External Cannister on a Reef Tank

Istanbul_Kop said:

As I say Dudes, no space for a skimmer. Tank is in an alcove on solid bricks. There is roughly 1.5" space at one end of the tank. The tank is also 30" tall and has thick glass bracing all the way around the rim. There is no room for a skimmer or an overlflow. The only option would be an internal skimmer.

I was hoping to run the cannister empty with Seachem Purigen (which is often referred to as a skimmer in a bag). Detritus and Nitrates would surely not be trapped in an empty cannister, no?

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You will get a small build up (usually in the bottom) but as long as you rinse it out once a week you will be fine.

ToeJam said:

I don't disagree with this. For the most part they are highly "potential" nitrate source. They are detritus traps. Unless this trap is cleaned out very often. Often isn't once a week but every few days. You are only introducing nutrients into your water.

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Mine gets cleaned out about every 8 days when I do my water changes. It has no effect on my nutrient levels as my nitrates are 0 and my po4 is 0.008

" I noticed once you reach a certain mature tank age.... You can be dumb like Me and skip water change for like a month (70+g bow front)...."

Reading some of your posts, you and I seemed have similar approach to reefing.


Istanbul,
Can you post the whole view of tank? Or is there any space above the tank? If yes, who said sump has to be below/under the tank?

You should be getting an equal rise in sodium and chloride ions, effectively raising the salinity. The rate in which this occurs is variable on dosing regimens, so a given percentage weekly will be different for each tank. As far as how often a tank seems to need a water change, that is also variable. My old 75 could go many months without needing anything, short of a regular calcium/alkalinity/magnesium supplement. When my 40 was up, I could go for nearly as long. Then again, "needing" a water change can be variable and subjective, as well. I never had an N or P problem in my tanks, so I could never measure necessity that way. Even looking at the corals, there was never an explicit need that manifested itself visibly. I simply did larger ones when I could to diminish any refractory compounds that potentially build over time. Trace elements, on the other hand, were a minor to negligible issue for me. Most are present in extremely large amounts in salts and are at least present in many chemicals we use as impurities to one degree or another. I never personally saw the need to address trace elements in terms of addition (maybe lowering their concentrations, though).

Okay i correct my statement for you! IF YOU DONT CLEAN IT OUT WEEKLY! nitrate city

If you have no other option, go with the cannister. Just make sure to check it frequently and clean it when necessary.
If you wanted to go on DIY spree, I'm sure you could set up some kind of remote sump, but that may entail draining tank and drilling it and all sorts of backbreaking work.
Just as there are a thousand of different options for livestock, there are just as many ways to set up a tank. My advice would be to use the cannister, monitor it and if it's not working, look into trying something else.