do i need a canister filter??

[bbauer]

I am setting up a 110 tall fowler tank with 60 lbs of lalo live rock. I have a proclear 150 with a built in protien skimmer. I have been seeing that many people tyhat are using pro clear systems are also using cannister filters. Should I use one and why? Also, if I need one can I put it inline with my sump. The reason I ask is because Many people are using the hang on cannisters and I dont want to hang anything else of the back of my tank. Thanks

 

[Krish]

You have the same wet/dry I use to have! I use a cannister simply for the extra flow and to use carbon. If you don't want to see it you could get a HOT magnum and just set it up on your sump. Did you just get the wet/dry? I would think about getting better skimmer though. The proclear skimmers aren't that effecient. I had problems wth mine and my friend had a problem with his...May just be ours though (LOL)

 

[Krish]

Oh, and bbauer, you don't have to get a cannister filter. I used one because I had one and figured I needed the extra flow and could use carbon in it. Most people just get a filter bag or a stocking and just throw carbon in their sump. I didn't want to use up too much space with an extra bag in my sump. Also, cannister filters are good to have simply for polishing water once in a while. That was the main reason why I got one in the beginning when I had freshwater. After a water change, I'd have a lot of junk circulating in my tank, so I would just put in a polishing cartridge and run it for 24hrs. Also, they can me very helpful in mechanical filtration, but you have to be careful not to let the media, floss etc go too long before you change them out because they may cause more harm than good...Just a few more points I forgot to add.

 

[clayswim]

I agree with Krish, they're not necessary; but they can be useful. If you have room you can also install a Pentair Lifegard chemical module inline. Just pull the cartridge out when you don't want to run carbon. I run carbon all the time on my nano and freshwater tanks, but not on bigger SW tanks. Once or twice a month works great for clearing up any discoloration. If you go with a canister filter I'd recommend the Marineland Magnum series. Unlike most other filters that are really designed for freshwater, the Magnum filters don't offer biological filtration (stay away from the Pro, it comes with the Bio-Wheel). You can use them with either carbon (or similar media) or a micron cartridge for polishing the water. Both can be useful in a saltwater tank.

Clayton

 

[bbauer]

Thanks for the responses

Thanks for the info, curious though Krish, what problems did you have with your protien skimmer on the pro clear system. Im sure I could probably search about other good skimmers but since you had the same system I have what did you replace yours with?? Also you said its the same system you USED to have. why did you get rid of it?? Did you have other problems?

 

[Krish]

Well, with my skimmer, the fist venturi they sent never worked...It just wouldn't produce foam. So I call proaquatics and they sent me another one which worked. The problem with that though was I had to remove the valve totally to get any real foam to produce. My friend had the same problem having to discard his valve. After running it for a few weeks on my new setup (which I started from scratch) it produced some junk for say about 2 weeks and then that was it. I figured that there was nothing left to remove and that was why it stopped producing. It still bothered me though because some people can run their skimmers wet and I never was able to shoot water in the collection cup even if I wanted from day one even with 2 different cap pumps.
So I figured I'd just pull out the skimmer section and add a different on. I would have kept the same sump, but when I first got it, it was damaged in shipping as it had to come to the Bahamas. I had to glue the first chamber because it became loose and the sump itself started to warp. So what I did was have the exact same sump rebuilt changing just a few measurement and having the input on the top instead of the side. When I installed my AquaC skimmer I'd say 2 days later, it started pulling out junk that I though was already removed. The proclear skimmer does work...It just isn't as effecient as alot of the other ones. Here is a picture of my new sump and skimmer incase you never saw it on another thread. The only difference now from these pics is I made a new drip plate and removed the little powerhead and spray bar in pic 2. Hope I helped.

 

[Krish]

Oops sorry about that second image (LOL) Here it is again.

 

[bbauer]

how much did you spend on your new skimmer??\

 

[Krish]

I bought it from one of the Sponsors Premium Aquatics, and the skimmer was $299 and the pump was somewhere around $50 (mag5 was reccommended)