Can i run a salt water aquarium (fish only)with only a Canister filter.?
Meaning no need for Live rock,Sump, Bio balls, Protein Skimmer, UV sterlizer, or Chaetomorpha.
Just a Salt water Aquarium with a Cansiter filter and some decorations.
—I would think it could be done successfully,,, you dont mention SAND or any substrate, However ,I would recommend using ceramic media of some fashion in one of the compartments of the canister,,there needs to be some place for nitrifying bacteria to colonize which will help the tank cycle,,,and keep it cycled,,,
—the ceramics can be rinsed off, in old aquarium water, when doing the canister maintenance so that you have minimal impact on the tank cycle when water changes and maintenance are done,,,then replaced into the canister without sacrificing all the needed bacteria every time you work on it
Yes, you can run a reef tank via a HOB filter.
You are best with some live rock for biological filtartion and structure but you can run a saltwater tank with a canister filter.
March 5th, 2010 at 6:20 pmReferences :
Yes. There are several three stage canister filters on the market. I’ve had success with these even with inverts and corals. Some have baskets which you can place your choice of filter media. Be prepared to pay between 1-2 hundred. By the way…I would not do it without at least an inexpensive protien skimmer.
March 5th, 2010 at 6:42 pmReferences :
—I would think it could be done successfully,,, you dont mention SAND or any substrate, However ,I would recommend using ceramic media of some fashion in one of the compartments of the canister,,there needs to be some place for nitrifying bacteria to colonize which will help the tank cycle,,,and keep it cycled,,,
March 5th, 2010 at 7:10 pm—the ceramics can be rinsed off, in old aquarium water, when doing the canister maintenance so that you have minimal impact on the tank cycle when water changes and maintenance are done,,,then replaced into the canister without sacrificing all the needed bacteria every time you work on it
References :
worked for me in a Fluval 404
Yes and no. It all depend on what you put in it.
In a freswater tank, it is not too bad to have nitrates and phosphate to a resonable amount. If saltwater tank, it is better to not have nitrates and phosphate. Some (bellow 15ppm) might not be a problem for a fish only tank but as soon as you’ll add inverts, nitrate and phosphate will be a problem.
The thing with those canister filter is that they are made to turn the organics into Nitrate and Phosphate. Filters made for saltwater aquarium are made to remove organics from your tank, not to turn them into Nitrate and Phosphate.
There is all the instruction for that in the link bellow
However, there are ways to use canister filters in saltwater aquarium an not have any phosphate and nitrates. I have one on my 25 gallon reef tank and manage to keep N and P at 0 all the time. It all depend on what you put in it. What I use is Tri-Base Pelletized Carbon (I fill the filter with it) as a platform for the bacteria to grow (I don’t use it for chemical filtration) and then I add some Right Now Bacteria. All together, you will achieve 0 nitrate and 0 phosphate. When used as a platform for bacteria with the Right Now Bacteria, we only need to change the carbon every 4 years (assuming you clean it once a month).
March 5th, 2010 at 7:26 pmReferences :
http://www.aquariumslife.com/store