Canister filters Vs. wet/dry (sump) filters

[that fish guy]

I have a 75 gallon predrilled tank. It has been up and running for a year. I have a Pro Clear Aquatic 125 Sump on there now with a UV sterilizer and a Aqua C Remora Pro Protein Skimmer. I hate it, the sump is loud and when I lose power I have to worry about it overflowing and I do not think it does enough filtration, my water is never cystral clear unless I run my diatom filter. I was thinking about whiching it out with a canister filter, I don't know which one, but if I was to do the swap I am leaning toward the new Marineland canister filter, the C series. The exact one is the C-360. I am open to other suggestions, but I have been told only great things about the Marineland C series canisters. I was wondering peoples opinon if this swap is a good idea. The tank has about 100 of rock and is fish only, but I am starting to make it a mini reef with just some rare zoo colonies, mushrooms and leathers. There are 5 fish in the tank. The biggest one is 4 inches.

 

[boardryder]

I started my 46 reef off with a canister filter and have since gone to a sump/refugium. I actually had no major problems using the canister filter. I did clean it out every one or two weeks to be on the safe side, and a good thing I did after seeing all the detrious dumped out during every cleaning. IMO they are not as bad as everyone says, but I couldn't tell you if it's worth switching from the IDEAL setup.

 

[autoponicz]

canister filters can work with fish only tanks...but then you will still need to clean the filter pad on a weekly basis to keep the nitrates down......i would reccomend a much bigger canister for better filtration...and you wont be able to keep your water level in the tank constant unless you use the overflow....i never used a canister filter on my tank so cant tell u much more...(only when i had freshwater tanks)

the good thing with a sump is that you can run a filter sock on the drain to collect all the detritus and change them out every few days(have a few on hand to switch them around)so much easier than turning off the canister and then lugging it to the sink so you can clean the filter pads....and the sump can house your heater and a bigger skimmer...phosban reactor and/or fuge if you like...and more water volume...oh and a ATO which i think is very important....nomore worries about topping off and it will keep the SG stable.

check with "custom king" if you want a sump built...he does great work and should give you a good price.

 

[that fish guy]

so do you think it would be in my best interset to switch to a canister

 

[Jaws]

i have been using the mechanical filteration from day one. i have a 72g and using Eheim 2026 canister. it really keep my water crystal clear. see my tank thread.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

I have a problem, You see my condo association does not allow "open water systems." Translated that means no sumps. They have has accidents before. So the only filtration I could have with my 55 was a cannister filter. They can work on reef systems but you need to clean them weekly religiously. I used no pads, no bio media only carbon and a hang on protein skimmer. Slowly I switched to a hang on refugium that I bought from ink and the skimmer. I would put chemipure in the intake portion of the fuge so it got flow through it and I found that that worked nicely and the corals reacted to the switch nicely as well. They did not look better nor did they look worse they stayed consistent. In the fuge I also had live sand, cheato and LR rubble. My fuge light was on the opposite schedule as my tank lights. So yes it can work, are there other options yes. I would suggest the hang on fuge if you were going to try something they are a good thing to have.

 

[mray]

Hang on fuges are a bit scary. Has anyone ever picked up one when it is full of salt water? A medium aquafuge filled with salt water (3gal) weighed about 25 lbs and what is holding it up? TWO small hangers on the back. I think it is way more risky than having a sump.

 

[Dj Orion]

I used to have a fluval 404 on my 75 fish only and altho my water was clear, I always had nitrate / phosphate issues with it. I tried to remove the bio media and use it only as an upflow media canister, but that was only greeted with limited success. When I ultimately made the switch to a sump system I had drastic improvement. Adam, I would try other avenues first like a phosban reactor or UV if your plan is to start adding rare zoos and other corals. My 75g now is crystal clear with minimal phosphates and stocked with fish and corals to the brim. I use no chemical media at all and the tank is great. just my 2 cents..

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Picked it up on many of an occasion never seemed to bother me it was very well constructed. The feedback on the hang on fuges is very good from all the research I did. I had one problem with a hermit crab getting caught in the return causing an overflow but that can happen with a sump too if you don't take the proper precautions to safeguard against. So to give it negative feedback for my mistake would be silly.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

By the way most aquariums are 5 pieces of glass held together by a bead of caulk type material but people trust them and most people here have 1 in there house and most feedback on most aquariums is positive rarely is it negative.

 

[Mr Hyde]

I have both on my 75 FOWLR setup. Having had a canister only years ago, I feel the water quality & health/appearance of my tank is much better once I went with a sump. My levels are more stable now, and the added water volume, and ability to move my heater, and add a skimmer to the system were big bonuses. Having both helps with water movement as well.

I have the canister & my Skimmer on a seperate power strip which I always turn off during feedings. That allows me to extend the cleanings a little more, and keeps my nitrates low.

Having added a Sump, I'd never go back to a canister only system. The problems you have can be made better. They can be made a little quieter. If water levels in the sump aren't too high, and if you drill a small hole in the return line just below the water level, that should break the vacuum, and keep your sump from overflowing if you loose power.

I drilled a hole in my return line just below the water line, and through trial and error by killing the power, I marked the minimum, and maximum water levels in the sump to prevent overflowing. Keeping my water levels in between keeps me worry free.

 

[that fish guy]

It is not a vaccum I hear, it is the actual water in the sump, moving around I hear

 

[that fish guy]

my water chemistry is perfect and my water is clear but I have seen other saltwater tanks with a canister on it and the tank looks so much clearer and i dont know how but like cleaner, he told me when he was doing research when setting up the tank, he found that a bunch of ppl he spoke to told him to do a canister for many reasons.

 

[Mr Hyde]

For actual mechanical filtering,I too like think the canister is better, but for chemical filtration, I like the sump. I also like it for the other reasons I stated. Thats the reason I run both.

My comment about the vacuum wasn't in regards to the noise, it was about worrying about the sump overflowing. Drilling that hole interrupts the vacuum, and less water goes down into the sump.

 

[that fish guy]

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