Alternatives to a canister filter?

[pleechford]

Hey guys, so I have a 29 gallon bowfront reef tank that is glass. It was gifted to me a couple of months ago. Along with it came a canister filter. I know the filter can hold nitrates. So I clean it weekly to prevent this.. I need a good alternative to this canister filter. I cannot do a sump with this tank due to the cost and quite frankly I do not want to have to break the tank down. Any suggestions?


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[carey]

I ran a hangon filter on my 29g awhile ago. It was an aquaclear 50 and it did the job pretty well. I went up to a canister from that. .lol

But yeah, a hangon can catch particulate matter that is floating around the tank as well as allow you to run gfo or anything else you might need.

 

[pleechford]

Okay cool! How often do you clean your canister out? What is your media set up?


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[carey]

I used to completely clean the canister every other week. i also have always done massive water changes. On my 29g I would do at least 10g a week. I always had zero nitrates and the corals flourished.

A lot depends on the water source and how you feed and stock. Overstock the tank and no matter how many times you clean the canister or do water changes you will alwasy battle nitrates. Same goes for not using ro/di water. If you are using tap you will have to be even more diligent in maintenance.

It can be done, just requires time and dedication.

Good luck!!!

 

[MICEY]

you should not have to clean your canister more than once a month and only the mechanical filtration should be cleaned or changed , if it is clogging up you are way over feeding or have a overstocked tank
you could add a foam pre-filter to your intake hose to catch the food particles
and if you rinse it out in non chlorinated water it will also add to your bio-filtration

what kind of canister are you using and what is in it
you might also have nitrates in your tap water , if you add chem pure or purigen to your filter it will reduce the nitrites and nitrated , and make your tank look like there is no water in it

do you clean your gravel when you do a water change ?

 

[bribo12]

you should not have to clean your canister more than once a month and only the mechanical filtration should be cleaned or changed , if it is clogging up you are way over feeding or have a overstocked tank
you could add a foam pre-filter to your intake hose to catch the food particles
and if you rinse it out in non chlorinated water it will also add to your bio-filtration

what kind of canister are you using and what is in it
you might also have nitrates in your tap water , if you add chem pure or purigen to your filter it will reduce the nitrites and nitrated , and make your tank look like there is no water in it

do you clean your gravel when you do a water change ?

This is sw not fw. Cleaning a canister weekly for sw is mandatory IMO. Otherwise nitrates will build up and you'll have all sortsa issues.


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[pleechford]

That's what I've been doing. I'm debating if I should get a hob and transition from one to another. I wish I had a sump but it's just not feasible at this point and time. Would to be worth my while to get a hob?


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[carey]

It depends on your tank and its needs as well as you. lol

Are you willing to continue the effort to keep that canister clean? Do you have any need to run gfo or anything because of algae?

I guess a good set of questions before I give an opinion, is:
what is your current stock
how often do you feed and how much
water source? ro/di? tap water?
amount of live rock? like how many lbs or a good guess how much.

These will all dictate, at least to me, what would be the best way to go. Technically you dont need a "filter". live rock is your beneficial bacterias home. BUT to catch any floaters or matter in the water a mechanical filter cant be beat.

 

[pleechford]

It's a 29 gallon bowfront

I have zero algae. 0 nitrates and very low phosphates.

My current stock is two clowns, a firefish, yellow tail damsel, and a diamond goby. I can keep LPS and soft coral really well, exponential growth.

I dose Red Sea reef energy A &B complex. I'm a firm believer in that great product!

I feed my fish about every 3 days.

I don't really have a problem with my tank. I just want to use the best for my tank and I know a canister isn't it. It can become a hassle to clean once a week too. I'm in the military so my time is limited at home. Efficiency is crucial!


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[pleechford]

I have a ro/di filter system.

I have about 20 pounds of live rock as well!


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[BigRedsReefs10]

One of the big aquaclears and a media rack and hob skimmer will probably be easiest/most efficient way IMO. That's how I've run most of my nanos, works great

 

[Ingy]

I have an AquaFuge PS (built in skimmer) which was on my 30gal. Its a combo HOB refugium and skimmer. It really help me with nitrate reduction on that tank. I grew chaeto in there and had small pieces of rocks as well.