canister filter or refugium

gord 23 · 12/19/2018, 05:40 PM

How much better is one than the other? Both are pushing tank water through some media so I'm thinking there's not a lot of difference as to the water quality.

Vinny Kreyling · 12/19/2018, 05:52 PM

The canister WILL require regular maintenance, is prone to slowing flow, and IF left too long a build up of PO4,
Not woth it IMHO.

slief · 12/19/2018, 05:54 PM

The do completely different things. One is a natural filter and the other is a mechanical filter. A refugium is there to consume nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates where as a cannister filter captures solids. A refugium grows macro which you prune and that exports the nutrients that the macro consumes. A cannister filter needs to be cleaned regularly otherwise the solids it traps break down and will add to the nutrient issues. Cannister filters are often referred to as
“Nitrate factories” because the solids they trap break down and increase a systems nitrates.

gord 23 · 12/19/2018, 06:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slief

The do completely different things. One is a natural filter and the other is a mechanical filter.
“Nitrate factories” because the solids they trap break down and increase a systems nitrates.

How about the RO units, I only have one 75 gal salt tank with one elegance coral and two large fish. I want the best quality water (so I can have more coral) but it seems to me that a RO system would produce way more water than I can use-for top off and water changes. Thanks for your reply to my canister filter question.

slief · 12/19/2018, 06:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gord 23

How about the RO units, I only have one 75 gal salt tank with one elegance coral and two large fish. I want the best quality water (so I can have more coral) but it seems to me that a RO system would produce way more water than I can use-for top off and water changes. Thanks for your reply to my canister filter question.

I am a firm believer of garbage in, garbage out. If you use poor quality water to make your water, you will more than likely have issues down the line and at the very least, if and when you have issues, your source of water will be the glaring question. I use 0 TDS RODI water only in my system and the moment any of my DI cartridges start reading 1 TDS, they get changed. There are too many unknowns in tap water for me to not take every precaution to insure the health of my corals. If it was a fish only system, then it might be a different story and RO water would be OK or in some cases, conditioned tap water but in a reef tank. No way for me.

dmsprague · 12/19/2018, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gord 23

How about the RO units, I only have one 75 gal salt tank with one elegance coral and two large fish. I want the best quality water (so I can have more coral) but it seems to me that a RO system would produce way more water than I can use-for top off and water changes. Thanks for your reply to my canister filter question.

If you own rather than rent you can use the RO for drinking water also. My wife thinks I bought mine for her to have drinking water and its plumbed into the ice maker also before heading to the DI and my salt mixing station.

RobZilla04 · 12/20/2018, 08:23 AM

No to the canister.

reeftivo · 12/20/2018, 02:16 PM

+3, stay away from canister unless you want to add more work to an already maintenance minded hobby. They work well for various applications but are a bit of a pain to keep cleaning. Oh! and get an RO unit!!! Best first investment for any reef aquarium. You can mix whatever amount of water you need. There is no set water volume and you control the effluent (out flow) with a valve, Just shut it off when you have the amount of water you want for your water change.

OldReefGuy · 12/20/2018, 09:14 PM

I've been running canister on my systems for ever, and in fact, my new system has two canisters. They are perfect for my needs, as I keep up with my monthly maintenance.
They only become "nitrate factories" if you have bad husbandry.....just IMHO based on 35+ years of being in the hobby

12/19/2018, 05:40 PM	#1
gord 23 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: N iowa Posts: 19	canister filter or refugium How much better is one than the other? Both are pushing tank water through some media so I'm thinking there's not a lot of difference as to the water quality.

12/19/2018, 05:52 PM	#2
Vinny Kreyling Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Miller Place, NY Posts: 7,206	The canister WILL require regular maintenance, is prone to slowing flow, and IF left too long a build up of PO4, Not woth it IMHO. __________________ 250 gallon mixed reef, 2 Reefbreeder's Photon V 2, Deepwater BLDC 12, DAS EX-3 Skimmer, MTC mini cal, 2-3/4" Sea Swirls, Aquacontroller & 6 Tunze pumps.

12/19/2018, 05:54 PM	#3
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	The do completely different things. One is a natural filter and the other is a mechanical filter. A refugium is there to consume nutrients such as nitrates and phosphates where as a cannister filter captures solids. A refugium grows macro which you prune and that exports the nutrients that the macro consumes. A cannister filter needs to be cleaned regularly otherwise the solids it traps break down and will add to the nutrient issues. Cannister filters are often referred to as “Nitrate factories” because the solids they trap break down and increase a systems nitrates. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

12/20/2018, 08:23 AM	#7
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	No to the canister. __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

12/20/2018, 02:16 PM	#8
reeftivo Skim junkie Join Date: May 2008 Location: chino, CA Posts: 3,417	+3, stay away from canister unless you want to add more work to an already maintenance minded hobby. They work well for various applications but are a bit of a pain to keep cleaning. Oh! and get an RO unit!!! Best first investment for any reef aquarium. You can mix whatever amount of water you need. There is no set water volume and you control the effluent (out flow) with a valve, Just shut it off when you have the amount of water you want for your water change. __________________ I told you not to be stupid you moron!(Stern) Current Tank Info: 60 gal cube/20g tideline sump-mixed reef, Aquamaxx c-tech Ca Rx, Akula 160 skimmer, paxbellum N18, mitras LX7 lighting with T-5s, apex controller

12/20/2018, 09:14 PM	#9
OldReefGuy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Granada Hills Posts: 542	I've been running canister on my systems for ever, and in fact, my new system has two canisters. They are perfect for my needs, as I keep up with my monthly maintenance. They only become "nitrate factories" if you have bad husbandry.....just IMHO based on 35+ years of being in the hobby