Why are canister filters so popular despite their drawbacks? Rant.

[Lepisosteus]

I do prefer sumps but canisters have their uses. In my small planted tank where nitrates are no issue I run one for minor mechanical and biological filtration. I also run CO2 so sending water down into a sump would be a good way to counteract my goal. The eheim canister was about $120 new. By the time I plumb the tank, get bulkheads, a separate sump tank, media, and return pump I would likely exceed that mark. Plus the way I run the tank (filled right to the top to give an infinity pool look) would be impossible with a sump unless I made a zero edge style tank (was the initial plan).

Maintenance on the canister takes about 2 minutes. Pop the top off that’s held by 3 clamps, toss the old floss, cut and replace with new.

On the 7’ shallow tank I chose to go with a can knowing nitrates would be no issue due to the plants. The fx6 runs almost entirely mechanical media. This in addition to 50-75% weekly water changes keeps the tank spotless and parameters low. I clean out the fx6 maybe once a month. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Would I prefer a sump on this tank? If the tank setup was different then yes. As it is, not a chance.

Noise is no issue for a properly plumbed and designed sump. You could place an ear beside the cabinet on my old reef and not hear a splash of water.

I suggest you pick a filter that suits your needs and tank goals. In my opinion each has a place in the hobby. I would personally never buy a drilled tank and run it with anything but a sump. Can’t stand seeing that.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

My goodness, this thread sure exploded while I was away!
Yesterday in another filtration thread I made, duanes mentioned that these filtration discussions will illict many different opinions, benign to controversial. Undoubtedly, that happened here.

 

[Rocksor]

From a new user perspective, not having all the parts in one box and an open sump puts more risk in their mind for failure and leaks. That's the reason for it's popularity. They just have to deal with 1 item with many parts, and have customer support to back up any issues. Returns are easy, it's just one box, not many different boxes and many stores/manufacturers.

It's not any different why people buy a desktop computer that is already built vs one that can be built by hand. Buying and building all the different parts is daunting but if you know what to buy, you can generally build a cheaper computer or one that can do more for the same price.

 

[Azedenkae]

Yeah I agree. I’d rather not have an aquarium than have to use a canister filter (as a main method of filtration).

 

[Fishman Dave]

Like most I have an opinion.
But mine is that they have their uses.
The ones I actually use are different though so a) avoid some of the pitfalls or b) maybe are not classed as canister filters.
I use a sump on my marine tank as that came pre drilled. All the rest of my tanks are un drilled as a) I have never had the guts to try drilling them and b) I am excellent at plumbing, not! (ask my wife) almost as good as I am at causing leaks!
The canister I use is a pressurised pond one which is driven from A Jabao pump in the tank, which I can therefore, control, so will always restart. They are excellent in that I can connect as many together as I want/need and don’t take up much space.
yes many cons too and I wish I had plumbed in a valve cos to clean them I have to not only switch off the pump but take the pump out of the tank, otherwise I siphon out all the water!
They remove much more waste than any internal filter would on the same tank and don’t clog up/ stop the flow like internal filters do (only the style I use- others do)
Would I use sumps? Yes in the house but no in the fish house as this is just space taken up I could have other tanks.
I think the main benefit came from the fact that someone else did all the work of telling potential users what size tank they could be used on - rather than trying to figure out how big a sump they needed and what media to put in it, and of course how to stop the gurgling noises?
I use a number of different filter options on different tanks.
sump,
Air driven,
Internal filter,
Powerhead driven to home made box filter,
Pressurised canister,
Pond Pump to commercial box filter,
Hang on HOB filter
All have their uses.
May even revert to air driven undergravel too soon!

 

[aussieman57]

I think canisters are popular because a lot of people are intimidated by the thought of a sump. I used canisters before I tried building a sump due to ease of installation & I could easily envision and understand how to utilize it. For me delving into sumps was a big leap. Now that I understand them & trust using them I would never go back. Sumps have so many applications that it would be foolish to limit yourself to canister or HOB filters. Once you get comfortable with the drilled tank, plumbing etc. it is a joy to use. But getting there can be a little intimidating.

 

[PhishMon84]

I absolutely use cannister filters, i dont use a single HOB and wouldn't unless i was in a pinch. I tend to do mostly biological filtration or in some cases Bio in one can and mech in another.

I would definitely prefer to have sumps or a large central sump for all my tanks but i have yet to feel confident enough to attempt drilling a tank. I have a 90 and 180 that are both "reef ready".

some day but i will never understand the cannister hate, eheim makes great products if you go with their classic line and penn-plax canns are super easy to use although i would prefer if they were round. i have 4 fx6's too.

 

[jjohnwm]

I'm a little confused by some of the ideas we are hearing regarding canisters.

I want my mechanical filtration to be easy to access and to clean, because I will be doing that a lot. On the other hand, biological filtration is, ideally, rarely touched or disturbed. If the mechanical component of your filter is sufficiently effective at removing solids from the water, your biofilter should go years without attention as it will clog only very slowly, if at all.

So the idea of devoting a canister to biofiltration duties, combined with another form of filtration to clean the water mechanically before it hits the can, makes sense. If you must use a can, this seems like the least inconvenient way to do it...I can't bring myself to call it "most convenient", .

I confess that I don't understand why the can would be devoted to mechanical filtration duties. It is the least convenient type of filter to clean...so using it for the type of filtration that requires the most frequent attention seems counterintuitive.

 

[PhishMon84]

I can understand your piece on mechanical. I don’t find canisters difficult to access and with a pre filter on the intake you cut that down substantially.

the only reason I have mechanical filtration in cans is because I have a lot of canisters and I find HOB filters to be too small, loud and just plain annoying to have setup- I have to have tanks further off walls then I would like and once again they are just so small. If I monthly open up an fx 6 or cascade 1500 it doesn’t take too long to either replace or rinse and replace.
Canisters are plug and play, for those who don’t like tinkering it’s a big appeal.

 

[MultipleTankSyndrome]

Can't believe I forgot to mention this at the beginning of the thread, but duanes has said canisters are tiny pressurized sumps. What are the thoughts of those who have commented (and those who haven't yet!) on it?
Having never had a sump and not being overly familiar with them, my brief research makes me think this is probably a correct statement.