Just another quick filter question

leftyblite

leftyblite

Member
I'am currently in the process of seting up a 15G Fowler tank with approx 150Lbs of live rock and live sand. I've been looking around and saving up for a filter. Yesterday the LFS by my home showed me a Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter and said it would work for my tank. It supposedly is OK for up to 200G tanks. Would this work??? Any advice would be appreciated.
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Originally Posted by leftyblite
I'am currently in the process of seting up a 15G Fowler tank with approx 150Lbs of live rock and live sand. I've been looking around and saving up for a filter. Yesterday the LFS by my home showed me a Rena Filstar XP3 canister filter and said it would work for my tank. It supposedly is OK for up to 200G tanks. Would this work??? Any advice would be appreciated.

15G???
please say that was a typo....
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
Really you don't want a cannister filter for a saltwater tank, they are just not good filters for saltwater tanks.
Get a HOB overflow and set up a sump system,
With enough LR, LS, and circulation that is all you need, and a good insump Protein skimmer.
 
pfitz44

pfitz44

Active Member
Originally Posted by Birdy
Really you don't want a cannister filter for a saltwater tank, they are just not good filters for saltwater tanks.
Get a HOB overflow and set up a sump system,
With enough LR, LS, and circulation that is all you need, and a good insump Protein skimmer.
Why not??
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
Cannister filters trap a lot of debris in the filter pads, and they don't get cleaned often enough so it can contribute to excess nitrates in the system. If you clean your filter pads in them a couple times a week then they are probably fine but most people are doing good if they clean them once a month.
The one thing that cannister filters are really good at is polishing the water with carbon bags. But that is the only thing I would put in a cannister filter, and carbon only last a few days before you need to remove it. so once again if you leave it in there for too long it becomes a water quality issue.
Sumps systems are just so much better espcially for a larger tank. One of the big reasons they are so much better is because in sump skimmers in general do a better job, you are very limited on HOB skimmers on a big tank.
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
Oh and I don't mean you need to spend a lot of money on a sump, you can DYI very very cheaply.
All you need is a container (some use rubbermaids others use glass or acrylic tanks with baffles in them) a HOB overflow and a return pump.
There are tons and tons of threads on how to build a DIY sump.
 
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