Good upgrade for Filtration??

travis442 · 06/04/2008, 01:41 PM

Hi guys,

So when I first setup my tank I was influenced by budget and by the fish store and didn't get what I should have. I ended up buying a 37 gallon tank and then got an eclipse 3 hood. I have since realized that I should have stayed away from the hood. So here is what I'm thinking about doing.

I don't want to set this tank up for hard core corals stay mainly a FOWLR and maybe a few easy to care for corals down the road. So I am thinking that I'm going to start upgradng my tank away from the hood that it came with. The first thing I was going to do was get rid of the filter that it came with and the additional filter that I put in there and replace it with an Ehiem 2217 canister filter. Do you think that filter is overkill for my 37 gallon tank? For water circulation I have a Koralia 2 and if with the Ehiem its not enough I could get another Koralia.

After that I will upgrade my lighting and be done with the Eclipse hood altogether. I have thought about an overflow but I don't have room for it behind my tank right now.

So what do you guys think? Will the 2217 be good for my tank or to much? Do you think this is the best course of action for me to take?

Look forward to your opinions.
Thanks
Travis

rjsilvers · 06/04/2008, 02:41 PM

How much LR do you have? You shouldn't really need the canister filter at all.

If you have enough LR you could get a skimmer (sounds like you need a HOB one) and that would give you enough filtration for the tank.

You can run a canister in addition to the LR, but most people don't stay on top of changing the media and it starts leaking nitrates back into the water.

travis442 · 06/04/2008, 04:00 PM

I have probably 50 - 60 lbs of live rock in the tank. It wasn't all liverock when I start but I have had the tank set up for probably almost 4 or 5 months now. I also have 40 lbs of live sand.

Thats the thing i don't have room for a skimmer behind the tank right now i set it to close to the wall and i don't have the ability to move it by myself. I was just figuring a canister would let me get rid of the hood after i get new lights and still have filtration for the tank.

rjsilvers · 06/04/2008, 04:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by travis442
Thats the thing i don't have room for a skimmer behind the tank right now i set it to close to the wall and i don't have the ability to move it by myself. I was just figuring a canister would let me get rid of the hood after i get new lights and still have filtration for the tank.

Not saying you can't do it like that. People have run canisters on their SW tanks far longer than skimmers have been around.

You just have to stay on top of the maintenance. Either by cleaning the media really good or tossing it out and replacing it with new media.

The canister filter you want does 264gph, which should provide you decent filtration. I still think you'd want to add another Koralia 2 on top of that though.

travis442 · 06/04/2008, 04:22 PM

I had planned on adding another Koralia 2 like you suggested. I just know that the filter that came with it is not the best in the world and it has the bio-wheel on it which I wouldn't mind being able to get rid of. I also added a smaller filter to the tank for some more circulation and I would love to get rid of it because it has the foam filter pads and since the filter is in the tank it doesn't get cleaned like it should.

Plus the Ehiem would give me additional options for filtration media.

06/04/2008, 01:41 PM	#1
travis442 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Irving, Tx Posts: 106	Good upgrade for Filtration?? Hi guys, So when I first setup my tank I was influenced by budget and by the fish store and didn't get what I should have. I ended up buying a 37 gallon tank and then got an eclipse 3 hood. I have since realized that I should have stayed away from the hood. So here is what I'm thinking about doing. I don't want to set this tank up for hard core corals stay mainly a FOWLR and maybe a few easy to care for corals down the road. So I am thinking that I'm going to start upgradng my tank away from the hood that it came with. The first thing I was going to do was get rid of the filter that it came with and the additional filter that I put in there and replace it with an Ehiem 2217 canister filter. Do you think that filter is overkill for my 37 gallon tank? For water circulation I have a Koralia 2 and if with the Ehiem its not enough I could get another Koralia. After that I will upgrade my lighting and be done with the Eclipse hood altogether. I have thought about an overflow but I don't have room for it behind my tank right now. So what do you guys think? Will the 2217 be good for my tank or to much? Do you think this is the best course of action for me to take? Look forward to your opinions. Thanks Travis

06/04/2008, 02:41 PM	#2
rjsilvers Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 537	How much LR do you have? You shouldn't really need the canister filter at all. If you have enough LR you could get a skimmer (sounds like you need a HOB one) and that would give you enough filtration for the tank. You can run a canister in addition to the LR, but most people don't stay on top of changing the media and it starts leaking nitrates back into the water.

06/04/2008, 04:00 PM	#3
travis442 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Irving, Tx Posts: 106	I have probably 50 - 60 lbs of live rock in the tank. It wasn't all liverock when I start but I have had the tank set up for probably almost 4 or 5 months now. I also have 40 lbs of live sand. Thats the thing i don't have room for a skimmer behind the tank right now i set it to close to the wall and i don't have the ability to move it by myself. I was just figuring a canister would let me get rid of the hood after i get new lights and still have filtration for the tank.

06/04/2008, 04:22 PM	#5
travis442 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Irving, Tx Posts: 106	I had planned on adding another Koralia 2 like you suggested. I just know that the filter that came with it is not the best in the world and it has the bio-wheel on it which I wouldn't mind being able to get rid of. I also added a smaller filter to the tank for some more circulation and I would love to get rid of it because it has the foam filter pads and since the filter is in the tank it doesn't get cleaned like it should. Plus the Ehiem would give me additional options for filtration media.