no skimmer no sump tank?

[dmaguire]

Ok so I've been reading about people who have no skimmer in their tanks and they have been running perfect for years with no problem. I have also read that sumps are not required more of a helpful tool. Now is it possible to run a salt water tank with no skimmer, no sump, just using a canister filter packed with carbon and live rock and alot of water movement.

[mohawk]

I dont use a skimmer., sump. or canister., ., I think a canister would actually be a hindrance as a nitrate factory unless you cleaned it out constantly., I use an old Ac70 hanging on the back., more for a place to put carbon or things of that nature., maybe some chaeto.,, Skimmers will definitely help., but by no means are they necessary., A sump is about the same as the Ac70., its a way to add more water volume and gives you a place to hide your gear., Your Rock and sand will theoretically be all the filter you need.,

 

But stay away from a canister., you dont want anything thats going to trap waste in your system., IMO

[mmcguffi]

I dont use a skimmer., sump. or canister., ., I think a canister would actually be a hindrance as a nitrate factory unless you cleaned it out constantly., I use an old Ac70 hanging on the back., more for a place to put carbon or things of that nature., maybe some chaeto.,, Skimmers will definitely help., but by no means are they necessary., A sump is about the same as the Ac70., its a way to add more water volume and gives you a place to hide your gear., Your Rock and sand will theoretically be all the filter you need.,

 

But stay away from a canister., you dont want anything thats going to trap waste in your system., IMO

 

+1 to everything 'cept I would maybe throw a square of puripad or something similar in the AC70

[mohawk]

+1 to everything 'cept I would maybe throw a square of puripad or something similar in the AC70

 

 

 

lol.,., left that out., some some kinda filter floss.,., Be sure to change REGULARLY., every few days or more.

[GokesReef]

No skimmer, no sump, no canister, probably overfeed...

 

All I have is a HoB mech filter with a bag of chemipure in it. Tank's doin great (SPS and all).

 

Welcome to reefing. 90% of what you read is either hype, paranoia or hyperbole.

[malawian]

yea I would say *most* (not that I have real statistics just my experience) people dont use sumps, more use skimmers.

 

personally, I love having a sump, its a great way to run a tank, but I dont have the space to set one up at the moment and my tank is doing just fine without it.

[d0lph1n]

I think a canister would actually be a hindrance as a nitrate factory unless you cleaned it out constantly...

But stay away from a canister., you dont want anything thats going to trap waste in your system., IMO

 

I keep hearing about this. Can you show me please how did you come up with this because it doesn't make any sense to me.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

im not sure why people on here think that canisters are bad for reefs. ive been running one for years with no problems at all. in fact i would say it has been terribly effective at nutrient export.

 

the only real trick to canisters is cleaning them once a week when you do your water changes, and replacing media weekly/biweekly depending on bio load. in essence they are very similar to media/chemical reactors.

[xtlosx]

I've been running my 36G reef since January, with just a skimmer, no HOB filter, no canister, nothing and things are all good. Water params are zero, and corals\fish\inverts are all happy.

 

It just takes longer for the dust to settle when I move rocks around, or kick up sand, etc but other than that, it's all good... My rock does most of the work for me.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

dmaguire,

 

i just noticed that you say you have lr rubble in the canister. id recommend removing the lr, and just running carbon, filter floss and some sort of phosphate remover ie gfo, chemipure elite, or purigen. generally i place the filter floss first where the water comes in to the canister, followed by carbon, and then finally phosphate remover in the return.

 

just make sure you keep it clean and youll have no problems at all.

[d0lph1n]

im not sure why people on here think that canisters are bad for reefs. ive been running one for years with no problems at all. in fact i would say it has been terribly effective at nutrient export.

 

the only real trick to canisters is cleaning them once a week when you do your water changes, and replacing media weekly/biweekly depending on bio load. in essence they are very similar to media/chemical reactors.

 

wait wait wait. Replacing which type of media and why?

[squirrelieygrrrl]

mostly the filter floss and potentially the carbon. ime carbon looses its effectiveness after about 2 weeks. you can usually stretch the gfo out for about a month depending on bioload.

 

obviously the filter floss because it is placed first under the intake so it tends to get gunky quickly in a closed system like in a canister. i replace the carbon weekly just a precaution. its cheap enough if you buy it in bulk that its no biggie.

[StevieT]

the only real trick to canisters is cleaning them once a week when you do your water changes, and replacing media weekly/biweekly depending on bio load. in essence they are very similar to media/chemical reactors.

 

Bingo and since most don't do this canisters lead to issues.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

also, if im not replacing the carbon/gfo i usually rinse it out in my old water from the water changes to loosen and remove any bacterial flock and detritus.

 

Bingo and since most don't do this canisters lead to issues.

 

 

quite true stevie. you definitely have to be anal retentive to run a canister.

[d0lph1n]

Ok so I've been reading about people who have no skimmer in their tanks and they have been running perfect for years with no problem. I have also read that sumps are not required more of a helpful tool. Now is it possible to run a salt water tank with no skimmer, no sump, just using a canister filter packed with carbon and live rock and alot of water movement.

 

Just follow one that did it successfully for a while.

 

For example, especially in the bigging, as far as I understand, he didn't use a skimmer.

http://www.nano-reef.com/featured/?tank=20

 

I'm sure there are many more like this or better.

 

Coming from freshwater, I strongly believe who says "canister filter is a nitrate factory" has no idea what he is talking about and/or he is abusing/overloading the canister/media filtration capacity or improper use.

 

My tank is 1 month old, too early to show proofs. My 3 types of Xenia are looking healthy and growing.

 

So far I've been using only canister filtration and macro algae filtration and Tropic Marin salts especially Bio-Actif. Few days ago I switched from in-tank canister filtration to external filtration, no skimming. I used carbon in the first few weeks but no more. Maybe I'll use carbon again when I introduce a lot more corals. As media filtration, I'm using Seachem Matrix and foam prefilter.

 

However, so far the bioload has been minimal but I'm working on that.

[squirrelieygrrrl]

Coming from freshwater, I strongly believe who says "canister filter is a nitrate factory" has no idea what he is talking about and/or he is abusing/overloading the canister/media filtration capacity or improper use.

 

+1

 

my 16bow is prime proof that when used properly canisters are perfectly fine, if not a perfect solution to a small reef when used properly.

 

i cant speak to how effective they are for larger tanks though.

 

i do run a skimmer but, its a cheap pos red sea prizim. in all honesty its almost like running no skimmer at all. that thing is grossly ineffective, i have never really gotten any dark skimmate from it at all.

 

keep up on regular water changes(with good clean source water) and regular equip maintenance and you should be good to go.

[paneubert]

I have a canister and I think it works great for holding a ton of floss and chemical media. I would much rather have crap stuck in the canister where I can clean it out as opposed to behind my rocks where I will never get to it.

[lohitha]

My 14 gallon doesnt have canister/sump/skimmer. But, I do have Chaeto growing in the back chamber. You may call it fuge. I do not run chempure either. Do have just carbon. Water is crystal clear and nitrate reading is zero. My turbo is starving due to no algae. I will be giving it away today. I have 1 pair of clowns and tons of LPS which I feed every other day. Starting SPS now.

[ajmckay]

It's impossible to answer this question accurately for your purposes unless we know the particulars of your tank. Size, style (reef, FO, FOWLR, etc...), and a detailed list of inhabitants or planned inhabitants.

 

Honestly though, it's not that hard to figure out. You should research these filtration methods, what kind of filtration they facilitate (biological, chemical, mechanical), and then assess the current capabilities of your own tank. Note that some of these filtration methods can be used in more than 1 way.

 

To make a blanket statement like "skimmers, sumps, or canister filters aren't necessary if your tank is under X gallons" or whatever isn't really that effective of a statement. There are situations where one or more than one of these solutions would be very effective. The key is knowing when and why (without getting into the particulars of each one).

[danthenewreefman]

i have no skimmer or refugium.

 

i do use chemical media and have a trashcan sump just to hide the heater & media reactor. also great place to add top off or other additives.

[malawian]

so here is the tl;dr

 

they all work when used correctly...use them wrong and you die (twice)

 

it also works when you dont use any of them but your tanks needs will change

 

personal milage may vary

 

all results are + or - 200%

adjust for time of day

 

[driftsaru]

depends on what you try to keep...ULN system for nps or SPS dominate....gl...

 

Softies tank with tons of LPS and polyp you're good to go!

[northstar1357]

mostly the filter floss and potentially the carbon. ime carbon looses its effectiveness after about 2 weeks. you can usually stretch the gfo out for about a month depending on bioload.

 

obviously the filter floss because it is placed first under the intake so it tends to get gunky quickly in a closed system like in a canister. i replace the carbon weekly just a precaution. its cheap enough if you buy it in bulk that its no biggie.

 

I also think that Canister filter is a better choice if cleaned out on a schedule basis. This method actually force the water through the filter media unlike a sump that just let water flow over it. NOT as efficient IMO.

But i guess not everyone like to clean their Canister filter since it does require more work than HOB filters.

I had a Ehiem 2213 on a mini reef and it was more work than a AquaClear was, Sold both because they look ugly and take up either back space or cabinet space.

On the other hand, A canister filter cost more to operate. When i ran the canister filter, i had to fill the entire canister with media and filter floss.which runs about 10-20 dollars a week.

[GokesReef]

Coming from freshwater, I strongly believe who says "canister filter is a nitrate factory" has no idea what he is talking about and/or he is abusing/overloading the canister/media filtration capacity or improper use.

 

My tank is 1 month old, too early to show proofs. My 3 types of Xenia are looking healthy and growing.

 

Is nitrate an issue for FW? I didn't think it was.. it can cause problems with some coral.

 

Xenia loves dirty water.

 

Not tryin to be a hater, I just don't know much about FW. (I also don't have any opposition to running a canister as long as you know and are ok with the necessary maintenance.)

[entendu]

No skimmer, no sump.

 

I use a HOB AquaClear 30 with sponge, carbon and chemipure. Levels are good, fish are happy.