Canister filters and circulation

[Rich-n-poor]

I have two old pieces of equipment, a skilter 250 and a aquaclear 150 which I dont use on my reef.

I am considering putting them on empty and using them for added circulation and.or a small refugium.

who does this here and why ?
_________________
BMW Z3

 

[Anonymous]

They normally don't work all that well as a refugium because the flow rate is too high. They can be used for circulation however I would think powerheads are less obtrusive.

 

[rBeOeBf]

I use an empty hang-on powerfilter for surface agitation. I get a lot of surface film without it, since i'm sumpless and don't have any kind of overflow or surface skimmer. Good place to throw carbon once in a while too.

-Bob

 

[Buzz]

I've had my stripped out skilter 250 running on my 20 gallon for about 3 years now. There is some sand in the bottom of it and it is really full of pods and other critters. I also have my heater in there and drip kalk into the skilter. In some ways, it's like a little HOT sump/refugium.

I would highly recommend using either one and can't think of any drawbacks of having it on there except for maybe fish getting sucked into an exposed intake on the skilter.

 

[FishDaddy]

Like Bob, I keep an empty Whisper power filter on the back of my tank for extra surface agitation and water flow. That's also where I put a nylon mesh bag of carbon occasionally.
The main problem with using a cannister is that they are much more trouble to clean out. The Whisper just lifts off and is so easy to clean.
Dick