Need help switching to canister filter system!

KristenA · Jan 30, 2019

Hi! I recently inherited a 90gal saltwater reef tank in a house I bought and it has a megaflow overflow system installed. I saw the same tank at a restaurant, but theirs had an Ocean Clear canister filter. My system is LOUD. Theirs was completely silent. I uploaded pics of both. Can I and How do I switch to the canister? Thanks in advance!

PDR · Jan 30, 2019

Welcome to R2R!!!

Your best bet is going to be to keep the sump but focusing on how to quiet it down. I'm not the best with the equipment side of things but I know it can be done, usually fairly easily.

Let's see if any else in the #reefsquad can help out.

davocean · Jan 30, 2019

Canisters typically are not ideal for reefs, media used in them can raise nitrates, but they could be ok for fish only systems, or if you remove media and let them just push water.

Sumps are by far more practical and beneficial, they just need to be set up properly or tuned to be quieter, how much flow you are pushing and drain setup makes a huge difference here.

I'm not sure if pics posted are yours or are they of this tank you wish to copy?

Post pics of your sump and overflow for best advice on how you can quiet that down some.

S-t-r-e-t-c-h · Jan 30, 2019

Is this a reef tank? If so, you probably don't want to switch to a canister like that. It will be silent, for sure. But they're a pain to clean and are going to be a detritus trap.

More info on the current tank would be helpful here...

Alexreefer · Jan 30, 2019

I have the aqueon 75 gal with the mega flow. I learned that it takes time for it to make a slime layer in the tubing. It quiet's down but it still wasn't enough for me. So I took the overflow and taped up 2 of the 3 holes under the air intake. This caused it to not push out as much water so you have more water going in the sump not air. This fixed it and make sure your overflow is pushed down all the way.