Use a Canister Filter for Marine Aquarium?
| Aquarium Fish Tank Protein Skimmer Filter 180 with Pump |
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| Retail Price: $34.95 |
| Amazon Price: $24.95 |
This is what ,y tank is going to be like. I plan I mostly for corals and invertebrates plus a few small fish. I have a 70 gallon, 30 gallon sump, 20 gallon refugium. The whole thing is almost set up. Just wondering about a canister filter. Any ideas would be great. Does anyone has experience in using canister filters in marine aquariums? Which brands do you prefer?
You don’t need a filter for saltwater aquariums. You need live rock/sand and a clean up crew. A protein skimmer helps a lot, too.
Canister filters are absolutely suitable for a marine aquarium provided they are well maintained. So a canister will do fine as mechanical, chemical, and/or biological filtration. Keep in mind that the marine environment is more fragile and a clean filter is an absolute must. Change your filtration media often, and keep to the schedule the manufacturer provides. In a fresh water environment you have a fairly large margin of error which you lack in a saltwater tank.
If you fail to clean your filter the it will become nitrate factory and a burden instead of a help to the tank
But when you goal is a tank as you describe I wouldn’t bother installing a canister at all. Just get about 70 pounds of rock (use some base rock to cut costs) and a good skimmer. That should be enough for your tank. that would be enough for your . No need for heavy filtration and possible maintenance issues
Cheers
If you are running a sump filter and refugium, there is no real need a canister filter. Just put all the media that would be in the canister into the sump and get the same results.
Running a canister filter as well will do no harm but is probably not necessary.
Ian