SandJ October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 I purchased an established tank back in March. It is a 36 gallon bow front. Five fish (pair of clowns, diamond goby, chromis, six line and a huge brittle star), 40 pounds of sand, 60 pounds of live rock and has a Fluval 306 canister filter (no sump). So far I have removed (not all at once, one at a time over a few months): the ceramic cylinders, black sponges, black bio-balls, and two of the 4 foam blocks. So now there are just 2 of the foam blocks in the canister (did have GFO in it for a couple months). Today I installed a Remora AquaC HOB skimmer. So my question, is it ok to remove the canister filter? Is there anything special I should do once it is removed (increase CUC, etc...)? Thanks in advance for any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 No you should be fine. Nothing should happen by taking that offline especially since you added a skimmer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 The "ceramic cylinders, black sponges, black bio-balls, and two of the 4 foam blocks" all had beneficial bacteria in them so removing them all at once would have caused a nitrate spike but because you removed them gradually and added a skimmer you should be fine. You want to be careful not to create a sudden imbalance in the amount of beneficial, "trate eating" bacteria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 People are often advised to ditch canister filters because they can become a detritus trap. If you cleaned the thing out every 2 or 3 days forever the canister filter would work well but draining it and cleaning it out that often would get old fast. You may wish to keep it on hand along with adsorption media to deal with a huge trate or ammonia spike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandJ October 1, 2015 Author Share October 1, 2015 Thanks to both of you for your help! Yes, I did not want to cause a mini-cycle so I took the media out a little at a time. I had been cleaning it weekly, but you are correct, it is a pain to keep clean. I will work on removing the canister in a little bit. The skimmer seemed to be doing its job. In 17 hours it pulled 1 quart of tea colored skimmate. But as of a few hours ago, it has stopped producing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds October 1, 2015 Share October 1, 2015 What kind of pump are you running on the remora? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandJ October 1, 2015 Author Share October 1, 2015 Maxi-jet 1200 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s2nhle October 5, 2015 Share October 5, 2015 the maxi-jet pump is fine. have you adjust the collection cup? move it all the way down for wet or up for dry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandJ October 5, 2015 Author Share October 5, 2015 Yes, I have been adjusting it to get a dry skimmate. Thanks for the suggestion. The bottom of the collection cup did not have a tight fit so I cut air line and put along two edges. That stopped the foam from leaking around the bottom of the cup. I think it is just the time of day. The amount of skimmate produced slows down or stops around noon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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