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FAQs about Canister, Cartridge Filters For Marine Systems,
Placement Related Articles:
Physical Filtration, Review of the
ViaAqua Canister Filter, Related
FAQs: Canister Filters 1,
Canister Filters 2, Canister Filters
3, Outside Power Filters, &
FAQs on: Rationale/Use,
Media, Plumbing,
Maintenance, Troubleshooting/Repair,
By Manufacturer: Eheim,
Fluval, Other Brands, |
Intake and return water level should be about equal... |
Filter Question 4/23/08
Hi Crew!
<Hello Liyu>
I have
been reading your website in the past week and thanks for the effort
to put them together.
<Glad you enjoy/learn.>
Some of them
answered my question that my LFS had no clue about.
Now I have
only one quick question left in regards to the filter.
I have a
55G tank, with live rock and live sand (3" thick), Coralife power
compact 65wx4 (2 day lights and 2 actinic blue). A modified SeaClone
skimmer (thanks for the link !) and 2 Hydor Koralia 600GPH power
head. I used to have a Rena XP3 canister filter but found it is a
pain to clean it every week or less. Since the tank is in the living
room and there is not much room under the stand, I end up getting a
ProClear Aquatics Pro 75 Wet Dry. I want to keep the XP3 running
just as carbon filter and it also will give me extra flow. Question
is that can I use the XP3 as my return pump so the water goes back
to main tank through it? It rated a 350 GPH I am not sure if it is a
good idea.
<The filter depends on a gravity return line such as
what is supplied with it. It isn't going to suck water up from the
wet/dry filter.><<What? RMF>>
Thanks for the advise.
<You're
welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
//Liyu
Re: Filter Question 4/23/08
Hi James
<Hello Liyu>
Thanks for the quick reply.
<Welcome>
I am not sure what you
mean by " It isn't going to suck water up from the wet/dry filter".
<I guess I'm not sure how you intend to use it.>
The Wet Dry is
using gravity to drain water from main tank to the wet dry and there
is a return pump to pump the water back to the main tank, at least
my wet dry does this.
<Ok, what to you want the XP3 to do?>
The wet dry is sitting below the main tank so there has to be a pump
to get the water up to the main tank.
<Yes, understand, and you
have a return pump now doing so, correct?>
What I mean is that
use the XP3 to take the water from the Wet Dry filter (sump) and
pump back to the main tank, the XP3 rated at 350GPS not sure if it
will do it.
<Exactly, but with the XP3 sitting on the bottom of
the cabinet along with the wet/dry sitting on the same surface,
creates a delivery problem to the XP3. You just can't run the
suction hose from the XP3 into the sump and expect it to suck the
water out of the sump into the filter. It does require gravity feed,
the same as your wet/dry set-up. Am I reading you right?>
Thanks
again
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Liyu
Re: Filter Question 4/24/08
Hi, James
<Hello Liyu>
I
know what you mean, I guess the XP3 is not powerful enough to suck
the water from the wet dry and pump it back to the main tank which
is about 3.5 foot higher. Nice try :), thanks for info. Now, any
suggestion about the return pump, the CA1800 that came with the wet
dry sounds like a tractor, any good quiet pump you can suggest?
<I like the Mag Drive and the Quite One pumps.>
Thanks.
<You're welcome. James (Salty Dog)>
Liyu |
Can a canister filter run from a sump? 7/9/05
Hi - I tried to
find an answer to this question from the thousands of questions you've
answered without any luck.
I have just set up a 6x2x2' marine tank
with a large wet-dry filter in a sump. I was wondering if a canister
filter could sit beside the sump in the cabinet and be set up to draw
water out of the sump and return it to the sump?
<Yes>
Does a
canister filter actually have to be below the tank, or can it run when
it is beside the tank -
<Can, once primed>
I'm guessing it
probably can't as the water level is the sump will be below the water
level in the filter. If it is not possible, what is the next best way to
run mechanical and chemical filtration out of the water in my sump?
<Another pump, filter/box to contain this media>
Thanks for your
help!
Jeremy
<Keep dreaming and scheming... Bob Fenner>
Fluval Canister Filter for Sump Intake? Not Safe... 12/2/06
Hi
Bob,
<Hey Laura, JustinN with you today.>
My husband and I have
a 150 gallon tank with approximately 60 lbs of live rock.
<I would add more rock to this, for natural filtration.>
We have had
a recurring problem with nitrates and find ourselves doing 30% water
changes weekly.
<10-25% weekly is recommended anyhow.>
Our filtration system consists of a Fluval FX5 canister filter. We do
not have a protein skimmer but we plan to purchase one soon.
<This combination is likely your source of nitrates. The canister
filter, unless cleaned thoroughly and frequently, will tend to become a
nitrate farm. Add to that the lack of waste proteins being removed by a
protein skimmer, and you've got nitrate issues.>
Our bio load is
relatively small in relation to the tank size. A tang, an angelfish, a
couple clowns and two sea anemones currently inhabit the tank. We would
like to install an in-sump protein skimmer, but we want to continue
utilizing the canister filter instead of purchasing a wet-dry filter.
<A live rock filled sump would likely provide better results than a
wet/dry here anyhow.>
We were wondering if there is a way to use the
canister filter's intake/output in conjunction with the sump. Would it
be possible (and effective) to place the canister output hose inside the
sump (instead of the tank) and then use another pump to push the water
from the sump back into the tank?
<Not practical (or
safe!) to do this. Without drilling the tank, an over-the-back weir will
be your only practical solution. It would be nearly impossible to keep
the canister flow matched to the return pump, eventually leading to an
overflow somewhere in the line.>
We were hoping to avoid the use of
a weir or a protein skimmer that hangs off the side of the tank. I have
done some extensive Googling but I haven't seen much documentation on
the topic. Any advice/suggestions you can provide would be greatly
appreciated.
<I would suggest using hang-on-back weirs, as you're
unfortunately wishing not to do. If you choose this solution, do use a
pair of weirs per drain, for redundancy. You're simply too likely to run
into severe problems with your proposed setup.>
Thanks in advance
for your help,
Laura
<No problems, Laura. Glad to be of service.
-JustinN> Eheim Canister Filter
Hey WWMCrew!
I recently purchased an Eheim 2217 canister filter. My plan was to
place the intake and return tubes in my sump. In the manual it states
to place the unit below the water level. The sumps' water level would
be below the top of the canister filter. I don't want the intake and
return tubes in my display tank. Is there anyway around this?
Thanks,
Jeremy
<Mmm, yes... you can/could place both the intake
and discharge lines deep in the sump (to prevent loss of prime should
the power fail, or the water level drop too low) and "suck" up water
into the Eheim via the discharge side to fill the unit and intake line
with water... and do this every time you find yourself servicing the
canister. Bob Fenner> Anemone lost to a canister filter!
Hi
Blundell, Disaster struck last night in my tank. One of my anemones got
sucked into my canister filter and died. It's too bad because it had
been thriving. My question is can I still use my filter? << Yes, but
I'd clean that thing out well. >> I'm afraid that it
might pollute
my whole tank.
<< Bigger concern is will it happen again. I'd make
sure to improve the screening method on that filter before using again.
>>
Thanks again!
Martin
<< Blundell >>
Canister filter question
Dear Bob,
<You got Steven pro today.>
I love your website, it has been a great help in learning how to set up
my saltwater tank. My tank has been going for about six months. It is a
12 gallon tank (one of the ones from Eclipse) that I have taken the hood
off of and put a power compact light and a glass top for better lighting
on. I have about 18-20lbs of live rock and about an inch of live sand as
a substrate. I wanted to add a protein skimmer so I bought the Prizm
skimmer as I read on your site that it was a good one for a small tank.
I have a few polyps and one medium mushroom. I also have two clown fish
that are fairly small. My levels are pretty good pH 8.1, nitrite 0,
nitrate 10, ammonia 0, alkalinity 4meq/l, KH 12 and I add the standard
trace elements Kalkwasser, strontium, coral vital, iodine. My question
is that now that I have the protein skimmer I have to get rid of my
filter that was hanging off the back of the tank because I have run out
of room. A friend of mine said he would give me his Eheim professional
II 2026 and all I would need to do is buy the substrate for the inside.
This is a good canister filter that would solve my space problem, but is
it too much for my small tank? In the next year I would like to move my
small tank into a larger tank (probably a 30 or 50 gallon) so I thought
this would be a good filter to grow with. Next question, should I use
all of the recommended substrates (Ehfisubstrat, Ehfimech, 3pads) so
that it becomes a biological filter in addition to my live rock? I asked
at a store and they said that usually in a small tank you would change
the pads every 2 months and every 6 months you should rinse the
substrates in salt water. He said that it was okay to let most of your
bacteria go to the filter and that in the end this would be beneficial
for the tank. Does this all sound correct to you?
<I have a
suggestion for you that is going to sound weird, but it is what I would
do. I would get the Eheim and not put any media in it. Your 12 gallon
tank is pretty small to start with. Once you added the rock and sand, it
probably only has about 8 gallons of water in it. You are not thinking
of adding any more fish than your two clowns, are you? I would use the
Eheim for additional circulation (~250 gph) and water holding capacity
(maybe a gallon). Your rock and sand will provide you with enough
bacterial surface area for your two fish.>
Thanks for your help.
-Pete
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>
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