canister

Typicaly they can hold more media for Bio filteration.

IMO canister filters for salt water tanks are a bad idea. they are a nitrate factory which will lead to uncontrollable algae problems or worse. the best filtration for saltwater is live rock and sand, a good protein skimmer, and lots of water movement via powerheads

I'm with Oscar on this one.


When I converted to salt, I still used the cannister filter, but with no media in it. The extra water volume and flow will never hurt.

yeah canister filters arent that good for bio filtration because it doesnt alow the an-aerobic bacteria to grow because it is always submerged in water. thats why a sump with bio balls are better cos the oxygen can get in there aswell. but in comparison to a hob filter a canister filter is better

I have a canister filter that I only use sparingly. It sits with the next batch of charcoal waiting to be used. I purcharsed the HOB kit to convert my Magnum 350.

It requires too much time and too often to clean and replace the charcoal. If I do a massive algae cleaning (Macro or micro) then I will run the canister.

There is an additional addon to my canister filter to add to the outflow that is a biowhell that rotates at the water surface. I was giving one and don't really like it as I think it is a nitrate factory.

SaltTinker