Canister vs. Sump vs. HOB vs. Sponge....

[Eclipse390]

So what is everyone's preferences when it comes to filtration? I've always equated large tanks with sumps/canisters - but I've been seeing more & more setups using sponge filters.
What are the pro's & con's of each?

I have a 240 waiting to cycle that is not drilled, so am looking for a good filtration set up.
I've used canisters for anything over a 55 gallon in the past.

Just looking for all of your personal opinions & experiences.

 

[celebrist]

Sump with hob for polishing if one will fit. I have a sump with an fx6 for extra mechanical on my 450

 

[tlindsey]

My experience with a sump,HOB,and sponge filters.
Pros Sump very easy to maintain efficient of handling bioload and extra things for bio filtration can be placed in them including heaters. Cons if power fails and sump is too small will flood. If using a tower aka wet/dry trickle filter the bio media could dry out.
Pros HOB Filter fairly simple to maintain and do a decent job. Cons sand will destroy the impeller. Also with power outage bio media may dry out.
Pros Sponge Filters they also do well especially in breeding setups. Inexpensive to operate. Sponge is fully submerged if the power goes out. Cons clog up very easily. They are unsightly more to maintain.

 

[Eclipse390]

Sump with hob for polishing if one will fit. I have a sump with an fx6 for extra mechanical on my 450

View attachment 1392455

Do you have plants in your sump?? That's such a good idea. What else do you use as mechanical filtration?

 

[duanes]

I have used them all over time, HOBs, canisters, sumps.
I like sumps the most (especially for tanks, over 100+ gallons) easy to maintain (getting stuff in and out) depending on sump size, will allow for tons of media, (bio, mechanical, chemical, moving bed) , and altering ideas, concepts, adding new technology, is easy. I also use mine as a refugium for plants, and animals like crustaceans that would be eaten in the main tank.
I use sponges in my sumps, near pump intakes., and sea shells as biomedical, and for buffering capacity.


Some sumps I pack with plants, and position them near windows (the tradition of putting sumps in a confined space, directly under tanks, I find too confining) so the plants do some filtering, and eat nitrate.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Depends on the tank really. Sumps are ideal though.

I find all but the most powerful hob filters to be of little use. That being said, I am a big fan of the aquaclear/fluval 500/110 though.

I like sponges a lot. They are effective and easy to maintain imo. always good to have a sponge and air pump around as a backup filter if your main goes down.

 

[TheWolfman]

On a aquarium of that size I think you only have two options, Either you drill that tank, (scary if you never have done it) or put two or three fx6’s on it.

 

[celebrist]

Do you have plants in your sump?? That's such a good idea. What else do you use as mechanical filtration?

Yes.


I don't have room for socks unfortunately so I have skippy style filters and foam chamber baffles

 

[nzafi]

I run an ultima and HMF sponge filter on my 535g. There are times I wish I only did a hmf and other times I wish I only did ultima. There are pros and cons no matter what you do. You can do hmf on large tanks and it will easily handle the load, the problem is that you won’t have crystal clear water.

 

[duanes]

On a aquarium of that size I think you only have two options, Either you drill that tank, (scary if you never have done it) or put two or three fx6’s on it.

Drilling a large tank is amazingly easy, I was scared for years, but once I finally did it, couldn't believe I waited so long, and wasted so much time and money buying inadequate and expensive filters.
Drilling tiny thin glass tanks is much more difficult.
I also believe the idea of putting compartments in sumps is over rated and a waste space, and makes maintenance a pain to get my arms around.
I place bio-media in mesh bags and throw them in an old scratched up tanks used as a sump, and use filter socks hanging on outflows for mechanical filtration, these are easy to pull out and swish the gunk off in old water change water.


Most of my sumps are un-comparmentalized, old 50 and 75 gallon tanks.
Refugiums are old 40 breeder tanks.
I usually run 3-5 hundred plus gallon tanks on each sump, and a planted refugium.