full of caulerpa out every couple of months.

The other key to and old style tank that I can't stress enough is to keep the population and therefore bio-load very small.

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

ok
IF i have the flow comiming back angled up and a power head angled up toward the surface. If they are causeingn rippling along the surface, am I getting oxyegn exchange.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Re: canister filtre

Unless it is rippling enough that it is almost splashing, you will still have a layer of dissolved organic compounds accumulating at the surface blocking gas exchange.  That surface layer is really the dirtiest water in the tank so it would be best to get it into the filter rather than constantly mix it back into the tank.

A quick look and Fluval makes them for 20 bucks or if you prefer there are some DIY pages out there ( http://www.thekrib.com/Filters/Busko/#SS-2 ).  Back in the day, I liked the way the Eheim ones worked on small filters so much that I made a few large versions for all my tanks.

 

[harleymike]

Re: canister filtre

ok. Sorry I"m having a brian fart here.

The surface skimmer attachemnt will fix my o2 requirments.
If so, is this becasue it pulls a little air into the water as it skimms the top.

My other tank has a hob filtre, and the water flowing back into the tank creates alot of bubbles. Bubbles mean o2 too me....

I found the skimmer attachments on the internet for about 15 bucks.

 

[AdInfinitum]

Re: canister filtre

Gas exchange needs surface area.  bubbles=extra surface area, true but the main value of bubbles is that they break through and stir up the layer of organics that accumulate at the surface of water (due to the polar nature of water molecules). These organics (sometimes looks like an oily film on the surface of a still tank) block the free movement of gasses and are best removed rather than just stirred back in. The skimmer inlet is the best option to constantly remove and refresh the surface water, short of the whole overflow/skimmer/modern thing.

Think of the dissolved organics as chips of styrofoam covering the surface of your tank...Bubbles coming up through will create a small area of "open water", swirling the styrofoam down into the water will create a small open area but the chips you drive down will just bob back up as you drive others down...The only way that you win is by scooping the chips off.