Did i just Kill my tank?

[bfazio1030]

Im using a cannister filter on my 1 year old tank. It has plenty of live rock with coralline algae growth. I threw out the old biomedia that came with the cannister filter. Is my live rock old enough to support the tank? Or will it crash?

 

[homer1475]

Your rock is fine. I would almost guarantee that the rock has been doing the heavy lifting all this time anyways.

 

[fishdude123]

The live rock should be enough to support the tank. A mini cycle might occur, but it probably won’t crash the tank

 

[dedragon]

Yes it will be fine.
I would probably replace the cannister filter with an hob power filter (like seachem tidal). Its just way easier to change out the media whenever you want

 

[Dolphins18]

Just keep some seachem prime on hand and dose accordingly if there is a little cycle, shouldn’t be a problem, a little cycle doesn’t typically bother chromis much.

 

[Brew12]

As long as you have flow through your tank it should be just fine.

 

[brandon429]

before removing the canister, where did you read about impacts

nobody would risk a full reef on a guess, what material had you pre read before removing it

my thinking is if someone hadnt pre read they'd be asking before the removal v after

the reason asking, I'm curious to read any material you saw that discusses surface area dynamics which is directly the issue in a removal job.

 

[CourtNjoeZreef]

Why did you throw out the Bio materials? what is the issue your trying to fix?

I periodically rinse off my bio media since there really is no wear and tear on it like filter sox/polyfill/water polishing materials on a whole.

I don't think there will be any immediate effects that would crash the tank and the change will repopulate in time. like stated above add bacteria should you encounter a bloom. However in the future rinsing the bio materals is a far better option then replacing them

 

[brandon429]

Im claiming they're 100% neutral, and to use or replace them is to get taken for cash unneeded. But, everyone starts that way so no harm. curious what info allowed for the removal before the job was done, that's a nice reef above, $$ on the line

was it a forum thread

 

[dedragon]

sorry didnt realize biological media and just assumed the filter pads inside. But yea no reason to throw bio media (ceramic rings etc) out, maybe just rinse em off a bit in old dt water after a water change to get some detritus off of them after a long time of being in the cannister

 

[bfazio1030]

Thanks for the reply everyone! I think i am having a mini cycle as i see the dreaded Diatom bloom taking effect! Hoping this doesn't kill anything!

 

[brandon429]

There are no mini cycles


there are only full cycles safely locked in place, or completely crashed tanks that will help to alleviate concern


there is no time a reef tank partially controls its ammonia, it’s a tip scales event if a true full crash happens and pics will show it big time.

you have diatoms because those are common in reefing. Removing filters kicks up waste in the tank for opportunists

Post a current full tank pic of your reef, some neat details will stand out compared to prior. It’s a fine reef!

 

[Brew12]

Thanks for the reply everyone! I think i am having a mini cycle as i see the dreaded Diatom bloom taking effect! Hoping this doesn't kill anything!

Diatoms are harmless, so no worries there. It's normally a sign of excess silica in your system. They are common in new systems because of all the silica in sand. Typically, they go away on their own once the excess silica is consumed.

Dinoflagellates can be confused with diatoms so if it takes on a slimy form or develops bubbles you may have dino's.