Switching out the canister
 

I am looking to increase the flow in my 33 gal reef. I am thinking of swapping out the Fluval 405 canister for a Koralia 425 Gph. The Koralia has more flow but the canister is full of Bio-max.
Will this reduce the bio-filtration?

I would think so, but canisters are nitrate factories, at least with salt water. I am currently about to embark on my first sump build, and join the sump club. Seems like the best method, plus you have a place to put frags/hitch hiker crabs for eating algae. IMO that is.

Dont have the option of a sump.

Tank is almost a year old, never had an issue with any Nitrates

Canisters only become a problem if you use sponges or filter floss

weird I had heard it was the bio balls

well, it is whatever catches and holds onto detritus and organic matter.

Without floss or sponges there is no place for it to build up

So if your removing your canister, are you planning on going filterless? Like just using the LR in you tank as a filter? I have seen a few filterless nanos but they required weekly water changes, unless you have a skimmer, then it might be different

i still have two Aquaclear 70 HOB filters filled with LR and a Tunze 9002 skimmer

In a SW tank the filter is really 'flow over LR' anyways.

I think I'll just add 10 lbs of LR to the tank to make up for the loss of the bio-max and switch to the Koralia

Canisters or HOB filters with floss or foam are only nitrate factories if they are seldom or poorly cleaned. I clean the foam in my HOB filter a couple of times a week and I don't have algae problems of any kind. I also run a bare bottom tank and siphon out the crud during weekly water changes. It's my firm belief that tanks in general are nitrate and phosphate factories and the only way to keep them clean is by doing frequent and thorough maintenance on them. Crud build up in any part of a reef system ALWAYS equals algae and/or excess nutrients.

I think you'd be fine. cause the tunze does what? 50 gallons i think.. and to ac70s filled with LR probably about 5lbs or more in each. I run an ac70 on my 15 right now and thats all I'm running, and my water is clear and clean. but I'm upgrading tanks soon lol then I'm going sump. I think your ok with what you have. I dont know if throwing in a back of gfo or carbon would help any?

nicely said! when I top of my cichlids weekly, I take the foam out of my filters and rinse the crap out until the water is clear, this can take a few minutes sometimes.

Very true, Beverly. What i meant about them being a problem is that it is harder to clean floss or foam in a canister. I took the foam and floss out of my HOB's when I filled them with LR.

Any thoughts on my original question?

You could add a Koralia and a small media reactor. You could prbably get the whole thing for a hundy or so. 30 for the Koralia, 50 for the reactor and another 20 or so for a powerhead for the reactor.

Yeah, a canister seems harder to keep clean than a HOB. I have never used a canister, nor have I used Biomax - just foam so I don't really have an answer to your question. But I do like using foam. It traps detritus so it can easily be removed/exported from a system. LR will provide more surface area for bio-filtration but you can't really take it out and clean the crud out of it. Do you vigorously rinse your biomax frequently?

In my AC70 I cut the filter foam in half lenthwise, so I can use the other half at a later date, then put the carbon in and then instead of biomax I use LR. same idea I suppose, and this allows me to rinse the foam often, while still trapping detritus.

you could always use an AC as a fuge too the mod is pretty easy i think

I had a 33 gal running and never used a canister filter, just used a Aqua Clear filter and 2 power heads actually Koralia Nano's. My tank had only softies and LPS's though.

I ran my original first two tanks, 72 gal and 95 gal with canister filters and when I took them off at first I was worried.

Best thing I ever did. Having said that... what do you have in your tank for corals, fish and how much live rock?

I take it you're using the canister output as a flow supplement? I have a Rena XP canister running carbon on my system & while the nozzle does provide a bit of flow, the bulk of my water movement is provided by a couple of VorTech MP40s. I certainly don't consider the canister flow even close to adequate for providing water movement in my system. The canister simply provides a tiny bit of extra chaos near the middle of the tank where the VorTech flow drops off. And I consider it a little self contained mini sump, adding another gallon or so to total water volume. Every little bit helps when you're running sumpless.

Having said all that, is there a reason you can't do both as I do? Just add the Koralia or whatever powerhead suits you needs & continue running all the other filters. Trying to save power?

what are your other pump's for flow?

Can you increase those and keep the canister?

IMO i'd keep the fluval. HOB's are great, sure but the fluval devastates it definetly. I run my fluval 205 on my 75 with foam, chemipure, activated carbon and biomax. Couldnt be happier with it, everytime I clean the filter its scuds galore.

This is my tank...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82rPEl0_mzo
33 gal long (48x12x12), 65 lbs LR, Fluval 404 (biomax), two Aquaclear 70 HOB's (LR rubble), Koralia Nano 425, Tunze 9002 skimmer, cheato in tank
Mostly LPS and soft corals, a few easy SPS

The reason it is an 'either or' situation is that I live in a very old building with old wiring and I can't really add any more to the circuit.

You're not suppose to wash out freshwater sponges. You're basically killing all the bacteria

Since there's no live rock in a freshwater tank, the sponge is the primary biological filtration.

That's not always true MarkoD.

I have lots of FW tanks and while the bacteria do grow and thrive on/in the sponge,...I don't use them as the main source of biological filtration. I have my filters stuffed full of bio-max which provides more than sufficient surface area for the bacteria to grow.

I use the sponges more for mechanical filtration along with filter floss, especially because all my FW tanks are planted. I rinse out my sponges and floss weekly to remove all the crap. There has never been any problem with parameters.
If sponges are all that you use for biological filtration then you only want to rinse them in tank water.

Anyways,...back to topic.

As I see it I will be losing the extra water volume by removing the Fluval in favor of more LR and increased flow (340 Gph to 425 Gph) but that seems to be the only downside.

I have 3 types of foam in my canister, I only rinse out one piece at a time. Sorry I guess I left that out

Great video! I think I would leave well enough alone. Tank is amazing! How long have you had the Mandarin pair?

Yeah,....I'm a big believer in 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

I think I may just leave it for now.

Thanx Leah, I've had the Mandarins for about a month

I agree! Nice setup..everything looks so healthy. And your Mandarins are dancing. :mrgreen:

..... Sorry never mind, was dupilcating something already said.