Guest tattooed January 19, 2007 Share January 19, 2007 I am new to this (fresh water for 15 years). I have 23 gallon tank that I am going to use with 40 pounds of live rock . The gal at the LFS said to do live rock and a canister filter..I have read that you can use a canister and that not to use a canister filter. Help please! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevil January 19, 2007 Share January 19, 2007 I don't think you need a canister filter... What kind of tank is it? Is it an aquapod with built in chambers, or just a glass box? Is it drilled, do you have any kind of overflow so you can have a sump? I think the basics are - live rock, live sand, protein skimmer and pump/powerhead for movement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 19, 2007 Share January 19, 2007 Howdy, The tank is a 23 gallon hex, just a glass box Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger January 19, 2007 Share January 19, 2007 Instead of the canister, I'd look into a hang on back protein skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 January 20, 2007 Share January 20, 2007 We've got a 36 gallon hex and we use a Cascade canister filter (which is cheap and works pretty well for us), live sand, ~40 lbs of nice and "purple-y" LR, and protein skimmer. If you get nice LR from someone on the forum, you'll be better off because it'll be pretty established and will help you start off on the right foot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 20, 2007 Share January 20, 2007 I used to be a pretty stong advocate of canister filters, lol ask people... but I'm down to one... now. Nothing beats a good sump though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 20, 2007 Share January 20, 2007 I bought a red sea protien skimmer and a Cascade canister filter. is that over kill? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tygger January 20, 2007 Share January 20, 2007 You have enough LR so you really dont need the canister, but it won't hurt to have it. Since you already have them, run both. It'll add some flow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howser January 20, 2007 Share January 20, 2007 Here's my two cents on the canisters. Good: Add flow, provide a good method by which to introduce things like carbon (if and when you choose), plus gives you a good failsafe should something else fail from a cleaning perspective. Assuming you're worried about flooding, Canisters provide a good way around that. Bad: People forget about them, and don't clean them. Causing them to harbor nitrates and other bad things. I have two in my 90 gallon tank and I like them. It's a simple way to go if you're so inclined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 21, 2007 Share January 21, 2007 Ok i got the tank going today, I bought premixed water..the SG is 1.030..I put i 17 gallons any idea on how much fresh water I would need to bring that down ? And thanks for the feedback on the filter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howser January 21, 2007 Share January 21, 2007 Ok i got the tank going today, I bought premixed water..the SG is 1.030..I put i 17 gallons any idea on how much fresh water I would need to bring that down ? And thanks for the feedback on the filter! What are you aiming for? If your tank is 23 gallons (plus a gallon or so in the canister) just fill the rest up with RO water. You should be in the sweet spot. (It not, just wait for a little evaporation and put saltwater back in, that will slowly raise the SG). If you're doing only fish, they'll do well at a lower SG, if you're doing inverts, they'll like it higher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 21, 2007 Share January 21, 2007 Slowly dilute with RODI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trble81 January 21, 2007 Share January 21, 2007 Just as an FYI...our SG did change after ~24 hours so when you dilute or add salt, give it time to really mix in because it could affect the level enough to change what you were going to do next (either add more water or salt). Oh yeah...I'm not trying to talk down or anything but remember that salt doesn't evaporate so watch that water level to maintain the SG. We keep our house a little cooler than probably most people do (which is a result of us coming from the Buffalo area) so the temp difference between our tank and our air temp probably increases our evap rate so I watch the level like a hawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 Hmm where are some pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TROLL January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 I used to be canister man but after meeting several reefers all over- I've noticed they lack one thing, canister filter. I asked them and they always say, Skimmer will do job. After this, I researched a lot and found skimmer would do job equally. It's good to have canister filter as back up in case your poisonous livestock spew toxins or corals get stressed and release toxins. It's very useful when nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia spike occurs but have to be careful like Howser said- people forget them and it turns into nitrate farm. Red sea skimmer will do magnificent job. Some of reefers I've met gave me their own "golden rule" Go with skimmer that is rated 50% or more for your tank. I've been running Seaclone 150 on my 30g cube- works well. Also, not all skimmers out there are properly rated, some will underperform while some will perform as they are rated for their tank... Keep that canister filter handy so you might need it someday in case something happens. As for fishes, if you want to keep SG high- go with red sea fishes, they're adapted to high SG and not easily affected when SG goes down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grav January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 We keep our house a little cooler than probably most people do (which is a result of us coming from the Buffalo area) so the temp difference between our tank and our air temp probably increases our evap rate so I watch the level like a hawk. I grew up in Amherst NY, I still have not turned the heat on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howser January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 I used to be canister man but after meeting several reefers all over- I've noticed they lack one thing, canister filter. I asked them and they always say, Skimmer will do job. After this, I researched a lot and found skimmer would do job equally. It's good to have canister filter as back up in case your poisonous livestock spew toxins or corals get stressed and release toxins. It's very useful when nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia spike occurs but have to be careful like Howser said- people forget them and it turns into nitrate farm. Red sea skimmer will do magnificent job. Some of reefers I've met gave me their own "golden rule" Go with skimmer that is rated 50% or more for your tank. I've been running Seaclone 150 on my 30g cube- works well. Also, not all skimmers out there are properly rated, some will underperform while some will perform as they are rated for their tank... Keep that canister filter handy so you might need it someday in case something happens. As for fishes, if you want to keep SG high- go with red sea fishes, they're adapted to high SG and not easily affected when SG goes down. Troll makes some good points. Also, remember that the canister (even if you don't use it normally) is great when cleaning up some sand storms caused by the incessant urge to "change just one thing" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny January 22, 2007 Share January 22, 2007 I just wanted to say WELCOME to WAMAS! And I think almost everyone will agree that a canister filter on a reef or marine fishes tank won't give you that much benefit especially next to a protein skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 23, 2007 Share January 23, 2007 I just wanted to say WELCOME to WAMAS! And I think almost everyone will agree that a canister filter on a reef or marine fishes tank won't give you that much benefit especially next to a protein skimmer. I dissagree... . I'm also currently working hard to kill everything in my tank, so I'll keep my mouth shut for the time being Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia January 23, 2007 Share January 23, 2007 Canister filters and biowheels always create alot of discusssion. I use a canister (rena Filstar) on my 30 gallon reef and clean it every two weeks. By cleaning, I mean I totally disconnect it and empty all the chambers, scrub with a toothbrush and flush the whole thing with hot water. It's amazing how much gunk it pulls out of the tank. I like it because I can run carbon, Chemi Pure and whatever else I may want to use...ie Phosban or Purigen. I also run an Aqua C Remora skimmer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 23, 2007 Share January 23, 2007 Got the water down to 1.025, I threw in a piece of shrimp Sunday. The levles are starting to go up today, and the skimmer is starting to make some good foam. When and how much of a water change should I do based on the chemistry levels ofthe water. Right now as of an hour ago: PH-7.9 Can you raise that with chemicals like a fresh water tank? Nitrate- 5.0 Ammonia-1.5 Nitrite-.25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak January 24, 2007 Share January 24, 2007 Change in smaller doses every few weeks, or in a larger dose once a month, the first being the better of the two. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sugar Magnolia January 24, 2007 Share January 24, 2007 Wait till your ammonia and nitrite zero out and the nitrate starts to drop then do a 20% change. Your pH is going to swing around during the cycle, so don't be concerned about trying to raise it right now. Once all of your levels are at zero, test it both in the am and pm and see what the levels are. The level in the morning will be lower than the level in the pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 24, 2007 Share January 24, 2007 Thanks for the help.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tattooed January 27, 2007 Share January 27, 2007 One week now, tested the water this morning everything was zero..the PHis still low 7.9, Saw some pods last night!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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