Switching from canister to sump: reducing bio filter?

mossimo654 · 06/13/2016, 12:10 PM

Hi all,

I have a 55 gallon that's a little over a month old. It has cycled and I have a few corals, some turbo and nassarius snails, a few hermits, and a kole tang.

I am switching over to a sump soon. I've been using an eheim canister filter with mechanical media and bioballs. My question is, when I switch over to my sump, will I significantly reduce my biofilter? I have about 70 lbs of live rock in there, but I'm guessing that taking my canister's bioballs offline and adding an extra 15 gallons of water or so for the sump could cause ammonia or nitrite spikes? Anyone have experience with this? Any ideas?

jraker · 06/13/2016, 12:29 PM

I doubt it will cause any issue. Your rock in the tank has is way more porous and has much more surface area than bioballs, and therefore have much more bacteria on them. With 70 pounds of rock and only one fish, you should be perfectly fine.

Mr.Tan · 06/13/2016, 12:37 PM

can't imagine it would cause a problem. You could always take the bioballs out of the canister filter and place in the sump temporarily along with using some of the water from it to help with the less amount needed to fill sump.

ReefsandGeeks · 06/13/2016, 12:38 PM

Agreed, you should be fine. If you're worried about it, you can maybe run both at the same time for a little while to give the sump a chance to colonize bacteria.

mossimo654 · 06/13/2016, 12:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devastator007

Agreed, you should be fine. If you're worried about it, you can maybe run both at the same time for a little while to give the sump a chance to colonize bacteria.

Thanks!

Just wanted to be safe

06/13/2016, 12:10 PM	#1
mossimo654 Registered Member Join Date: May 2016 Posts: 78	Switching from canister to sump: reducing bio filter? Hi all, I have a 55 gallon that's a little over a month old. It has cycled and I have a few corals, some turbo and nassarius snails, a few hermits, and a kole tang. I am switching over to a sump soon. I've been using an eheim canister filter with mechanical media and bioballs. My question is, when I switch over to my sump, will I significantly reduce my biofilter? I have about 70 lbs of live rock in there, but I'm guessing that taking my canister's bioballs offline and adding an extra 15 gallons of water or so for the sump could cause ammonia or nitrite spikes? Anyone have experience with this? Any ideas?

06/13/2016, 12:29 PM	#2
jraker Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2015 Posts: 1,421	I doubt it will cause any issue. Your rock in the tank has is way more porous and has much more surface area than bioballs, and therefore have much more bacteria on them. With 70 pounds of rock and only one fish, you should be perfectly fine. __________________ "I glue animals to rocks" Current Tank Info: 36 gallon reef, 65 gallon Caribbean Biotope macroalgae and seagrass tank

06/13/2016, 12:37 PM	#3
Mr.Tan Registered Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: York, PA Posts: 734	can't imagine it would cause a problem. You could always take the bioballs out of the canister filter and place in the sump temporarily along with using some of the water from it to help with the less amount needed to fill sump.

06/13/2016, 12:38 PM	#4
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	Agreed, you should be fine. If you're worried about it, you can maybe run both at the same time for a little while to give the sump a chance to colonize bacteria.