Filtration help?!

[Johnny94]

i have a 180L salt water aquarium(my small tank), and was just wondering i have a spare external canister filter, is there any filter media i could use to just help the water out without adding nitrates/nitrites or messing anything up in it? I've read up and a lot of people say there is ways you can and it is good and others suggest not too just don't want to waste the filter even if its used as a power head? any help is appreciate thanks.




(((i have sump, skimmer, sand bed live rock everything as normal)))

 

[Bectan01]

If you have a sump I can't imagine a canister being beneficial at all. Do you have a problem with high nitrates?

 

[Johnny94]

The sump is just a part time thing it's not my actual sump I lent it thats why I'm wondering if a canister can be used untill I have the money for a new sump set up

 

[Bectan01]

Ah, well if it was me I still wouldn't use the canister. How far away is your sump set up? Is it a new tank?

 

[Johnny94]

The sump won't be for a while need the money I got for renovations, and my friend wants the sump back so I need some kind of filtration while I have no sump, that's why I was thinking the canister maybe sponge n live rock in it or something just to help maintain for the time it won't have a sump

 

[Bectan01]

If you have plenty of rock and flow and I see you have a skimmer you don't really need a mechanical filter. I run a system without mechanical filtration and just make sure I keep up with my weekly water changes. Is the tank a new set up? How much rock do you have in there?

 

[Johnny94]

The tank has been running for months it's not to new, I have about 7-8kg worth of rock and a thick 4 inch live sand bed, it has plenty of flow over the rock n corals

 

[Bectan01]

Hmm, you may need the canister after all. A hob filter would be better if you can get your hands on one. Not nearly enough live rock I think to provide your only filtration...

 

[Johnny94]

That's whats I was thinking I just don't know what media to use cause I'm a little right with money and don't want to kill off everything in the tank, so what do you think any suggestions on media ?

 

[Bectan01]

Sorry, can't help you there. Like I said I don't use mechanical filtration at all. Hopefully someone can give you some good advice!

 

[Johnny94]

Hopefully, thanks anyway

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

You really need at least 25kg (55lbs) of "Live Rock" to run a Berlin reef system (no mechanical filtration) for a 50 gallon tank!
I do it with my 150 gallon but I have over 450lbs of live rock and my water is crystal clear!!

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

You may be able to use your canister as a sand bed reactor if which would help. Just some DIY involved!

 

[Johnny94]

i'd love to have more live rock but as i mentioned earlier in this post money is a tight subject at the moment, i'm basically trying to see if i can replace my sump with the canister just to maintain everything until i can get myself a new sump.

 

[ivan_dalmatia]

Look into making a sand bed reactor, they are easy to make and hold a lot of aerobic bacteria.

 

[Johnny94]

alright ill have a look and see, thanks heaps

 

[mr_X]

I don't think you have enough rock either. roughly 15-20 pounds of rock in a nearly 50 gallon tank isn't much. At least a pound per gallon is ideal. You could use the canister filter and keep some sponge and carbon in it, but you'll have to thoroughly clean it about weekly.