Changing HOB filter over to canister

[lucke]

I have a 55 gal SW tank, fish only, which has currently been running on a Emperor 400 for the past 8 years. I decided to change over to an Eheim 2026 canister filter. Just wondering how I should make the change over. Should I run both side by side for a while to allow the bio-load to establish in the canister before removing the Emperor? If so, how long should I wait to remove the Emperor?

[neilanh]

There's 2 things you can do here.

Like you said, run both simultaneously for like a month or so.

Or, depending on the canister you got, if you can somehow cram the media from the HOB into the canister that would work too.

[roka64]

How much LR do you have? I imagine if you have plenty of LR, you might not need to even worry about the media.
Just to be safe, I would probably do what Neil suggests.