Just Got A Canister Filter

[shadowhywind]

I got a marineland canister filter for Christmas and have a few questions about it, since I have never had a canister filter before. I have it connected and running at the moment, my thought was to let it run side by side with HOB filter for a week or so, so the canister filter has a chance to "break-in". My question however is I ran across a post somewhere about that canister filters do not aerate the water, and I should put in some sort of airstone. But I only ran across a single posting, so is adding some sort of air really necessary? The next question, is with the out-tube. What are the pros and cons of a spray nozzle vs a spray bar? (if it helps any, I do have live plants). The last question I have is at the moment I do have the spray nozzle, should that be just at the top of the water level, or have it wherever the tube lies, if that makes any sense.

Any information would be great.
Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

I have one of the smaller Marineland C-series filters on a 45 gallon tank. The return nozzle is quite near the water surface, I have no choice in that, and it does a great job of disturbing the surface for a good gas exchange. I do see a problem with only having a 1 week overlap. The new filter does not need to break in, they never do. What it does need is to grow the right bacteria in the new filter's media to handle your biological load. There are many way to accomplish that. The most frequently used method is to clone the existing filter by moving the media from the old filter into the baskets in the new filter. That way the bacteria move over with the media and you can start using the new filter as your main filter right away. If your tank is an NPT with the associated heavy plant loads and the control of ammonia through the use of plants, you might get away with not using a clone, but you would be unlikely to have switched filters if that was your plant approach. If you have a Magnum 350 or a HOT Magnum instead, I would advise a full month of letting the filters run side by side. Those filters do not lend themselves to easy cloning.

 

[shadowhywind]

The filter i got was the marineland c-220 filter. My family has a "tradition" of never buying the correct filter for the tank. We usually go for one or two filters higher, that way if we ever do upgrade tanks, it wont be such a massive cost replacing everything. So the tank that this filter is on is a 39 gal i believe, and the spray nozzle is about 2 inches under water, so there is not really any water surface disturbance. I do have a drop checker in side the tank, which I guess I will just keep an eye and that and make sure that its not turning yellow.
I never did think about taking the old cartridge out and putting inside of one of the baskets. I might let this be for a week, I'm hoping to add more plants and do a fish swap at my LFS, So some redecorating is going to be done shortly, and then take the old filter and place it in with the charcoal, and let that be for a week or two.

Another random question, I am also doing a nuitrifin co2 system, is there any chance of adding that to the canister filter? I have heard that some canister can, and i believe you can not do it with this one. But wondering if anyone has come up with a DIY way of doing it?
Thanks again

 

[mmanist]

The filter i got was the marineland c-220 filter. My family has a "tradition" of never buying the correct filter for the tank. We usually go for one or two filters higher, that way if we ever do upgrade tanks, it wont be such a massive cost replacing everything. So the tank that this filter is on is a 39 gal i believe, and the spray nozzle is about 2 inches under water, so there is not really any water surface disturbance. I do have a drop checker in side the tank, which I guess I will just keep an eye and that and make sure that its not turning yellow.
I never did think about taking the old cartridge out and putting inside of one of the baskets. I might let this be for a week, I'm hoping to add more plants and do a fish swap at my LFS, So some redecorating is going to be done shortly, and then take the old filter and place it in with the charcoal, and let that be for a week or two.

Another random question, I am also doing a nuitrifin co2 system, is there any chance of adding that to the canister filter? I have heard that some canister can, and i believe you can not do it with this one. But wondering if anyone has come up with a DIY way of doing it?
Thanks again

I just bought the C360, So far I love it, I have had a problem with my old HOB filter, So i decided to go with the canister, As far as media I have old filter, in one of my baskets and, I am still leaving my HOB run with the new, Just hoping to speed things up. But oh god the fights I had with my fiance about this D**M thing. He told me that I dont need it, I told him I do to help with the fish load, Which after I had it running all night, The next morning I had never seen my tank water so clean, he couldnt argue with me after the fact. So I had this beutiful filter sitting in the box never even took the bag off from the fedex guy for more than a week, then new years eve he got drunk passed out and there was my gateway to get it up and running, but boy did I hear it agian from him. LOL O well my fish tank is clean, my next investment is for my turtle tank. I do have it sitting in the bucket just incase the horror storys came true but so far everything seems to be made good and solid. One thing that made me really mad was when I opened it I couldnt fit the stupid thing thru my door on my stand. So I am going to have to tear everything down and move my tank to put it in my stand. LOL I should have thought about the canister before I set up my tank.