350 Gallon Tank and Filtration

[Tjuice_T]

Are two Fluval FX6 canister filters equivalent to an average sized sump in terms of waste filtration, media capacity and water circulation? This is for a 350 gallon tank (96" x 36" x 24").

I have very little knowledge of plumbing myself and would need some third party to set up the sump such as an LFS. Also the tank comes with overflow options.

I would need to learn the ropes before attempting a sump for things like ongoing maintenance but I definitely think it's doable. Second question, are there are good sump resources out there?

Thanks.

 

[Tjuice_T]

I need help understanding the mechanics of the thing. The way I see it, flow through the sump and back into the tank is limited by two things: 1) volume being brought down by gravity into the sump and 2) the pump pushing water back up into the tank. Can a pump be fixed into the intake?

 

[Skyeboy]

For that size tank depending on the stocking, i think you need more then 2 fx6.

 

[celebrist]

If you don't want to go sump then I would do 3 fx6 or 2 fx6 and 3 ac110

 

[Blakewater]

2 fx6s or even 3 won’t be equivalent to the available bio media in a well made sump. My 325g has a sump with the flow rate of 3 fx6s and more than 7x the bio media of an fx6

 

[Blakewater]

As for resources just watch YouTube and search the archives here. I taught myself that way. It looks daunting but I assure you it’s much easier than it seems

 

[esoxlucius]

I need help understanding the mechanics of the thing. The way I see it, flow through the sump and back into the tank is limited by two things: 1) volume being brought down by gravity into the sump and 2) the pump pushing water back up into the tank. Can a pump be fixed into the intake?

I'm a sump guy so so you'll get a biased opinion from me, and anyone else who runs sumps. But they can be the most simple, yet efficient way of filtration. They're super easy to maintain which is possibly their biggest advantage over cannisters.

Water gravity fed down to your sump of choice,, through a section of mech, then through bio, and then sent back to the display tank via your return pump. A variable speed pump is a must in my opinion.

The volume aspect you allude to is controlled by your pump size, and the setting you have it on, along with the diameter of the plumbing you have and it's ability to manage the volume of water your pump is pushing.

Your pump really needs to be down in your sump, out of sight, pushing water up.

 

[RemainVayne]

I made my own sump out of 2 plastic storage bins and a 40g trash bin, for the exact same tank size. Super ghetto, super easy and effective.

 

[celebrist]

Sump will always be my preference

 

[Jacob92677]

I won’t argue a sump being ideal for tank of this size because I agree it is
But for me it was not ideal and didn’t give me
Much peach of mind for example had I gone on vacation and left the tank unattended (yes safety can be plumbed If so no overflows can happen upon a power outage etc ) Or pump failure etc even the best set up can go wrong if a pumps fail clogs ,slows down ,or one of the many pieces to your PVC puzzle gets moved or broken upon cleaning or just accident etc etc so as I thought about all that can go wrong( because i Just think that’s way )I decided to go away from
The sump and run 2 fx 6 and a fx4 along with a couple 300gph powerhead for added flow
Tanks been up and stocked for a bit now.
(300 gallon )and so far everything is running smooth all levels have been in check and looked good and normal at w/c time. So if your uncomfortable with a sump and looking for something less advanced and plug and play the fx6 are pretty good I’d get at least 3 and pull out some of the crap that slows the flow like the carbon pad they give you it’ll just clog up and slow the flow and add more ceramic media Petsmart runs sales for I believe 250 or keep an eye on here or offer up the usually go for around 200 used from what I see.
good luck just my thought as I was in your shoes