Advise/ opinion for my system

[Skizzarzz]

150gal, sumpless tank.
Iv done a lot of reading, everything is going great with my reef so far. But still in the newish stage. I have a canaster filter ...( okay relax guys lol ) I want to use it more less as a reactor. No sponge filters. Right now there's only aqua forest phosphate minus and bio balls in it. Other then telling me to get rid of it and get a sump, or a acual reactor, what would be the most ideal media for it? I was thinking the phosphate minus, activated carbon, and maybe something els ?
I clean it once a week, with my water change. I have a protein skimmer, and 150lbs of live rock that came from established tank.
Water has bin pretty stable so far and corals are growing well.
0-ammonia
0-nitrite
0-5ppm- nitrate
410-calcium
1.026 salt ( this is where I like it )
78-temp.
Any more questions feel free to ask, not having any problems with my tank, but as I slowly stalk it more with sps / Lps just want to make sure everything will stay the way it is

 

[mcgyvr]

You didn't post phosphate test results...
IMO unless you have a real phosphate issue that you can't take care of in any other manner then do not run GFO..
Some level of nitrate and phosphate is a must in a tank.. Too much and too little is a problem.. Nutrients are needed in proper levels..

Just like grass in your lawn...
Don't fertilize it at all and it won't do well (aka lack of nutrients).. Over fertilize it and you burn it out (too many nutrients)... Give it a proper fertilizing and WOW its green and lush..


Carbon = fine if you want for that extra potential protection from toxins released by soft corals,etc... or to attempt to improve water clarity/yellowing (slightly)..

Frankly I would just remove the canister filter.. Why.. Because I don't think you need it at all so far.
Or just use it for carbon only..
If you do have a phosphate issue from overfeeding,etc.. and you don't want to slow down on feeding then you can run some GFO but watch your levels.. Don't let it pull it too far down..

"biomedia" like those porous stones (marinepure balls,etc..) are really just like adding more rock to your tank.. With that much water and you probably have rock too adding something like that is just a small drop in an already large bucket.. Its not going to really do much if any..

My $0.02

 

[Skizzarzz]

I will get a phosphate reading today, I added it because before I switched to rodi water I was useing tap water ( I'm on a well ) and was having diatom issue. Ovb when I switch to rodi water it helped a lot. I feed once a day, and try not to over feed I make sure it's all eaten in 3 min approx. tank is 4 months old with corals and few fish. I had it cycle for a month with just live rock and tested my water, then slowly added clean up and other stuff. Only loss I have had was my goby yesterday. He went floor surfing sometime during the night. Lol.

 

[mcgyvr]

Tank is still new too..
I find after the 8 month mark or so tanks become MUCH easier to maintain..
I basically do nothing now other than dosing to keep alk/cal/mag up.. maybe a 10% water change every 3-4 weeks now)
I had bad diatoms/bad cyano/enough hair algae in the first month or so..
I basically rode them out and kept up with weekly 20% water changes after a few months it started to get much easier/much less work/much less "issues" in general..

During the first few months of a new tank I'm 100% for letting it happen vs trying to fight it.. I think nature is doing its thing and I don't mess with nature..
I've never needed GFO.. Never really ran carbon.. I'm all for the basics now..

My old tank had ALL the bells and whistles and it was nothing but constant work keeping up with the turf scrubber, reactors, fuge, etc... I'm back to basics now..
The ONLY reason I may add a sump in the future is because of the protein slick on the water surface..


Having said all that blah blah.. I still would just remove the canister..
I'm more of a watch/react as needed vs throwing the kitchen sink at everything and hoping thats enough kind of guy..

In fact I now have a new plan of attack.. "Got nutrient problems... Just add more corals and let them consume it/bring it down"

 

[Ron Reefman]

Having said all that blah blah.. I still would just remove the canister..
I'm more of a watch/react as needed vs throwing the kitchen sink at everything and hoping thats enough kind of guy..

In fact I now have a new plan of attack.. "Got nutrient problems... Just add more corals and let them consume it/bring it down"

I never heard anybody put it that way, but I certainly understand the approach. And if you don't have a tank full of corals, it makes sense.

 

[CrayolaViolence]

I run a sumpless, filterless, skimmer less mini reef so you don't need a fancy filtration system to make it work. Just balance.

 

[jda]

That is what people do. Nutrient problems?... grow chaeto, kenya tree, xenia, etc and then prune and remove.

For a canister, just use some carbon and bio balls or other media for oxic bacteria to grow on. As long as you don't let it sit in there for months and months, then there is no harm. Don't wash the bioballs too much, just get the debris off of them. They are not any different than running a reactor except that most of the people who got in since the Nemo/BioCube craze don't know or understand them. Funny how canister filters are very important to people who breed discus and other high end freshwater fish that require water to be as polished as any reef tank, yet a lot of reef people turn their nose at them.

 

[Pond Boy]

Tank is still new too..
I find after the 8 month mark or so tanks become MUCH easier to maintain..
I basically do nothing now other than dosing to keep alk/cal/mag up.. maybe a 10% water change every 3-4 weeks now)
I had bad diatoms/bad cyano/enough hair algae in the first month or so..
I basically rode them out and kept up with weekly 20% water changes after a few months it started to get much easier/much less work/much less "issues" in general..

During the first few months of a new tank I'm 100% for letting it happen vs trying to fight it.. I think nature is doing its thing and I don't mess with nature..
I've never needed GFO.. Never really ran carbon.. I'm all for the basics now..

My old tank had ALL the bells and whistles and it was nothing but constant work keeping up with the turf scrubber, reactors, fuge, etc... I'm back to basics now..
The ONLY reason I may add a sump in the future is because of the protein slick on the water surface..


Having said all that blah blah.. I still would just remove the canister..
I'm more of a watch/react as needed vs throwing the kitchen sink at everything and hoping thats enough kind of guy..

In fact I now have a new plan of attack.. "Got nutrient problems... Just add more corals and let them consume it/bring it down"

I like this approach too KISS rule for me...:wave:

I was gifted a 12 JBJ just last week that was a mess red algae/brown and green just a blob of goo. I have the PH corrected KH is in the acceptable range working on water changes now kicking back letting the rock ,sand and corals recover so I can move froward with bringing it back... I too think once the corals recover I will have less troubles with phos, nitrite, and other nutes building up..

 

[LimeTwist]

i think you should decide on what you are planning to host in your tank to determine your equipment and regime. run your system as simple as possible. and dont chase numbers, its a wrong route to take, each tank is its own and chasing numbers will drain your wallet and crashed your tank.