Bye bye sump, hello canisters.
- Thread starter bluehighways
- Start date
Most of the noise comes from the siphons, which are 2" diameter PVC. Other noise comes from the 25 gallon sump box itself, and then there's the 480watt / 5000gph motor that runs the whole shebang.
I went WAY WAY WAY overboard when I built this thing, and I simply don't need it anymore. I'm going with the canisters, as my tanks aren't even heavily loaded. I'm not an overstocker.
The tanks in question are a paltry little 40g breeder and a 55g standard. The 40g houses a little female JD cichlid, a common pleco who is currently about 8 inches long (I KNOW I KNOW, HE'LL GET HUGE AND I'LL GET HIM A BIGGER TANK WHEN HE NEEDS IT, OK.) The 55g houses 4 small RBP's right now, and they'll either turn on each other or I'll re-home a few till I'm down to one as they get bigger. I keep my tanks really clean, and if need be I'll add another canister to each.
Please understand, this is not really up to me anymore. My sump system DID overflow twice. Once because of a power outage during which the tanks back siphoned through the pressure-side pipes, and another time when a big piece of Pleco's cucumber got lodged in the drain siphon of the 40g. Both times I ended up with fish water all over the carpet and dripping into the basement. The carpet was old and smelly anyhow, so I ripped it out.
My wife and I just spent $2000 on brand new carpet, onto which my two tanks will sit. If they overflowed again, I would have to sleep in the garage next to my motorcycle. These tanks WILL be filtered by canisters from now on. In the future I will probably build another sump system and put it in the fish themed bar that I'm building in the basement.
I would say there is your problem... You don't seem to know how to setup a sump properly. Because a sump should not overflow or cause the tank to overflow for ANY reason. I currently have 4 tanks at my house running sumps and I can have a power outage with no water on the floor and my drains could be completely clogged and get no water on the floor. You have to set everything up correctly. If the power to the pump goes out, then you have to make sure your lines going to the tank will not siphon enough water back into the sump to overflow it and if your drains get clogged your sump level should be the correct volume so that if it all gets pumped up to the tank until the pump runs dry it will not overflow the tank. And you can do the drains in such a way that makes the system as quite as the pump you are running on the system with zero water sound, in other words just as quiet as any canister.
I am not saying you should switch back to a sump as canisters will do you just fine but simply pointing out that all your problems have nothing to do with a sump and all to do with how YOU set up your sump.
And I would also like to point out that I have never had water on the floor because of a sump but I have had water on the floor many times because of a canister having problems. I have had seals leak and housings crack and that is only one of the reasons I will NEVER use a canister on my tanks. So good luck with your canister but I would say you are much less likely to end up with water on your new carpet with a properly setup sump system than a canister.
So, lets review
*A sump can be silent when set-up properly.
*It can be setup in a fail proof way as to never overflow the sump or tank.
*It is easier to maintain
*A sump is more versatile
*Canisters have seals that can leak since they are a sealed, pressurized system.
*Canisters have housings that can crack due to constant opening and closing of the system due to general maintenance.
*There other benefits that go with a sump I could list as well, do some research if you are interested.
Fact is as stated by others here, going from a sump to a canister is taking a step back no matter how you look at it.
I agree. Classic case of user-error. A properly set-up system should never overflow when something clogs or when the power goes out.
I have seen pictures of some of these DIY sumps and my wife would never allow it either. When I build on it will be tits!! Check out this guys sump and tank he did the research.
http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/240g/technology/filtration/
http://www.fmueller.com/home/aquaristic/240g/technology/filtration/
Yep. Siphon breaks and or check valves or simple return placement will eliminate any overflowing. In addition, the greatest benefit of using a Herbie or Bean drain setup besides the fact that they are dead quiet, is they both utilize emergency drains.....
but in all honesty, if you're talking about a 40 breeder or 55, then just get a couple of ac110's and call it. Cheap, dependable, and maintenance is way easier than any canister.......
