Algae Problems

There is endless benefits to running GAC in a reef. Whether you run it in a canister filter, reactor or just a bag in your sump, it needs to be rinsed or exchanged once a week to be effective. Also, in any of the above methods, it can collect detritus if not washed often. As to doing something that takes a few minutes once a week, being too much work, I'm not going there ;D

 

ive got both a skimmer and filter so you think i should get rid of the canister filter and run only my skimmer i was always told it cant hurt to run both i clean my canister filter weekly in stages. thanks again for all the help sorry to bother but i kept wanting to give up on the tank and now that i found out about this forum im gonna get right back in

 

we were just discussing this here:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/filters-pumps-etc/whooooosh-fluval-121902.html

Personally, my feeling is any piece of equipment that is neglected can accumulate detritus and lead to nitrates. So, it is just a matter of whether it is worth cleaning it or not. Ken Feldman and his research group have done a lot of research on GAC and the fact is, it is much more effective than a skimmer at removing organic molecules (You can find some of his work in Advanced Aquarist magazine ). This is important because many are quite toxic, others break down and result in excess inorganic nutrients, which feed algae and others drive heterotrophic bacteria, which in excess, can be harmful to corals.

So, I think it is critical for coral reefs tanks (especially SPS dominated reefs) to run GAC.

GFO is very helpful for LPS or SPS reefs, as phosphate slows coral growth. And GFO is helpful for other reefs with algae problems. GFO is slightly more effective in a reactor, vs canister, but there really is no difference regarding effectiveness, in a small tank, such as your, between a reactor and canister filter. (And reactors also need to be cleaned regularly, or can become nitrate factories BTW). So, if you have a canister, personally, I'd just run GAC and GFO in it, rather than buying reactors. Just continue to keep them clean. You can even mix GAC and GFO, this is basically what chem-pure elite is (which BTW you could also run in a canister filter).

The biggest issue with canisters IMO is media other than GAC and GFO. Lots of people run filter pads. These get pretty dirty within a few days. If your not changing them out every few days, don't run them. Same goes for filter socks, or anything else that collects crud. A reef is fine with a little debris floating around. As long as there is flow to keep it suspended, this will either serve as food for something or get skimmed out.