Canister Filter... The great unknown (for me)

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ZorroNet

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Okay, I know you guys won't believe this, but I've never owned a canister filter before today. I picked up a used (less than a year) API Nexx 55. I bought it with a 55 gal tank I found on craigslist for $100 total (tank, stand, and filter.) It seemed like a solid deal, so I went for it. Now guess what? I need a few pointers. This will not be a drilled tank, so positioning the pump and outlet are my primary questions. Also, I was thinking of maybe building a screen mesh intake cover for it to protect my shrimp and snails. This is an invert only tank with a sand substrate. I will not be running it right away since I just put the sand and water in. It's cloud city up in there!


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WhiskeySunday

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I have my intake and outflow right next to each other positioned in one of the back corners of the tank. The outflow being the the furthest back. Snails will get caught for sure. I have cherry shrimp in my setup but only the smaller newly born shrimp get sucked up but then I just net them out of the canister bi-weekly. Installing some kind of screen will help in your situation but at the same time you are limiting your filter a bit. It may not be able to collect bigger debris and depending on your screen may prohibit flow. That being said if you are just running a invert only tank that should be ok. Best.
 

Pinkey

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Zorro,

I know a lot of people like the canister filters. I have used them when they came with tanks and even bought a couple over the years.

If you do not have valves on the tubes going to and from the tank you must always remember to take the ends out of the water or you will get wet. I strongly suggest spending the $5 on valves. Canisters are efficient and do a good job when they match the load but I have never liked servicing them every other week.

I was thinking about the invert/snail/canister question the other day after a similar post and came up with an idea. If you rig a prefilter sponge to the end of the intake it would work. The complaint would be that it would reduce flow too much. The work around for that is to use an oversized prefilter sponge. Prefilter sponges fit over a rigid frame with lots of room for water flow. The bigger the frame, the larger the sponge, the more water flow.

I have found the most useful placement is to have the outlet and intake at opposite ends of the tank. If your tank is lightly populated it can be just as good to put both ends together. Many new canister filters come with clips designed to put both ends side by side just as Mr. Sunday suggests.

I also regularly rig mine with an airline as part of the intake so the water sucks in some air before the impeller which chops the bubbles into a fine mist and aerates the tank beautifully without the noise of an air pump. If you are interested in that I can give you more detailed instructions.

Either way, nice find. Is this new tank also going in the work office?

Nate
 

ZorroNet

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Nate, I don't like cleaning filters... in fact, I am looking for a solution that is carbon-less that I can "let go" for a while not changing them as often since this is going to be a densely planted tank. I was thinking about the API Phos-sorb inserts. If phosphates are not helpful to aquatic plants, and they cause algae to "bloom", in theory removing them would serve the purpose of halting algae growth (somewhat) and still provide a media for bacteria to populate in the filter, right? This canister has two compartments for media that supposedly can be changed while it's still running (one at the time), so no need to move hoses. I'm not sure how this works, but I think I'll try it with a bucket outside the first time LOL!

As for the pre-filter, I don't think a sponge will work in this case because it's a little pump that suctions to the inside of the tank, so I would have to cover the whole intake surface as there is no hose or tube leading into it. I'll play with it and see what I can come up with. I have used ladies' nylon knee-high hosiery on internal filters before with pretty good success. It definitely keeps the shrimp safe, but you have to brush it off periodically because larger particles get stuck to it. No big deal... I just change the hosiery out since they come in pairs and wash the one that was in use. I get funny looks at the dollar store when I buy women's hosiery though. It's a small town... people talk.

The new setup is in my office replacing a 20L used as the current propagation/invert tank. I can then eliminate a tote that houses female guppies and move them into the 20L, and I'll have a lot more room for grow out in the 55. Expect to see some plants for sale in the future :)
 

FishFanMan

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Interesting comment about Phos Zorb. This seems to be a rarely used item in FW tank? My main tank has had all kinds of algae problems for months and months. About 2 to 3 months ago, I decided to get this resolved. Things I've been tweaking are reduced feeding, reduced lighting, reduced photo period, increased WC (30% weekly), less liquid ferts, more snails, AND using PhosZorb! At the moment, I have very little algae and my plants look great. Maybe lower phosphate is helping, maybe not. But it's in the 10:1 nitrate to phosphate ratio that some have recommended. My phosphate today is 0.13 ppm. My tap is 0.54 ppm. I change my PhosZorb every 3 weeks, when I clean my mechanical filter in my canister.
 

ManEatingShrimp

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There are metal mesh prefilters you can buy to protect the shrimp. I see them a lot on ebay and theplantedtank forum. I am not entirely sure if they protect newborn shrimp, but they offer more flow than sponge prefilters. I used cheap ebay air powered sponge filters as prefilters in my shrimp tank. I have also seen DIY prefilters using a water bottle with openings cut along its sides with nylons wrapped around it.

Im am pretty bad about cleaning my canister filters and only clean them two or three times per year. I am not sure if that has any negative affects since I have 3 on my 90 gallon and clean them at different times. All the fish seem fine though.
 
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Star_Rider

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the nexx 55 uses a pump to push water to the filter. the base has a bypass when it is time to clean.. so you don't need to turn it off.. the filter cannisters can then be lifted off to do maint.

as far as placement I prefer to have the intake (pump in your case) on the opposite end of the tank from the return. no need to drill as you are using a canister filter.
 

Byron Amazonas

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I will just add to a couple points already mentioned. First is the placement of the filter intake and outflow. There is considerable advantage to having these at opposite ends of an aquarium, and a 4-foot or larger length tank should always have this positioning, It is the only way to achieve a fairly even water movement throughout the tank. The filter return (spigot or spray bar) should be near the surface at one end, and the filter outflow closer to the substrate at the opposite end length wise. About 5 inches off the substrate should work fine.

As for screening, several options have been suggested. Another is a fish net, one of the small ones; you can cut the mesh off the net frame and place it over the filter outflow, secured with a bit of fine wire. One disadvantage to any method is that larger debris will not get pulled into the filter, but this is not really problematic.

Rinsing (= cleaning) the media depends upon the tank. The water must be able to flow fairly unrestricted (the more detritus collecting, the slower the flow will be). However, some build-up of mulm is advantageous, and this is another excellent source of CO2 from the breakdown of organics. I now tend to rinse my canisters every 3 or 4 months; one tank needs 3 max, the other two 4-5. I rinse them under the tap, and have done for over 20 years. In planted tanks the nitrifying bacteria is not an issue to fuss over.

Algae and phosphates is still generally mis-understood. Phosphorus/phosphate is an essential plant nutrient. Algae will make use of it (if the plants cannot for reasons of imbalance with other nutrients and light) at levels above 0.02 ppm. Diana Walstad writes of phosphate levels in her tanks running between 1 and 5 mg/l (ppm) which is "high" in one sense, yet she has no algae issues. It is not a nutrient that needs to be specifically added, since all fish foods contain sufficient. But I would suggest that algae problems are not tied to phosphate but more likely to an imbalance involving several nutrients and light. I've no idea what the phosphate level is in my tanks, but I would never use any product to remove/reduce this. As I so often write, finding a natural balance with the least amount of intervention by the aquarist (using chemicals, substances, etc) will always be easier in the long run and safer as it is more likely to be "natural" and thus consistant.

Byron.
 

Pinkey

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It sounds like others have more experience keeping their shrimp out of the filters. Go with what they said.

P.S. Don't let anyone give you a hard time for buying nylons "for your tank." This is the 21st century.
 

ZorroNet

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Great info and advice everyone. Thank you as always for your input! I didn't really think about the phos-sorb possibly disturbing the balance of the tank. I thought of it more like a temporary use of something I can "let go" like I used to do with carbon in filter cartridges before I realized a razor blade was all I needed to remove it, but I see what you are saying about it being part of the ecology rather than a problem, Byron.

I can't wait for the clouds to settle and put some plants in this tank. I thought it unwise to plant them in such turbid waters.

You know, Nate, those nylons do come in 4 packs, but I only need two for the tank. Want me to mail you the extras next time, or do you prefer to buy your own? I usually get queen size.
 
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