Mechanical filter dependancy

[soupy11]

Hi guys,
I have a 35 gallon tank running with about 30lbs of live rock and a protein skimmer. Up until this morning I was running a fluval 204 mechanical filter with carbon/bio material in the cages. It has started leaking badly and I had to take it offline. It is roughly a month old. The shop that I bought it at was closed today and is closed tomorrow. I have it turned off right now and was wondering if I can safely go 48-60 hours without it on? I have a power head running and the protein skimmer is pushing a lot of water through....thanks for the help....

 

[jamal-188]

IMO there is nothing to worry about...many people who have a good sized skimmer do not used any other form of mechanical filtration.

 

[soupy11]

Ok thats great....should I bother replacing the Fluval? I hear that they are pretty bad nitrate factories? Should I just get another 10 lbs of LR?

 

[gear-head]

IMO, I run a Fluval with GAC only 24x7. Water stays crystal, nitrates are not a problem.

 

[malkore]

I have no mechanical filter on my tank. 2 powerheads, a skimmer, and a hang on fuge.

 

[soupy11]

Ok thanks for the advice, gear-head - do you run with it with the white sponge filters in place? How many carbon bags? Thanks again.

 

[Mrbill]

I'm running a 304 on a 46 gallon tank, along with a CPR Bakpak skimmer. I started with all the sponge filters, bioballs, and carbon in the Fluval. I also had about 40 lbs of live rock. After a while, I added about 20 lbs of rock and removed all the sponge filters and bioballs from the fluval, with no problems whatsoever. Now I run it with carbon only.

 

[soupy11]

Very cool. I think I will give it a go. Thanks