Reef Discussion

DavidS

The Resident Loony
Jul 17, 2011
3,337
1,033
Ballarat, Victoria
Loosing the canister filter
So, a few of you may know that I've got a canister on my nano.
Over time I've basically gutted it - bit at a time to make sure I didn't make any major changes too quickly.

Right now it's got a piece of wool padding and its empty baskets, and that's it.

I'm thinking it's about time to turn it off.. well actually, I need its primer plug to replace a busted one on a spare canister that I need to fire up on my 4ft cichlid tank as it's canister has a leak I can't stop on the inlet.

Any thoughts on whether it's safe to turn it off and remove it from the nano?
 

MagicJ

Moderator
Jul 11, 2011
9,650
3,761
Hobart, Tasmania
You appear to have done everything right by slowly removing the filter material - this allows time for the good bacteria to increase in your live rock etc to be able to handle the level of waste products generated within your tank.

I would say it is safe to now remove it from your system. Just to make sure everything is working OK I would test for nitrites and nitrates over the next few days and do a water change if any are detected.

You could always convert the 4ft to a reef tank and then you wouldn't need to fix the canister filter :D
 

DavidS

The Resident Loony
Jul 17, 2011
3,337
1,033
Ballarat, Victoria
MagicJ - Pretty sure that's the second time you've tried to tell me that. Was tempting the other day when it was empty (just rebuilt it) - but no. That tank is old and scratched enough that I wouldn't use it for more than a sump :D
Might rip that canister out in the morning and steal its plug and get the 4ft back on track. Is water change time in the morning for the nano anyway.
 

DavidS

The Resident Loony
Jul 17, 2011
3,337
1,033
Ballarat, Victoria
When I started the so called "Premium" live rock I bought from a local LFS was about the quality of base rock, and I started with 3kg, so when I started, I needed all the filtration I could throw at it :P
 

MTG

Moderator
Jul 10, 2011
10,664
2,149
Gold Coast
Sounds like you have done all the right things so far and it should be safe to remove the filter from the tank. goodluck :)
 

DavidS

The Resident Loony
Jul 17, 2011
3,337
1,033
Ballarat, Victoria
Sounds like you have done all the right things so far and it should be safe to remove the filter from the tank. goodluck :)
Aye. Ripped it out yesterday. So far, so good. Decided to trust Benny the Blenny without the glass back over the tank while I was at it. Hopefully he'll behave.