I had planned on a canister filter (maybe a Filstar XP2) for my 90g FOWLR, for those occasions when I wanted to run carbon, Phosban, or floss to clear up the water. Most of the time, it would run with no media and simply provide a little additional circulation. I had read that it was a good idea to drill a small hole or two on the intake (a bit below the waterline) in case the filter developed a leak, so that it wouldn't empty half the aquarium water onto the floor.
However, I have just realized a fatal flaw in my particular situation... since I have a sump, if the canister filter began leaking, the water level in the aquarium would not drop until the sump was nearly empty. With a sump and a 10g auto topoff, as much as 25 gallons of water could be pumped out before the level in the aquarium dropped and broke the canister filter's siphon.
Eeeek!
I realize that the above is truly a worst-case scenario, as I'd probably spot the leak before it had a chance to leak that much. But I'm still nervous about it. Are my worries legitimate? Are leaks in these filters common enough to make using one in my setup a bad idea?
I considered a HOB, but I'm not sure if I want to have it hanging off the back of my tank (that's why I initially decided on a canister... I could keep it in the stand). This might sound crazy, but could I put a moderately sized HOB on the SUMP? I know that I would not gain any additional circulation in the main tank, but at least I'd have an easy way to do chemical and mechanical filtration as needed.
--Mike
However, I have just realized a fatal flaw in my particular situation... since I have a sump, if the canister filter began leaking, the water level in the aquarium would not drop until the sump was nearly empty. With a sump and a 10g auto topoff, as much as 25 gallons of water could be pumped out before the level in the aquarium dropped and broke the canister filter's siphon.
Eeeek!
I realize that the above is truly a worst-case scenario, as I'd probably spot the leak before it had a chance to leak that much. But I'm still nervous about it. Are my worries legitimate? Are leaks in these filters common enough to make using one in my setup a bad idea?
I considered a HOB, but I'm not sure if I want to have it hanging off the back of my tank (that's why I initially decided on a canister... I could keep it in the stand). This might sound crazy, but could I put a moderately sized HOB on the SUMP? I know that I would not gain any additional circulation in the main tank, but at least I'd have an easy way to do chemical and mechanical filtration as needed.
--Mike