OK, so what to put in the cannister?

[zennzzo]

Alright I made my descision on a canister filter...

XP3

Now what is the best thing to load it with...

My bioload is as follows...
I have a pair of young sub 12" arowanas
a 3" silverdollar
and a pleco that just discovered he'll eat anydam thing I throw at him...

I try to feed them all just as much as they'll eat, a kibble more, then net out any remaining foodstuffs after about 5 mins.

I feed them 4 times a day...

Hikari food sticks,
algiediscs
flake food
crickets
prawn nibbles
beefheart
meal worms
and freeze dried Krill

not every feeding but I try to mix it up...

Thankx in advance for the input, I have been really enjoying MFK and the fish stories...

 

[redtailfool]

i would put filter floss ,lava rocks ,ceramic rings and bio balls.

 

[xxxdrewww]

i would put filter floss ,lava rocks ,ceramic rings and bio balls.

hella pack it to the max

 

[toxicfish]

i would put filter floss ,lava rocks ,ceramic rings and bio balls.

I never thought abt that.......wonder if i could use bioballs in a magnum 350

 

[zennzzo]

Any thoughts on the 'ammonia/Carbon stuff?

 

[xxxdrewww]

your bio media is for your amonia carbon really isent that importand the only time u use it is to take meds out of the water it also polishies the water

 

[jamesqwang]

i have a fluval 104 and i'm filling it with:
filter foam (standard)
fine filter wool (bottom)
active carbon (middle)
ceramic bio rings (middle/top)

 

[sohfatfish]

Try not to use bioballs as they are rather useless submerged. Use something like Eheim substrat or biohome for cannisters.

 

[rumblesushi]

Try not to use bioballs as they are rather useless submerged. Use something like Eheim substrat or biohome for cannisters.

This is not true, they are bio media and will work submerged or trickled just like any other.

I use bio balls in internal and external canisters and they work fine, handle the bio load no problem.

 

[sohfatfish]

Bio balls are only usefull where space is not a constraint like in a sump and they work best when used in trickle filters. In the case of cannister filters where only a small space is provided other types of media would be better then bio balls. Eheim substrat for example provides 450 square metres of space per litre for colonisation of BB due to its structure that not only provides surface area on the outside but internally as well due to its porous structure. Bio balls still work in cannisters but will be much less effective then compared in a wet dry filter or when compared to other media.