<span style="font-family: Times New Roman;"><span style="font-size: 13px;">I was wondering how many people have chucked their canister, HOB and bio balls and have gone to a straight live rock, live sand, skimmer technique (~Berlin System). I just got rid of my canister filter (I did it slowly) and have added more live rock to the sump and more refugium plants. I’m a little worried, but it sounds like what everyone is doing. Has anyone done this recently and how has it worked out? I haven’t had a crash yet and I have a number of small fish. Thanks.</span></span>
Live Rock Filtration
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Rid of bio-balls, a couple months ago. Just running skimmer w/ filter sock & plenty of rock. No problems.
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Ya, I was one of the self proclamed "berlin" purist in the past. It was how I learned to do a tank 10 years ago. There is something to be said for those old methods but with todays equipment, nothing out performs a good skimmer and a fuge. I will be the first to admit, I still use a plenium in my 55's fuge. I still use a combo DSB (in my fuge) and SSB (in my display 55). I experiment with crypto fuges and even extreemes like aptasia filter boxes. But for the average REEF aquarium, you can not go wrong with a skimmer/fuge system over bioballs and canister filters!
I use a canister in a very non-traditional format. They are still really useful for media reactors. I find them much easier to work with than the typical reactor. I personally run GFO, Carbon and Purigen in mine and I don't have it plugged in. It is run inline with the chiller and UV.
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I believe the true Berlin method is with no sand bed, actually. Anyway, I still use bioballs in place of live rock in the display if that's what the installation calls for.
I saw a really neat thread on Reef Central -- Anthony Calfo was talking about how effective a "remote deep sand bed" is on nitrates. Basically you take a 5gal. bucket, put sand in it, and run water over it -- as long as you keep the water running fast enough so that nothing settles out into the sand bed, you get amazing nitrate reduction and no problems with the sand bed.
He said that a 55 gal. tank full of sand was enough to take care of the water in a 2k gal. LFS display aquarium. I haven't tried it yet but some of the posters on the thread did and said that they got really nice results from it.
He said that a 55 gal. tank full of sand was enough to take care of the water in a 2k gal. LFS display aquarium. I haven't tried it yet but some of the posters on the thread did and said that they got really nice results from it.
