Canister used as reactor?

[dlsrks]

Have a 29 gallon reef tank. Been using a Fluval canister filter 305 on it. Decided to start a sump for the tank. Don't want to waste my money that I spent on the canister filter so I thought about using it for a carbon and gfo reactor. Taking all the media out except carbon and gfo and a couple of sponge filters. Do you think this would work for a reactor?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

It'll be fine. It won't be a reactor but will do nearly the same job. A reactor is basically a specialized canister filter. You'll be using a general canister. Nothing at all wrong with that. It'll still need regular maintenance on the sponges.

 

[dlsrks]

That's what I thought. Hated to waste my money on the canister so thought I could use it in a different way. Probably shouldn't use as many sponges though.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

If you use sponges you'll just have to clean them out regularly. Nothing wrong with using them. They'll actually be great for cleaning out particles but a pain to clean. If you get into a routine it'll be fine. Best part is when you tire of maintenance you can just shelve the thing for a month or two. Once the GFO has the phosphates down to zero you won't really need it for a while as long as you're doing normal PWCs and not overfeeding.

 

[dlsrks]

All my tanks keeps me plenty busy. Lol. Always doing water changes on one of them.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Then your tank should run fine. I actually think canisters are much better as chemical filters for saltwater than anything else. That's opposite the way I use them on planted tanks. They really are versatile.