Big Tex
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not sure what the benefits of the canister are, can someone explain it? I run a 55 with two power heads and a skimmer, works fine for me with weekly water changes. Wouldn't the canister just be adding extra maintenance/potential nitrate build ups? The only downside to t5 lighting is the bulbs replacement yearly. Once I reached my first bulb replacement on a 4 x t5 unit I was regretting it. The cost of led is more upfront but uses less electricity and no need for regular bulb changing. Just a thought, they are a good price at the moment and you will be ready for corals when the time comes...
a canister would be your mechanical filtration aka "water polishing" thats basically what it boils down too, a skimmer pulls all the small micro stuff out that yuo didnt even know was tehre, but canister pulls heavy matter and polishes the water with different stages of media.