40 breeder canister filter or not

[Racerx094]

So here is my set up 40g breeder with reef octopus hb 1000 two hydor 850 ph 40lb of live rock and an eheim 2217 canister filter my question is do I really need the canister filter or not

[carey]

I would keep the canister so that you have a means of catching pariculate matter that floats in your tank. You also can use it as a reactor so if you need to run GFO or Carbon you can easily add it.

[Racerx094]

Can you recommend what media to put in the canister besides the stuff that it comes with

[carey]

When I was running my canister I just had a tray of biomedia, next tray was carbon or gfo and the top was filter pads.

just know that canisters can be challenging to keep clean so you have to be on it or else you'll get nasty nitrates.

[EriksFish315]

How often Do you reccomend cleaning your canister I have an eheim 2217 as well. Mostly filled with bio media filter pad on the bottom bio media in the middle and filter pad and carbon pad at the top.

[carey]

It kinda depends on your tank and feeding habits. But a good rule would be to check it every other week and then figure how long you can go between cleanings. I was cleaning mine out every 2-3 weeks and still managed to have 0 nitrates.

[EriksFish315]

Great to hear. I tend to be OCD with keeping my canisters clean check them once a week to begin with to get a feel for how dirty they get.

[Racerx094]

If I get a refugium do I still need a canister filter?

[EriksFish315]

I would reccomend yes the canister is still going to catch the large debri and used for mechanical filtration.