EMERGENCY!!!

[MarineDan]

I believe I understand where the man from the lfs is coming from. It will not act like a "protein skimmer " per say with the foaming up and collection of DOC's
( dissolved organic compounds ) but it will definitely "skim" the water going through the canister via bio filtration from the surface area and bacteria of the live rock itself.

I believe that's where you are confusing the others, & in my opinion and experience that would be just the same filtration method as running live rock in a chamber of a sump.

Seems like a fine idea to me as I actually have a fluval canister that I used in the exact manner you are running yours on my old 50g long aquarium for 2 years or longer when I was first starting out. It did its job well and didn't get dirty much after I took all the racks / filter pads out and just let saltwater run over multiple pounds of LR. That system was bare bones and I have learned a lot since then.

As for a real protein skimmer, it is a must have piece of equipment for me. Now that I've been in this hobby for the last 5 years or so, I have steered clear from the canister filter method to a sump. not to say it can't be done with recurring maintenance, but you really gotta be on top of it as well as water changes to really maintain good water quality with one of those guys.

Thank you for that response it is just what I wanted and needed to hear lol. Have actually just been reading up on the internet and a lot of people actually use this method without any problems so makes me feel a whole lot better. I will be keeping up on my water changes and every now and then I will be looking at the canister and clearing any debris! I will be definitely grabbing myself a skimmer at some point too. Thanks again

 

[Newb_reefer1]

Yep no problem ! Keep up on those WC and empty the filter weekly or even every couple days and you should not have to worry about insane no3 levels. @SandJ as the whole point of me removing the filter media and pads in my canister filter and replacing said media with LR was to 1) have some sort of bio filtration running on the system after removing it. 2) let the detritus being suspended in my tanks water column to get sucked into the filter & collect in the bottom of the canister so it can be easily exported IE via siphon. Rock is there as bio filtration in leu of the media it once held. I left it on 24/7 through feeding me and there was always ample gunk settled on the bottom that could easily be removed in seconds had I needed to clean it, so it must have been working.

 

[MarineDan]

I'm going to ring the guy at my LFS this morning so will post on here what is said. Will ask him about everything said on here lol

 

[MarineDan]

Yep no problem ! Keep up on those WC and empty the filter weekly or even every couple days and you should not have to worry about insane no3 levels. @SandJ as the whole point of me removing the filter media and pads in my canister filter and replacing said media with LR was to 1) have some sort of bio filtration running on the system after removing it. 2) let the detritus being suspended in my tanks water column to get sucked into the filter & collect in the bottom of the canister so it can be easily exported IE via siphon. Rock is there as bio filtration in leu of the media it once held. I left it on 24/7 through feeding me and there was always ample gunk settled on the bottom that could easily be removed in seconds had I needed to clean it, so it must have been working.

Spoke to the guy at the shop, he told me not to worry and test when I get home! Also told me to do a 10% w/c if need be. And I actually carbon dose my water daily which helps kill debris!