Replacing Canister Filter with Live Rock

I got really lucky and found a guy who sold me 75 lbs of Fiji/Tonga live rock for $2/lb. I removed my canister filter after aquascaping with the new rock. The rock is fully cured and covered in coralline. My concern is... will the 75 lbs of live rock be adequate enough to buffer the removal of my canister filter? This is for a 46 bow

 

what do you plan on keeping in the tank? if you plan on going reef, i would ditch the canister for a refugium set-up... maybe use the canister to run charcoal and thats about it..

 

Reef setup. I currently have 5 turbos 1 emerald and about 30 hermits. and 4 small fish. I do not intend on adding more fish.
I am mostly concerned with a cycle from removing my canister. Should I be ok or expect a cycle? My live rock came with a lot of existing corals, mostly polyps. I am just worried I should have left my canister and slowly removed the media. but it was turning into a nitrate factory.

 

U may go thru a cycle...i would make sure u keep an eye on ur params...if they are healthy hardy fish they will probably make it thru any small cycle you may incur..i would def suggest a fuge in your future though if you want a reef...that way you can house some macro algae, which will be breeding ground for copepods, and the macro will provide as a natural way to rid urself of nitrates, and supply O2 to the tank

 

ya plus i have to say that a filter never hurts and if its not to much of a bother id just leave it in place and add the extra rock. also if your set on going without the filter you should invest in a fuge like kevin said and a protein skimmer. good luck

 

I'm running a 46 bow with a fuge. I have 70lbs of rock but only about 25% of it was live (only 3 months old). I run my trusty old fluval 304 with just chemi-pure in it. My parameters stay dead perfect and my water is really nice. You should consider running a refugium for sure. It's a great addition to any reef tank and a good place to put things that you want to keep out of your display tank. I actually sit and watch my colony of mysis shrimp in there sometimes.