What is the best canniser filter to use in a Saltwater Aquarium?

Question

I have a 45 gallon clear view ........ and want to supliment my filtration ...... to eventually have a reef tank setup

Answer 1

Well, you can't go wrong with an Eheim canister.
But, the Marineland Magnum 220 & 350 Canisters would be my first choices.
http://about.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=1583&form_keyword=Marineland+Magnum&mode=about_saltaquarium&skd=1&rd=1

Load up on very porous live rock - that should be your main filtration. If you want to increase filtration, how about setting up a refugium? Which is basically a smaller tank that goes under of beside your main tank, with some live sand and live rock, and water goes through this tank continually and gets filtered in the process. You can also put heater and other equipment in the refugium. It also adds volume to your total tank area. You wouldn't put any fish in the 'fuge, but if you have a 45gal tank and a 20gal fuge, that's a total of 65 gallons of water, make the whole tank more stable.

Answer 2

Eheim make the best and quietest canisters, but there are many good brands out there for less money if cost is an issue. But in a reef any kind of biological filter should be avoided. You are best to rely on live rock and good water circulation for biological filtration. This is called the "Berlin" method and is considered today THE filtration of choice for reef and FOWLR setups. The main advantage is that it performs both nitrification and denitrification, therefore not producing as much nitrates in the tank as traditional biological filtration such as canisters or wet/dry filters. Invest the money on a good skimmer and you will have a very healthy reef!

Take a look at the articles here for more on this topic:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/subject/filtration.php

Hope that helps

Answer 3

I'm partial to the Marineland filters, but I only use them for chemical and mechanical filtration.

I don't really like using cannister filters for bio filtration and feel that live sand, live rock and a refugium do a much better job in a reef tank.

If you have a fish only tank then you could use the Emporer 280 for bio filtration and the Magnum for mechanical/chemical.

Answer 4

eheim makes the best cannister filters. A protein skimmer works good on a saltwater tank also.