Must have media?

[i3oosted]

Currently have HOB filter/skimmer but currently changing to a sump/ref. I dont use bio filtration in the filter as I know its not needed. Bought a UV sterilizer and instead of buying a pump for it, I bought a canister filter to pump the water through it.

So, for my canister filter... what are the must have medias for it? I was thinking a small bag of bio pellets thrown in for some carbon dosing.

Currently run carbon, gfo, and filter floss/polish pad in it that gets cleaned regularly.

Am I missing anything? Thanks!

[Big_Pun]

most pellets require tumbling in a reactor or they will stick together. eco bak claims it needs only 100gph but ive had it clump in a reactor still with improper tumbling, creating a mess of dead sulfer smelling mass that lead dying coral. there was also one product that was in big pieces but i have no experience with it. the uv would be counter productive if put on exhaust side of bio pellets, you would kill bacteria that is produced by bio pellets.

carbon would be the only thing i run in a canister, phos remover, chemi pure elite, extra mechanical filtration to polish water.

[Zack]

Completely agree with Chris here

[rrasco]

Canisters just don't really have their place in SW, I believe primarily because the volume of media required to run effectively in them would be too much. Reactors are much more suited for the amount of media and size tanks we run. The only option IMO would be running carbon pads, phosphate pads, etc, but I prefer GFO/GAC.

[350gt]

Wasnt ace running a canister?.....

[Big_Pun]

Wasnt ace running a canister?.....

i know he ran carbon

[350gt]

I just remember being blown away in disbelief that was all his filtration...

And it was one of the nicer tanks on this site......

[ramsey]

most pellets require tumbling in a reactor or they will stick together. eco bak claims it needs only 100gph but ive had it clump in a reactor still with improper tumbling, creating a mess of dead sulfer smelling mass that lead dying coral. there was also one product that was in big pieces but i have no experience with it. the uv would be counter productive if put on exhaust side of bio pellets, you would kill bacteria that is produced by bio pellets.


+1 even with the jumbo biopellet products, having a UV filter might be counter productive. Also, you're gonna want a really good skimmer (oversized) if you're carbon dosing.

I also agree with rrasco. If you're going to be running a sump, I'd just hook the UV up to a small pump and not use the canister filter. Get a reactor or two instead.

As far as media goes, it depends on what you want to do in your tank. Most people carbon dose if they want to feed somewhat heavily and but keep nutrients very low (SPS tanks). There's also people that just carefully monitor how much they feed and run a refugium for nutrient export. If you're going to be keeping softies and LPS, I'd do a fuge + carbon and possibly GFO if phosphates got high. Ultimately, keeping pristine water is more important for SPS tanks and less important for LPS/softie tanks. There's hundreds of different ways and combinations to run either one.

[i3oosted]

Do the biopellets just feed the bacteria or does it also house it too? I'm keeping my UV and my canister filter, but it seems only gfo and carbon will be ran in it. Thanks!

[rrasco]

BioPellets are a form of carbon dosing. The carbon, along with inorganic nitrate, is metabolized by the bacteria and ultimately skimmed out of the system.