Sump or canister?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
mc-master carr. There's another real popular place members use, too. sure one of them will chime in.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#standard-filter-bags/=tq2004

Awesome, this thread might turn into another long discussion on filter bags. I like those. Haven't seen one in a while.
 
David R said:
Those are the ones, 50-100 micron felt is the "usual" for aquarium use, depending on your stock. Get a few of them so you can rotate between cleaning them. IMO on a tank that size you'd want to run two of them to prolong the time between cleans.
Click to expand...

two 5 gal sock filters?
 
I have 3 canisters and I can honestly say I hate cleaning them. Aside form being streamlined and sleek in appearance in the tank, I dont like them. I dont like cleaning them at all

I love sumps. Sumps are the way to go. You can do anything with a sump. That being said I normally dont do baffles

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You can do the 5 gallon bucket which is dirt cheap or you can just get a mounting bracket to hold the folder socks. I plan on just hanging the bracket on the side of a storage container. http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-filter-sock-mount-1.html

The water will flow through the sock then ill have a bunch of ceramic rings and pond matrix in laundry bags in the container with a heater and my pump. I'll probably add a few spare power heads I have laying around just to add more circulation over the filter media. Lastly I'll have pothos growing out the sump too with a desk lamp clamped undernrath my stand. I like the bracket because it gives you way more space in the sump.
 
I stopped using canisters years ago, because they were not user friendly as far as maintenance goes, which lead to putting it off, and the canisters contributing to high nitrates
Sumps are just places to put stuff, I have used plastic barrels, old tanks, stock tanks, whatever. And as far as configurations, they are endless, media, pothos, equipment all go there.
And I don't use baffles in any of my sumps, just simply use filter socks on the end of lines to the sump, to catch debris, and put bio media in mesh bags and lay them on on the floor of the sump, near heaters, pumps, whatever.
If place things right, maintenance is a breeze, and lines from tank to sumps can be configured so that by closing a valve, old water can be sent directly to a drain, or outside making water changes effortless.
75 gal tank sump


overhead planted sump/refugium

barrel sump

40 breeder sump

With media in bags, its easy to pull out, shake debris out in a bucket of old water, and put back.
Fluidized bed emptying into a sump

4ft tall biotower, flowing from tank into sump

configurations are endless
 
Ran the 5 gal sock filter last night to test flow...my 250 gph pump doesn't faze the huge sock filter one bit.

Another question, can you get adiquate filtering from surface skimmers?
 
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