I decided to try a canister filter.

[Pepere]

I originally bought a Seachem Tidal 35 hob.  
 

I had watched a video where the presenter said we should bow down to that filter because it was so great….

yeah, not so much…. Continually goes to bypass within a day or two of servicing, and if water is bypassing the media it sure isnt filtering it much.

 

I had added a box filter in the corner with some filter floss for extra mechanical filtration  and flow in the dead spot.

When I installed CO2 I added a Fluval Nano with a spray bar to get some circular flow and keep the co2 bubbles in suspension.  It did the job, but I had to clean that filter and transparent spray bar every single week…

And by now I was using 20 watts with 2 motor filters and air pump.

Last night I fitted a Fluval 207 to a 29 gallon display tank with a Fluval spray bar on the back of the tank wall aimed up slightly for surface agitation and circular flow across the the top, down the front and up to the back. I also put on a prefilter sponge from the co op on the intake.

I pulled all of the other filters out of the tank. I was able to move some plants around to take advantage of freed up space.

In the process I removed 2 immersed power cords out from the aquarium and decluttered the back of the tank.  I only have a heater cord submersed in tank water, and that is controlled by an inkbird so is not energized all of the time.

I am down to 10 watts running 24/7.

I am hopeful that I will find the reduced frequency of filter maintenance offsets the increased work of actually servicing it when it needs it…

I figure I will live with it for 3-4 months before deciding to convert my other tanks or not…

Time will tell…

I must say, I took pleasure in removing that ridiculously engineered Tidal 35 Hang On Back.  It kills me that the fool thing cost almost half of what the canister filter did…

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/20/2023 at 1:24 PM, Pepere said:

I am down to 10 watts running 24/7.

I am hopeful that I will find the reduced frequency of filter maintenance offsets the increased work of actually servicing it when it needs it…

I figure I will live with it for 3-4 months before deciding to convert my other tanks or not…

Time will tell…

I must say, I took pleasure in removing that ridiculously engineered Tidal 35 Hang On Back.  It kills me that the fool thing cost almost half of what the canister filter did…

It's definitely a "fun one" when you look at the tidal 50 compared to the AC30 and the tidal 35.  What an amalgamation of weird decisions. 

I am glad you've been able to remove the excess wattage, get the full circulation you're wanting for the plants, and *hopefully* working towards easier day to day maintenance on the tank itself.  That focus on enjoyment is critical.  Fingers crossed for you and looking forward to hearing how you feel about the filtration after a few weeks and a few months!

In my tanks I've gone through so many different iterations of filtration.  I'm using a spraybar now in place or 2 air powered filters and an air stone.  I am running one tank with full air which is something I didn't think I would be doing due to issues in the past with air pumps failing on me.  Ultimately, you just have to find what works for you.  One day I'd love to try that series of canisters in particular or heck... a sump!

[Pepere]

I just finished plugging in my new canister filter in to a kasa smart plug and configuring it.

 

I scheduled it to turn on every day at 6:30 in the morning and8:30 at night, and to never turn off. This way if I shut it down to feed the fish and forget to restart it, it will turn on by itself.

I also configured a 15 minute timer that I can hit it I turn it off with my tablet before feeding and it will turn on after 15 minutes.

 

Cory mentioned something like this on one of his videos.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@PepereSo canister filters are made to run continuously. The beneficial bacteria will die and you’ll get a build up of noxious gases when the filter is off for more then a few hours and then detritus that will blow out every time the Kasa timer turns on. I can’t advise you strongly enough to run it continuously. I’ve been using Eheim canisters for decades and set up many Fluvals for friends just hope for your sake that this doesn’t lead to a disaster. 

[Galabar]

Nitrifying bacteria are surprisingly hardy and will survive many months without a source of ammonia (and won't be killed by a lack of oxygen).  You are safe turning off your canister filter.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1574-6941.2006.00170.x

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/think-you-know-filter-bacteria-dream-on/

https://bluesharkjourney.com/products/shocking-truth-nitrifying-bacteria-colony/

Edited May 21 by Galabar

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/20/2023 at 9:45 PM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

@PepereSo canister filters are made to run continuously. The beneficial bacteria will die and you’ll get a build up of noxious gases when the filter is off for more then a few hours and then detritus that will blow out every time the Kasa timer turns on. I can’t advise you strongly enough to run it continuously. I’ve been using Eheim canisters for decades and set up many Fluvals for friends just hope for your sake that this doesn’t lead to a disaster. 

It's a safety of sorts.  Basically in the timer you set random "on" times in the schedule.  So throughout the day it turns on just in case it accidentally is left off.  I am pretty sure the plan is to run it 24/7 apart from feeding times for 10-20 minutes.

I used to do the same thing, then I had a pump go on for 10 minutes while I was doing maintenance and never again!

[Flumpweesel]

I have been running my 306 for 12 years now I must say that it is a  great filter and I only clean it out every few months adding the coop prefilter sponge has been a game changer with it and it m its looking like cleaning now could be an annual event. 

Only swapped out the original sponges the other year.  I do keep a internal power filter in the cuppard though in case I need to use carbon because that is easier than adding to 306

Edited May 21 by Flumpweesel
Correction

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@Galabarthanks for the reads. I think that based on my experience I’d say that generalizing research from industrial settings into home aquaria can be difficult. I do welcome the money that capitalists bring to the table in terms of research into these questions. In this case, into the home bacterial cultures and supplements people use. I think that many of our experiences with Dr Novaks methods have been mixed. Personally I always loved UGFs so even if a 1/5th of what he says is correct at least it’s made it easier for an old hobbyist to get a UGF plate. In terms of canisters, my own experiences living in locales with power outages, natural disasters and other events leading to poor flow through them, I’ve seen issues with fish health and disease after these events. This is anecdotal and not to the level of a research situation. These health issues could have been due to a number of things - we don’t give enough credit to these filters for the effects of the water movement on surface agitation, movements of wastes and other products traveling through the water column etc. so certainly these events although in my mind due to the canister being off could have been something else. But as the Blue Shark article illustrates it’s an experiential hobby and different results will be reached. All the best and keep having fun!

[Phoenixfishroom]

I run most of my tanks with a canister, an HOB, and a pair of sponges and definitely like the canisters the best. I have started building my own, there are great videos for how to do it and it definitely works and is way cheeper. Enough so that my 20 gallon tanks are even on canisters now.

[Pepere]

On 5/21/2023 at 12:45 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said:

canister filters are made to run continuously. The beneficial bacteria will die and you’ll get a build up of noxious gases when the filter is off for more then a few hours

That is indeed the reason I have thetimer set only to turn the filter on and never off.  
 

If i forget to turn it back on after feeding it will be turned back on automatically.  It is set to turn on automatically a half hour after the two times I normally feed.

my intended plan is to turn it off from the app and start a timer to turn it back on automatically after 15 minutes just before putting the food in.  
 

The two turn on times programmed is a backup failsafe.

[Pepere]

Last night before bed, I was surprised by an unexpected consequence.

The drop checker was frank yellow with barely a hint of green. 
 

checked the bubble counter and the count was pretty much the same.

None of the fish were showing obvious signs of distress, though the cories were gulping surface area a bit.

 

I cut the bubble count in half, and then shut it off early and did a 50% water change.  I will be dialing the levels in today.

 

I can only guess that the increased flow is holding co2 bubbles in suspension longer for better absorption into the water column.  As Bubbles work their way up to the surface, the get re entrained again…