Canister Filter??

[Linz8392]

I have an Eheim 2213 canister filter for my new 20 gallon reef tank. I realize there are better ways to filter this tank, but this is what i have for now. Im running a powerhead in it too, but no protein skimmer as of yet.

Anyways...my question is....what should i put inside the canister filter? It came with a bunch of little ceramic pieces and also a ball of pastic mesh. Now should i be using the ceramic pieces in there at all or just use something as far as just cleaning the water? I was told that the ceramic pieces are more for fresh water tanks as they help bacteria produce.

Any thoughts? Thanks

 

[hdtran]

Works fine in a marine tank too, but you need to be conscientious in your maintenance.

I had a Fluval canister on my FOwLR (lightly loaded, admittedly) for almost 4 yrs, and my nitrates stayed under 10ppm throughout.

But you have to be conscientious about your water changes, filter cleanings, etc. My Fluval had the sponge prefilter, two bags of carbon, and one bag of ceramic widgies (or is that wedgies? 8) ). I replaced one bag of carbon once a month, and rinsed the other stuff periodically, along with water changes.

 

[Anonymous]

The ceramic pieces will function similarly to a wet/dry filter in that they will reduce raw fish wastes to nitrate. In a fish only tank thats not a problem, but in a reef that might lead to unwanted algal growth. You could see how it goes; if you don't stock too heavily it might be fine. Ideally, you would take the media out of the canister and just use it for circulation, or to use carbon, and add a protein skimmer.

 

[dakine]

I had the same canister filter, it should do a good job on a 20. But, get that skimmer! You'd be suprised at all the nasty stuff that's in your water!

 

[lozza]

yep all agreed,i run external an filter and have media in it but also add carbon and rowaphos to it when needed,but also run a skimmer on top of this,as skimmer for organic and cannister for mechanical and really seems to work very well, but everybody has their own ideas on how to run their tanks but this seems to work so far and very well as had an algae bloom and it got rid of it very quickly,get a skimmer
loz uk bham