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vadryn 
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 Topic: Power bump & canisters
Posted: November 20 2010 at 3:32pm |
Early this morning there was a short power bump at my house. I didn't realize that my canisters didn't turn back on. When I noticed I got them going only to have them "puke" a bunch of stuff into the tank. I didn't think too much of it because there's always crap in the hoses that gets jarred loose.
A couple minutes later my daughter came running in saying the sixline was swimming upside down.  As I hobbled upstairs to the tank I caught the smell. Sulpher like rotten eggs and definitely coming from the tank. The sixline wasn't the only fish in trouble. My trigger was wedged under its rock panting, the coral beauty was upside-down and panting. The yellow tang, clowns and bluespot weren't happy but seemed to be handling it much better.
I setup and did an emergency 15% water change, shut off and cleaned out both canisters. I also hung a bag of about 2-3 pounds of AC in the main display in front of one of the powerheads.
It's been about 4 hours since I finished those measures. I haven't seen the sixline and fear the worst because he was the first to crash. The Coral Beauty and Trigger seem to have recovered reasonably well...
My question - What now? Is there something else I should do or watch for?
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: November 20 2010 at 3:49pm |
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I would consider another water change. This is one of the reasons I won't use a canister filter on my tank, water in them quickly goes anoxic when it's not being circulated. What are you running canister filters for?
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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vadryn
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Posted: November 20 2010 at 7:03pm |
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Circulation and AC.
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Luckedout
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Posted: November 20 2010 at 7:29pm |
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I would also suggest doing a larger water change.
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-Ben
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www.body-balancechiropractic.com
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vadryn
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Posted: November 20 2010 at 8:50pm |
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Sixline appears to be the lone casualty...knock on wood.
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: November 21 2010 at 12:52pm |
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If possible I would ditch the canister filter for circulation and just get a koralia. Otherwise every time your power goes out this is what will happen.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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vadryn
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Posted: November 21 2010 at 2:29pm |
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I have 2 Koralias already, plus the canisters...
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CapnMorgan
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Posted: November 21 2010 at 6:12pm |
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How big is the tank? I would still get rid of the canister and add more powerheads if need be. They are good for running carbon, phosban, etc. But like you've already experienced they are typically an accident waiting to happen.
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Steve My Old 180G Mixed ReefCurrently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8
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Tresa
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Posted: November 21 2010 at 7:56pm |
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How long was the canister not running?
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vadryn
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Posted: November 21 2010 at 10:21pm |
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I think as long as 3 hours... don't remember exactly now.
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Tresa
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Posted: November 22 2010 at 7:30am |
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I love my canister - guess I will have to pay attention if the power goes out... thanks for posting this!
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: November 22 2010 at 9:36am |
I'm sorry for the loss.  Water movement through the typical canister filter is just so slow that they are always on the verge of this kind of problem. When I place my hand in front of the outlet of a canister filter, I can hardly feel anything. There is so little pressure. They are hardly worth it. HOB filters, though just as inefficient for water movement, are at least smaller areas and open to the air so SO2 cannot be created during downtime. Hanging a larger mesh bag of AC next to the intake of a powerhead does a quicker job of polishing the water than AC in a Canister, HOB Filter or common "Reactor. One week per month of hanging the AC is all it takes to clean the water. Use Bridal Veil material to make a loose bag of AC and hang it next to the intake not the outlet (which may cause AC dust particles).
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Will Spencer
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Posted: November 22 2010 at 11:30am |
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I personally don't think canister filters are bad. I run a large one on my 90 gallon FOWLER tank. The problem is maintenance. They are not set it and forget it pieces of equipment. (Speaking of which, it is time to maintain mine. I should do it later today.)
If the power goes out they should be cleaned before restarting. Especially if they haven't been cleaned in a while.
Needing maintenance is also the reason for the low water flow although my big one will never mover the same amount of water as a Korallia 3 or 4.
As for where to go now. I agree that another water change would be a good idea. You probably saved your fish because you had the ability to do a quick water change. We should always have the equipment and sufficient salt on had to do this if necessary. I got lucky once, when I found a similar problem with my tank and had to spend 2 hours running to buy salt and buckets to do a water change. I was afraid I would lose everything, but maybe the situation was not as bad as I thought because everything made it in the end.
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Lewy
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Posted: November 24 2010 at 11:45am |
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thanks guys. I was planning on using mine fro AC when I upgraded. I think I may not now.
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40 gal w/ 20 sump
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vadryn
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Posted: November 24 2010 at 11:47am |
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I'm going to rely more on powerheads for my flow, but am going to keep my Fluval 405 going for AC. It doesn't move tons of water, but for polishing with AC I think it's perfect. It's also pretty easy to maintain.
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Shane H
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Posted: November 24 2010 at 6:39pm |
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I also like canister filters for the addition of AC to a system. For sure they are not great for water movement - but they're not designed for that purpose.
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BobC63
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Posted: November 24 2010 at 6:44pm |
If you've got crap in the hoses getting jarred loose, and if your canisters puke out stuff after being off for only a few hours, then it sounds like you just need to clean them out more frequently.
I change out the carbon in my reactor biweekly. I 'd suggest the same for the canisters.
That way stuff doesn't build up inside them.
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- My Current Tank: 65g Starfire (sitting empty for 2+ years) -
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shakin06
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Posted: November 24 2010 at 9:46pm |
 Shane H wrote:
I also like canister filters for the addition of AC to a system. For sure they are not great for water movement - but they're not designed for that purpose. |
I have always used a Mag HOT for carbon. I change it out once a month. I have it hanging in my overflow.
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