Cirenus Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I am looking at getting a canister filter for my 55g FOWLR tank and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions? I have been having issues with keeping the water clear and am hoping this will help with the extra filtration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I am looking at getting a canister filter for my 55g FOWLR tank and was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions? I have been having issues with keeping the water clear and am hoping this will help with the extra filtration. Do you run carbon? If not reactors are pretty cheap. Carbon will do wonders for water clarity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I was running a HoB carbon filter and a protein skimmer. Since the HoB filter was not making a dent in this water issue, and was just catching other detritus stuff I decided to take it off a couple days ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I don't think you even want to deal with the mess that is a canister filter. I had one on my freshwater tank and it was annoying to service, prime, etc. and it was a really good one with shut-off valves and other conveniences. Of course, if you want to give it a try, I'll sell you my Cascade 700 (I'm pretty sure it's a 700, I can check when I get home) for $30.00. It ran for about 4 months before I had to tear down that tank to move. I'm not planning on setting up any more freshwater tanks for quite some time and it's just sitting in the garage. I'd just stick with a HOB filter. Easy to service, quick to install, and easily removable if you no longer need it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barelycuda Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I would probably go with an AC70 and buy the media basket for it. Fill it with carbon and it will do the same job as a canister with a lot less work. I owned a canister on one of my first FOWLR tanks and will never own another one again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I would probably go with an AC70 and buy the media basket for it. Fill it with carbon and it will do the same job as a canister with a lot less work. +1 AC70's are only around 40 bucks on Amazon right now. Make your own media basket or buy an inTank one like I have. I wonder if your water clarity issue isn't something else not related to filtration. My 7.5 gallon tank has no filtration whatsoever (aside from live rock) and it's clear as a bell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Can you take a picture of the tank? Also, what are your water parameters? Maybe something is off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 All my Parameters were on the dot that i could test for yesterday when I tested. Ammonia - 0 Nitrites - 0 Nitrates - 0 Ph - 8.1 Salinity was at 1.21, kind of low so when I did a water change I added some more salt to the water that was going to go in so that I could raise it. The tank was setup early june and finished its cycling early july. Ill post some pictures tomorrow morning. Going to take a sample of my water down to the LFS to see if their tests show something different. Its weird, my tank will clear, then get cloudy three days later, and then 10 days after that get super clear again. Its done this repeat 3 times now. It literally looks like someone made weak tea out of the water. Its kind of frustrating for me because before this tank, we had another 55g FOWLR that was perfect from day 1, we have done the exact same things with this one, and its just been a struggle this time around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 It could definitely be something other than filtration, just am having a hard time placing the root cause and am trying different options to figure it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Double post.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Do you have all Real Reef Rock? I know people in this area use Lava Rock and fake rock that is made out of cement, sand and what ever else they use in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 All Real reef rock =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 I would also advise against a canister filter. They are a lot of annoying maintance that is just not worth it. A good hang on the back will give you the same results with so much less maintance. If you are feeling frisky a sump would be even better (naughty) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 What brand of salt are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 Took some water down to the LFS the guy down their thinks that it might be an algae bloom, and the reason it went away was because it had devoured all the food. This could explain why my filter feeding scallop is going nuts and hanging out up front now.....eating all that gunk out of the water. That being said, he could not tell me the best way to get rid of it, he said their is an algae destroyer that you can purchase and put a small amount in to your tank. He did not have any in, any other options? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derbird Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Took some water down to the LFS the guy down their thinks that it might be an algae bloom' date=' and the reason it went away was because it had devoured all the food. This could explain why my filter feeding scallop is going nuts and hanging out up front now.....eating all that gunk out of the water. That being said, he could not tell me the best way to get rid of it, he said their is an algae destroyer that you can purchase and put a small amount in to your tank. He did not have any in, any other options?[/quote'] I would be cautious about adding chemicals to your system. Many say they are reef safe but I have heard of side effects on your system. But I am parinoid about adding things to my tank The best way to fight algea is to take away its food source. It has to have a source of light, NO3, and PO4 to survive. Find out where the nutrients are comming from and you can solve your problem. If you don't have any high light corals you can also do a lights out to help battle the outbreak Do you have any macro algea in your system? Its a great way to remove excess nutrients. You can also run GFO which works well for PO4 and carbon will remove disolved organics. I have heard good things about pellet reactors but have yet to try it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islandoftiki Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Treat the source of the problem and not the symptom. Derbird is exactly right, you have excess nutrients coming from somewhere and not leaving the system. Most often, overfeeding is the main cause of excess nutrients. Can you give us a detailed description of your system, lighting, filtration, type and number of fish/clean up crew and your maintenance practices? Try to be as detailed as possible, and we may be able to serve up a solution for you that gets to the root of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Currently I have 4 t5 HO lights, 50/50. I run a HoB Protein skimmer with refugium built in with live rock in it for added filtration. I have 2 Cardinals, 2 false clown fish, 2 pistol shrimps, 1 blackfin shrimp goby, and 2 YWG, 1 emerald crab, 4 blue legged hermits, 2 Jumbo snails, 4 Astrea snails, not sure how many Nassarius snails I have left as some of them got eaten by my hermits, and 1 electric scallop. Currently doing 1 10-15% water change every other Saturday. Daily, scrubbing of the glass with magfloat scrubber. Currently feeding twice a day with flake, small amounts that are eaten in less than 15 seconds. Every Saturday, i give 1 small piece of silverside to the emerald crab as a treat which he devours. My gobies do not get to the flake before it is eaten so I supplement their diet, with 1/3rd of an algae wafer, crushed once a day. On the 3rd saturday of the month, I replace morning flake with frozen mysis shrimp, 1/4th of a frozen cube, thawed and administered with a baster for the fish. One thing that does supply nutrients to algae is that I have to use tapwater for my water changes, it is treated with API to take away the chlorine and ammonia that is present, and it sits in a plastic tub and mixed with salt, measured, and allowed to sit over night with a powerhead in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I'd be willing to bet that there is something in the tap water causing your problem. Is it from the city or a well? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 How long has your water been cloudy and how cloudy are we talking? Can you still see your fish? You could also have a bacteria bloom going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 It will be cloudy for about 10 days, looking like weak tea at day 1, and roughly at day 5 it looks like dark yellowish green water, and then over the course of another 5 days, it will become crystal clear. Which lasts for about 3 days, and then it starts all over again. Up until day 3 I can still see my fish, day 4 and 5 only if they swim to the front of the glass. At day 7 I can see through one end to the other again. this started happening shortly after this tank finished cycling, I'd say within about 1 week of it being at 0 ammonia and nitrates it started. The water is from city, I tested it, and had my LFS test it when I first started this tank to see what the nitrates and ammonia levels were at. The ammonia came back with trace levels, and the nitrates came back being slightly above 0. I do not know if I can pin point the water as the single cause though, because prior to this tank, we had another 55g setup that had been going for 3 months, with perfectly clear water using the same tap water. Only reason we had to get this new one going was because the old one had gotten a crack and was bowing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 I would test it for phosphates. Use a sample from the tap to test. If you use a sample from the tank you may not get a accurate reading as the algae will be consuming it as fast as it can. The cycle of this would seem to be in line with your bi-weekly water changes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Yeah, we came to that conclusion at the fish store, that the nitrates were not showing up because they were being eaten quickly, completely spaced po4 testing because I do not have one in this basic test kit. I will need to go pick one up at my LFS tomorrow. Another thing that supports the algae bloom theory is that my scallop, and snails go crazy as the water gets darker, the scallop starts to feed like mad on things in the water, and the snails all come out and start munching. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cirenus Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 I am also considering changing my light cycle to get less light in the tank, right now it is on a timer from 8 am till 7 pm, considering changing it from 9-6. Also, looking at the plants I do have in the tank, 2 calupra. One of them looks like it shed some of its plant stems, which could be causing some of the nutrients for the algae, noticed them caught on the underside of one of my LR while i was cleaning a little bit ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Sounds like you are on the right track. Never had this issue myself but have seen tanks with it. Nasty stuff! I have always run my lights 8 hours a day and everything seems fine. With you not having any coral you could run them alot less than you are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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