magnum micron cartridge

[lchau211]

I plan to buy the magnum canister filter to use for carbon and water polishing. Is it a bad idea to use its micron cartridge because it will take out the pods and other good stuff in the water? I don't plan to use it 24/7, may be running 1-2 days/week.

[David Grigor]

No harm. Doubtful it will get out many pods as usually they usually aren't floating around in the water column.

Probably the best time to use the micron, is after stirring up the sandbed or turkey basting the rock to get the detritus etc. stirred up.

[Wags]

I have the Magnum 350 but have not used it for my saltwater setup yet. I was wondering if its possible to use the diatom powder in a reef setup for water polishing. I have never read anywhere that it was either good or bad.

[wes]

I've got a magnum 350 on my FOWLR and the water sparkles. I run carbon every other week for a few days, the micron filter other than that pretty constantly, washing it every day or two, sometimes 3. nitrates are undetectable, though I have got a low bio-load and a 'fuge for export. I used to run it and clean the cartridge daily or 2x daily before I got a skimmer for that tank. Everything stayed well in check, but it was a PITA.