Who uses a canister filter?

[Krish]

Great debate on the use of canister filters going on on another thread so I thought it would be nice to see who's using them and for what purposes.

 

[ac7av]

I currently use one for running carbon. I replace 12 oz of carbon every 2 weeks. I have a sheet of floss on each side to keep it from floating away.

 

[Scooterman]

You might want to throw in a few short basics, as to what you have tank size, amount of fish, LR, type skimmer. Lets see what kind of load you have and how much does that canister play in keeping your system going. Also, how often do yo clean it and how long have yo used it, is it 24/7??

Heck, makes me want to go read that other thread LOL!

 

[abushr]

I have both. My 120 runs with a sump. Currently my 30 runs with a canister filter....but that will change in the next week or so...I bought new sump for big tank and will be drilling sm tank and moving the old sump over to it.

The trick with canister filters is...you have to rinse out the sponges/filters frequently....otherwise the nitrates go nuts....lol

 

[TheKraken]

The freshwater planted tanks get canisters because of the sheer amount of mud produced by the tank (small ponds turn into meadows with time). The canisters main role is to get rid of all the little floties in the water and if the breakdown product is nitrogen rich that just happens to make great plant food. Powerheads tend to be good at attracting whole leaves and other gunk that dramatically slows the flow so the canister needs to push a lot of water.

The reef gets a sump because a filter sock gets rid of the big floaties and a skimmer does the rest. The space between the skimmer and the return is used to grow macros which further "eat" pollution. Water movement in the tank is supplemented with power heads.

Now a modular canister filter is a different story. I would love to get pleats for my ocean clear bodies and set up an aggressive backwash system to automate catch/clear.

 

[Faciosity]

When I got my 75 gallon tenecor, It had a canister filter plumbed in with a bunch of different media. I removed everything, and put carbon in it sometimes. I basically just use it for more circulation in place of a sump. When I set up my 180, the canister will go by by, or will be used on my large cichlid tank.

 

[Krish]

One thing I could say I loved my canister filter for when I did use one was to run a polishing cartridge in it and vaccum out my sump (I had the H.O.T magnum). Here is what the cartridge looked like after one cleaning

 

[kenargo]

Technically I don't run a canister filter but I do use a BulkReefSupply water filter canister for carbon and on occasion GFO. Not sure this counts or not...