Canister filter for Salt Water

[jameshtruong]

I found a new way to take care of that surface scum!!! point a power head upwards toward the surface and it will break up all the scum!!!

[BassTank]

How often did u clean ur canister before u got the sump?

[jameshtruong]

i would never clean it unless it was really clogged up. never had any problems. i switched back to the canister

[BassTank]

What do u fill it with.

[jameshtruong]

lava and some other white rock from home depot and foam pad

[rage]

lava and some other white rock from home depot and foam pad

So you use tap water and lava rock in a canister filter for your tank? What do you use to treat your tap water?

Maybe you are ok now but there is no guarantee that it won't go bad on you eventually.

[jameshtruong]

just de clorinator! my tanks looks perfect! i dont believe in paying for water.

[jameshtruong]

there is also no gaurante it wont go bad with rodi water the store either.....

[soymilk]

Do you know the difference between rodi water and dechlorinated water?

How does water go bad? Do you know why they recommend rodi water for a reef?

[jameshtruong]

i have no idea.... i even use dechlorinated water in my 175

[soymilk]

Ro/di water is water that is purified though filters, a reverse osmosis membrane and then any left over solids are absorbed by the deionazation resin. Leaving the water very pure with little to no dissolved solids left in the water.

Dechlorinated water is just tap water with an agent added to detoxify or break down chlorine. It still has a lot of desolved solids in the water. Solids such as iron, phosphate, nitrates, carbonate, calcium, floride and other solids. As reefkeepers we try to limit the amount of nutrients that is introduced to out tank. Nutrients will negatively impact the livestock as well as let unwanted pest algae grow and multiply in the tank.

Let me put it like this, it's like buying a 100k car and then cheaping out and putting the 87 octane in the tank. Sure it might run good for a while, but what are the long term consequences. Once algae starts growing it will be very hard to stop it. Especially in a tank with no active nutrient removal. Reefkeeping has evolved tremendously in the past 10-20 years. The reasons why people recommend certain things is because it tends to work. It's often better to go with the status quo then to experiment. Not saying experimenting is bad, but you have to understand the basic concepts before spewing nonsense.

[semper]

analogy is somewhat right, but price of vehicle has nothing to do with fuel type. premium fuel in a regular engine will do nothing but hurt your wallet.

[soymilk]

price does have to do with it. Usually luxury cars require higher octane gas. It doesn't really matter too much if you have an accord, but it would be a different story if you drive a mercedes or some other luxury car. kinda offtopic lol.

I'm not against canister filters or whatever. I've seen tanks with nothing but liverock and water changes and it look spectacular. This build comes to mind...

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=132143&st=120

He did an awesome job with little filtration. There is even a guy in newyork with a tank he uses tap water, and really nice and been running for something like 20 years. But tap water in newyork is unbelievably clean compared to tap water in houston.

[cobraden]

I've used a canister filter on many saltwater tanks. Usually Fish only or fish and live rock, but I'm using an eheim on a 42 bowfront that I am keeping corals in now. I have it packed with bio bale just because I happen to have some laying around.

I wouldn't use Lava rock if you plan to try inverts like corals and shrimps. Unless you know the composition of that lava rock, you have a chance of introducing copper and other heavy metals that could be harmful. Fish only should not be too much of a problem.

As for tap vs ro, test your water, if it's good go with it. I use RO because I have less problems with introducing phospates and other stuff that cause problems like hair and red algae in reef tanks. sure you can buy chemicals and reactors to get rid of it but for me it's just easier not to put it in to start with if I can help it.

[BassTank]

with all this new info i might just convert my 65 to a FOWLR with a 2217 or 2. i was gonna do discus but they boring.....