Liverock in canister

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Fishfighter

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
May 8, 2012
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193
Just a quick statement but I recently switched out the ceramic media in my canister filter w live rock rubble and it worked great! Notice a big difference in clarity and a healthy looking tank overall!
 
What kind of canister? I have a magnum 350 laying around I thought about filling the media compartment with small live rock and the space outside with bigger prices. Leaving about two inches inside canister with air to get oxygen mixing with water before sent back to tank.
 
Fluval 306. Still running carbon and sponges. It has about 4 chambers for different filtration. Those ceramic pieces that they recommend from factory are nitrate factories.
 
Fishfighter said:
Fluval 306. Still running carbon and sponges. It has about 4 chambers for different filtration. Those ceramic pieces that they recommend from factory are nitrate factories.

Canister filters in general are nitrate factories if you don't keep up with maintenance.
 
your nitrate levels are directly proportionate to your amonia levels, canister filters do not produce nitrates they simply convert amonia to nitrite and then to nitrate
 
manbeast said:
your nitrate levels are directly proportionate to your amonia levels, canister filters do not produce nitrates they simply convert amonia to nitrite and then to nitrate

Hence why I said if you don't keep up with maintenance.
 
just the way the conversation was heading it sounded as though people were blaming nitrates on the filters as if somehow the filter was creating the nitrates
 
I don't even have to test my water and I can tell you that the live rock in my canister does a better job than that ceramic media that they come with. I do maintenance like clockwork by the way.
 
manbeast said:
just the way the conversation was heading it sounded as though people were blaming nitrates on the filters as if somehow the filter was creating the nitrates

Skimmers are more effective in keeping nitrates down , since they remove waste from the water column and if a filter isn't cleaned often a lot of waste will build up, I have noticed a drop in nitrates after removing my canister completely , I have the fluvol 206 and I only use it once and a while to run some GFO with no sponges if a testing to high for phosphates , if you clean out ur filter on a weekly basis I think you should be fine. I always noticed left over food in my filter sponges but I use frozen foods so it dosent float on the water surface until all eaten.

Just a question though, how long we're you running this canister ? Since the ceramic media dose not have live bacteria on it an will need time to produce this and since you LR dose ... All you did there was speed up the time it would have taken to grow the bacteria normally ( which is not a bad thing at all )
 
I ran this particular canister for about8 months w just routine cleaning. Switched out for the live rock about a week ago. The tank had a mini cycle right after. 2 days later I had a chance to really clean the glass and noticed it was really easy and when I was done everything looked great. My sand looks a lot cleaner too.
 
Fishfighter said:
I ran this particular canister for about8 months w just routine cleaning. Switched out for the live rock about a week ago. The tank had a mini cycle right after. 2 days later I had a chance to really clean the glass and noticed it was really easy and when I was done everything looked great. My sand looks a lot cleaner too.

Then win win ^_^ w00t for you !
 
Won't the liverock die in a canister filter? No light gets in at all. Whats the benefit or having the rock in there?
 
I used some old rubbles I've had in a bucket clean and dry. I've talked to some people who have done it and said it works so I gave it a try. Don't remember all the details as far as the biology of it.
 
If it was dry then it's will have only the same effect as the ceramic stuff. Blocking larger particles. I'd assume.
 
Not an expert at all so I'm going to throw this out there for anyone to comment. What would be the difference between ceramic media and live rock in canister filter. Thanks in advance for the replies.
 
Animal-Chin said:
Won't the liverock die in a canister filter? No light gets in at all. Whats the benefit or having the rock in there?

The rock is just a porous substrate for bacteria to grow on. The more effective surface area it has, the more bacteria it can host. Light has nothing to do with it as the bacteria doesn't need it to grow. The live rock buried in your reef never sees light, but it does it's job fine. The more live rock in the system, the better off you are IMO. The classic setup is just tons of rock, a protien skimmer and lots of flow.
 
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