Canister filter or sump?

T

the fox

And its not only snakes
Aug 13, 2007
315
0
0
South Africa, Cape Town
I am going to buy a 500 liter tank for cichlids and im not sure which filter type to get.
So what is all round better.
I cannot give the exact filer because it a south africa brand but it fairly good quality.
 
It will mainly come down to personal choice and the amount of money you want to spend, along with the selection that is available in your country.

All filter manufacturers will claim all kinds of capabilities to flow, size tank it can handle, volume of media that it can hold, which media has the most/best surface area, ease of priming, how quiet the operation is and a variety of other factors.

Many of these attributes are subjective to personal like or dislike, and what is important or rated better to one person could be the exact opposite rating to another person.

Another factor to take into consideration, is that many folks will not recommend some styles based on what they have heard, without ever having had any personal experience with them.

Any of the popular ones, Magnum, Eheim, Fluval and others will more than likely do the job, or they would not be selling.

I personally like Marinelands Mag 350s and their new "C" series, and I have some Eheims. All are very functional.

For me, the ability to have multiple filter baskets isn't really a plus and is just an impediment to flow.
 
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i would love a sump if i had the right cabinet / space / money...man a sump must be the most ugly filter money can but...however you must remember that an external filter in effect adds volume to your tank and a sump by its design increases surface area overall for the tank...therefore you can stock more heavily with a sump than other types of filtration, imo.
 
A sump with a Wet/Dry tops all as far as I'm concerned. The added water volume is a huge plus as well.
 
Man i would run both if i could. The canister for Mechanical filtration and the Wet/Dry sump for biological filtration plus you could keep some plants in their as well and the added water volume helps allot.
and a well planed sump can make a cool viewing addition to the tank.
 
the fox:

I have very limited experience with a cannister filter but IMHO:

A properly fabricated wet/dry
a) will perform mechanical filtration efficiency well in excess of a cannister filter and
b) provide "tons of options" for biological filtration.

TR
 
But in the long run including money, time and extra space what would be the best?
 
the fox said:
But in the long run including money, time and extra space what would be the best?
Click to expand...

A sump hands down.

1. Money, a sump you build yourself will usually cost the same or less than a decent canister filter. This is especially true if you have an old tank lying around.

2. A sump increases your water volume while a canister does not. More gallons = more stable water parameters.

3. What else are you going to do with all that space under your stand? You might as well put it to some good use, right?

4. A sump provides better mechanical filtration (imo) and much much better bio-filtration than a canister filter. Not to mention that your options for bio-filtration media as well as mechanical and water polishing media are limitless. Not so with a canister.

5. Don't want to see your heaters? No problem, a sump can hide them for you. Don't try this with a canister filter ;)

6. Don't want to get into your display tank and bother your fish every time you have to dose meds, fertilizers, etc? No problem, just dose into your sump.

These are just the benefits that spring to mind immediately, but there are more. Yes, a sump will take some more time to build and plumb but it's nothing major and considering their versatility and superior performance and it's well worth it imo. It's not about doing it quickly, it's about doing it right ;)
 
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