Add a canister to my tank with a sump and fuge already?

Hey all. I have a 110 gal with a 30 gal. sump/fuge combo and wanting to get a little more filtration going due to me adding some more fish to the tank.Would it make sence to add a canister for me?

 

Canisters are breeding grounds for all kinds of stuff that we generally do not want in our tanks. Unless you want to spend a lot of time doing regular cleanings, you are probably better off running a skimmer and having enough live rock. IMO. How much rock do you have in your system? Do you have Cheato in your refugium? Do you check your parameters regularly and are you having issues? How is your tank stocked? The more info you provide the more answers will be taylored to your particular system. As always, there are lots of opinions so you need to think about how they all fit into what you want to do.

 

If you already have your sump/fuge the only benefit to adding a canister would be to run other media such as carbon or phosban ect. A media reactor would probably work much better and would be easier to maintain.

 

If you don't mind a little extra work a canister filter can be a great asset to your tank. It does not need to be run 24/7. I'll run one for a couple days all the while using a turkey baster to blow off my rock. The filter picks up the crap and I then toss the filter media. They are also great for running other media types as stated and for water polishing.
I've been using canister filters for 35+ years and if cared for properly are a wonderful addition to any tank.
Just playing devils advocate here.

 

The biggest downside with a canister is the constant maintenance required to keep them optimal,the "breeding grounds" or "nitrate factories" you'll hear of comes from people that don't properly maintain them.Otherwise they are an excellent source of filtration,however,with a sump and fuge,i personally wouldn't add one and for the price of a decent canister filter,you could buy a reactor or two which is far more efficent for chemical medias than a canister.

 

Maybe get a bigger sump and more rock? That's what I'd do. Otherwise you are just transferring water change maintenance to canister maintenance.

 

That sounds great, would you have a recomendations for a reactor?

 

I have 120 lbs live rock, I do have about the size of a basketball of cheato in my Fuge,parameters are checked once to twice a week, and i have some leathers, zoas, and about 30 inches of fish (18 different fish small to medium ) and my parameters always check out great. I am down to doing a 10% water change every two weeks with RODI...
Thanks for all you help!

 

Sounds like you don't really need anything, although a reactor won't hurt.

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