my Personal Observation on the effectiveness of Canister Filter

[iwiied]

I added a 75 gallon tank with a rena xp3 with 2 full tray of ehiem substrate (the round type). Stocked with a 10 in motor ray and 2x 4in datnoid, after running it for 4 months with water change every 2,3 weeks, I 've had to rescue my stingray and fish twice to my larger tank due to high ammonia level (above 4.0). never had this problem running tanks with sumps or ac110 hang ons.
my personal conclusion is , even with expensive biological media that theoretically can support a huge colony of bacteria, canister filters are really not that effective compare to a similar size sump or even hang-on filters.

 

[aclockworkorange]

And you don't see any flaws in this conclusion?

 

[iwiied]

if you're refering to the interval between water change then no i don't. with sumps and hang on filter, i've gone longer without any noticeable increase in ammonia level

 

[JC_P]

Canisters don't get as much oxygen to the media as the other two filtration methods. It is pretty well known that they require monthly maintenance, and trap nitrates in their media beds if not well looked after. I still say they are worth running; just better when used with some sort of oxygenating system such as an air stone, or venturi on a powerhead.

 

[iwiied]

that would explains it, as i've never had problem with sumps and hang ons. i did have a powerhead running in the tank, just not right next to the intake.
posting what i found out so if anyone who think they can fill their canister up with bio media and stock away (as i did) , you should think again

 

[aclockworkorange]

You realize a large amount of MFK members use canisters with bio media and have zero problems with ammonia in heavily stocked tanks, right?

 

[iwiied]

i'm not one to speculate without knowing concrete data of how many members on here uses canisters on what kind of setup. this is my personal observation with my setup.

 

[aaronb]

And you don't see any flaws in this conclusion?

I think he's joking. There's no way he can be serious, right?

 

[Water]

I DON'T use bio media. My eheim's are just filled with tons of sponges/filter pads. I've had 50 3" Flowerhorn fry in my 50 gallon at one time. No increase in ammonia at all. Eheims are just as good as sumps IMO, and are far superior than HOB filters, but thats just my opinion.

 

[Inglorious]

And you don't think it's from being extremely overstocked, even by MFK standards?