Cannister/Skimmer?

[albi]

I have purchased an AquaC Protein Skimmer and I am wondering if I need to also keep my Fluval cannister running. I am only using the two foam filter media in there and nothing else at the present time. I am hoping the Skimmer will bring down my Trates which are running at 40 to 80!

 

[mbrands]

It would probably depend on what you have in your tank and what your feeding habits are.
If you are running a reef tank and you don't overfeed, you could get away without the mechanical filtration of the Fluval.
If you have messy eaters (puffers, lions, etc) and you overfeed sometimes, I'd keep the Fluval running. Make sure you are rinsing the foam filters off every few weeks in tank water that you removed during a water change.

 

[zenway9]

i keep reading on the board that those cannister filters can be nitrate factories...not sure if it is true or not but i will give you my $.50...
i have a 50 gallon tank and run 2 powerheads and a skimmer (aqua c remora) on one of those powerheads i run a prefilter. i test my water every other day and run 0 for ammonia and trites and trates. i am not telling you to run your tank like mine, but maybe shut off the cannister for awhile and let the skimmer eat. see what you come up with. just my opinion.

 

[mbrands]

Zenway9's idea isn't bad, but as he said it all can vary from tank to tank. I've been thinking of removing my canister and running my tank "filterless" with only my powerheads and skimmer.
I too have heard of canister filters being nitrate producers, but my guess would be it is an issue for those who don't regularly check and clean the inside of their filters. I'm running 0-10 nitrates regularly with my canister on.

 

[joker_ca]

get rid of the prefilters in your fluval they are mostly likely creating excess nitrates for you, a good option is to add LR into the canister filter