Tank Setup

[High tide]

Originally Posted by MMAX

From what I've read in this forum posted by the experts, cannister filters are nitrate factories. I used to run mine straight from the factory full of the foam and media that it came with along with a small skimmer. Since then I've removed the skimmer and gutted my cannister filling it full of live rock with the bottom tray containing carbon. This set-up by the way is on a 20gal. If you're talking about a 125-150gal tank, I'm not sure if it's worth running a cannister fliter on it. Go with a sump, skimmer and live rock.

They can be nitrate factories if used incorrectly. You are producing nitrates by using it as a biological filter. I only suggest running carbon, phosphate remover, micron cartridge, etc....chemical/mechanical filtration. As far as size goes, there are many different sizes of canister filter and can be employed on larger systems, size may hinder or expedite removal depending on what filtering media you are using.