Ok to use magnum350 filter - ?

[glocklt4]

[I posted a question about using my aqua clear with a low bioload 46 gallon bow front. Is it ok to use this and my Magnum 350 canister filter? none of the skimmer solutions (besides an aqua c) will work for me i don't think.

I don't have any coral .. just fish and live rock.

Thanks!]

 

[melev]

[Sure, you can use the Magnum 350 canister filter with your tank. Keep an eye on the temperature, because the Magnum will heat your tank water some.]

 

[cpalmist]

[Great advice from Marc - the danged Mag 350 will just do a super job of filtration and it *will* heat up the water as well!

I know what you're thinking, did he fire 5 shots or ....oh, that temperature rise cain't be too much from that little pump thing. Well, between the outside temps and the inside temps of the house coming up and that tank thermometer compensating for running the house temp at 70 degrees and the tank running at 78 and running the Mag 350 continuously, I found my 75 gallon tank temp had risen to 84 degrees!!! Dang. That's the one that had such a die-off a couple of weeks ago! So with the changeover of the seasons and our house thermostats, it might be a good thing to be monitoring out tank temperatures a little more closely these days!
No, it really was 5...]

 

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

[cpalmist,

How do you reckon Plano is "the Best and the best-kept secret in Texas"?

Just curious.

Love,

Moe]

 

[melev]

[Chuck, when I bought my used 55g, it came with two Magnum 350s and a chiller. I couldn't believe they needed a chilller on a small tank with VHO lighting. As soon as I removed those canisters, the tank dropped from 82F to 78F or lower. I never used the chiller and sold it to a guy in California. I still use one canister filter from time to time. Lately it gets loaned out when people have a problem with their tank and they need to borrow it briefly.]

 

[cpalmist]

[Thanks for the info, Marc! Dang! Have to run a chiller when using 2 Mag 350s on a 55 gal - that is significant.
Great to know it wasn't my imagination. I think it was the increased temp that did my tank in - I just didn't notice the increased temp as I was all into self-congratulating and busting buttons with pride that I was doing a great thing for my tank with the charcoal and Phosban!

Mebbe I should rite a peice for the newsletter, "Cooking Better with Your Mag 350!" or some such... :lol:

Well, I still like the thing a lot, just have to watch the temp and compensate for it...]

 

[cpalmist]

[Hi, Moe! It just seems that those Frisco folks, Allen folks, Carrollton and Richardson folks would :hearts: to live in Plano if only they could. So they have to live as close as they can as if only to bask in the Glory that is truly and uniquely that of Plano.
I gotta stop now, I get all misty and when I even think of it... :rasp:]

 

[glocklt4]

[Interesting that it raised temps that much! My mag350 is from my old freshwater tank. It worked very well. I never noticed the temp go up/down when i took it off when i started tearing down the tank.

I'll give it a try and watch my temp closely.

What are the effects of using carbon in a filter like that with saltwater? It's going to pull a lot of calcium out of the water right?]

 

[kwl1763]

[No a lot of people run carbon 24/7. It doesn't bind up the calcium. It binds up organics and other yellowing agents as well as some things we don't neccesarily want it to like iodine. It is a tradeoff but many great great tanks run carbon 24/7 and others that are just as nice rarely if ever do!]

 

[masta]

[Why do canister filters increase temperature?]

 

[glocklt4]

@kwl1763 wrote:

[What is a yellowing agent? Something that causes ammonia?]

 

[cpalmist]

[Mag 350's look like a bad knock-off of a Osterizer blender. So the canister that holds the filter materials is sitting on top of an electrical motor that spins the rotor/propellor in the canister to move the water out so more can come in.
You'd get hot too if you sat on an electrical motor of any size all day!
Yellowing agents are from organic product breakdown, substances that the corals emit, fish waste, macroalgae secretions and so on.
You get a yellowing effect in fresh water tanks as well, just not as fast...]

 

[glocklt4]

[Ok, that makes sense.

What kind of media do you recommend having in a canister filter then?]

 

[cpalmist]

[I just run charcoal and Phosban as too cheap to buy a Phosban reactor. The Mag 350 has a nice floss filter that is pretty easy to clean (1:10 bleach:water, per Marc).
I imagine other folks run some pretty esoteric things so I await their postings with some anticipation]

 

[glocklt4]

@cpalmist wrote:

[Wow, i'm very surprised that marc advises use of bleach. Everything I've read says you can use white vinegar , but anything that has cleaning agents like bleach or the such is very bad and will pretty much never come out all the way.

What is phosban?

I have the floss filter, it does a pretty good job of removing very small particles.]

 

[cpalmist]

[Marc is right on with his bleach mix - white vinegar just doesn't cut it with the stuff that the floss/mesh catches. You do have to rinse the heck out of the filter media with fresh water - when I was using a far stronger solution of bleach and water to clean the filter media, I finally had to use a mix of baking soda and water to get the bleach smell/residue out of the mix. The baking soda is safe to use as that's pretty much what we buffer the pH of the tank with in one form or another.]

 

[melev]

[Charcoal is for grilling.
Carbon is for filtering.

:wwww:

If you bleach anything, rinse it well and let it air out for a day. In situations like this one, it is best to have two filter floss pads, that way you can run one while the other is cleaned, aired out and left to dry well before its next use.]

 

[glocklt4]

@Marc wrote:

[hahah, that's what i meant. sorry.

Good idea on the floos pads. I'm going to get the canister filter from my parents place and hook it up and see how it does. With the 350 I can probably get rid of the aqua clear 200 too as i'm sure the canister filter is plenty for the 46 gallons with only a few fish.]