canister filter vs. sump

[trble81]

All,

 

As my wife and I look at all of the posts on the forum and navigate through the many photos that are posted, I constantly have a question bouncing around my head. That question is sump vs. canister filter. Our current tank is a 35 gallon Hex with a canister filter. When we decide to get a larger tank, that pesky question will come up again.

We plan on trying to get a tank via the WTB forum before looking into LFS tanks. So if the one we get is already drilled and includes a sump and all that, well, we have our decision then. I'm just curious as to the pros and cons (minus the whole mechanical filtration aspect, of course).

As a follow up, could any one suggest a good book that would help novice reefers, like us, in setting up all the plumbing and what-not that's associated with having a good marine aquarium. We're always in the mood to learn!

 

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rascal]

I have not seen it personally, but Calfo & Fenner's "Reef Invertebrates" is supposed to have a pretty good section on plumbing.

 

In the meantime, this article and the related FAQs should be enough to keep you busy. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/plumbingmarart.htm

 

Also, take a look at some of the tank set-up threads on this board. Many of them have photos and diagrams which are very helpful.

[Sugar Magnolia]

Having a reef ready/predrilled tank is the best way to go IMO if you want a sump. I decided to add a sump after having my 30 cube set up for a couple of years and plumbing behind/under it was a royal PITA. (can't move a tank full of rocks and water) Also, I was constanly having to adjust my overflow. I ended up taking it off and just going sumpless. I now run a Rena Filstar canister on my 30 (xp2 version). Keep in mind though, that all those sponges will trap detritus so it extrememly important to keep the filter clean. I clean mine weekly - take the whole thing apart and run all under hot water. Some people tend to add it and never clean the darn thing and wonder why they have nitrate issues.

 

You'll get alot of pros and cons about canisters. Most people either like them or hate them. I've only used two brands...the Filstar I have now and a POS Fluval. Don't buy a Fluval.

[dzekunoi]

Why Fluval is a POS?

[Sugar Magnolia]

Sorry, I should have been a bit more specific about my experience with the Fluval. I just found it to be of inferior quality as far as product materials used to build it. First, I found the ribbed plastic intake and outflow tubing trapped alot of gunk. They sell a long brush separately to clean it. My Rena Filstar came with very flexible smooth vinyl tubing. - no where for gunk to get trapped in the tubing. The impeller in the Fluval was always having trouble cavitating, and it sometimes wouldn't restart after a power failure. Not even a year after buying my 204 series, they discontinued the 04 series and replaced it with the 05 series. Since I was in the market for a new canister, I did some looking around and searching and found that the Eheim and Rena filters had a much higher customer satisfaction rating and lower failure rate than the Fluvals. This is not to say ther aren't people out there that don't have Fluvals that are still running smoothly, but this was my experience with it. HTH.

[YBeNormal]

The short and simple answer is that canister filters are designed to help break down organics/ammonia into nitrites, then nitrates and they do a wonderful job of doing just that. This leaves you will the problem of how to remove the nitrates from your aquarium. Yes, you can minimize the nitrate buildup by cleaning your canister filter regularly, but that will not prevent the buildup from occurring over time. Water changes help and may be sufficient for a FO system (most SW fish can actually tolerate nitrates pretty well) but can become quite costly and may not be sufficient for a reef system, especially if you want to keep some of the more demanding SPS corals.

 

A sump is really nothing more than an extension of your main tank designed to hold and maybe hide some of the hardware associated with the tank such as heaters and skimmers. Add a deap sand bed, live rock and/or macro algae and the sump/refugium takes on the added job of breaking down or providing a means to export nitrates. A sump/refugium is an absolute requirement for all but the smallest reef tanks IMHO.

 

There are lots of good books and I'm sure people will jump in with recommendations. I recommend reading some of the excellent articles on reefkeeping.com though, reading threads and asking lots of questions on trusted forums such as WAMAS. You'll learn a lot in a sort time this way and will hopefully be spared from having to wade through outdated information provided in some of the print media.

[stevil]

could any one suggest a good book that would help novice reefers, like us, in setting up all the plumbing and what-not that's associated with having a good marine aquarium.

If you don't have one of these books, I highly recommend getting at least one.

 

"The New Marine Aquarium, A step-by step setup and stocking guide". It's an easy read and pretty short.

"The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner. I still use this over a year later.

 

The first one walks you through setting up all your equipment and provides great checklists for different types of tanks. The second one does the same (but to somewhat less detail on the setup), however is an awesome resource for the continued maintenance and stocking of your tank.

 

I would then follow it up with the "Natural Reef Aquarium, Vol 1" by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner. I just got that book and wish I would have had it a year ago. It's definitely more technical with regards to live rock, filtration, refugiums, plumbing etc but also is very in-depth with regards to marine invertebrates. If you've already got a tank running, I think it would be very good to read as you embark upon designing, acquiring and setting up your next tank.

[trble81]

Thanks for the book suggestions. I check out Amazon or Boarders/Barnes and Noble to see if they carry.

 

We're running a Cascade canister filter and it's working out great so far. I do clean out the filters and it seems to be reflected in our water tests.

 

I've heard some similar things about the Fluvals (mainly about how flimsy some of the clips that hold the top on are). I've heard some real good things about Eheim canister filters (along with their pumps in general).

 

We really appreciate all the input you guys give and the more, the better!