Remove the filter? or leave it in?

Hello,

I recently installed my sump about 2-3 days ago. The guy at my LFS told me that I should leave my old canister filter in my tank for about 2 weeks so that my sump will obtain a biological filter. Do I have to leave my old canister filter in there for that long or is it okay to take it out and throw it in my closet now?

 

That was sound advice. You should also add live bacteria at double the marine dose after you pull the canister.

 

I would leave it running for about three weeks. Think about the cycle time if you had set up a new tank. Give the sump that much time to get it's bacteria up and running. Remember, always go slow.

My Tank

 

Good advice from the LFS. leave it on for as long as you can. If your sick of looking at it or need the space. Remove the filter media and pop it in the tank. it will help seed the rest of your tank. You could also get a piece of live rock and a scoop of sand from an established reef tank. I would do all of the above.

 

+1
I was thinking similar - only I thought take out the filter media, rinse it in some tank water and add some of it to the sump (I have done this when changing from 1 filter to another, just added some of the old media to the new filter to seed it)

Steve