Sump or Cannister

[oscar98]

I got a 150 gal tank and im turning one of my 55g into a sump.


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[manasota]

Three Aquaclear 110 and Two Hydro Sponges. LOL. It don't get any easier than that.

 

[Fatlungy]

I have a 50 gallon sump on a 300 and it works great and was real inexpensive to build compared to commercial canisters. I would like to add a canister to keep plugged into a battery backup just in case my pump fails. The sump makes large water changes painless. One of my returns has a valve to switch to a sewer line. Keep researching you will figure out what is going to work best for you.

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[backpack]

Look into the bean animal overflows. Sump is a lot more efficient and cheaper to power usualy. A refugium on the side will eliminate algea problems as well. They are always on Craig's list and lfs almost always have a used one.

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[Thelatinofishlover]

That is because you live in tne USA and are paid a very good wage, but I live in Mexico and have to deal with a monopolistic power light company that is a big, hughe flocking **** fulll of thieves... just for you to grasp the whole thing, imagine that my power bill increased from 2000 to 2012 in a 3000%!!!!, I live in a 100 squre meters flat... can you imagine that???? how is that possible??? for Christ sake!....


But when youre in hands of a gang of thieves who are in control of the one an only power supplier in the whole country, one morning they feel like increasiing some power bills to get some extra income and bingo!!! you happen to be among the choosen ones!!!...

Maybe I am playing myself the fool with that Idea of saving some bucks by getting a devise that appears to be more power saving tho, I grant you that.

but c'mon what can we do about it, they can charge us what ever they want because in the end we are going to have to pay it no matter what, i remember that before we used to pay about 600 pesos and now since early/mid 2011 we are paying about 3000 pesos! but like i said, there really isnt anything we can do about this, unless we have something to generate power like solar panels and such we are really at the mercy of CFE

 

[Fighter Fish]

Thanks for the input again everyone. I think I will go with the sump as it will be a lot less maintenance and I think I like the looks of some drilled holes more then hoses and heater in the tank. I get where people come from with the power consumption but that is not something that concerns me otherwise I wouldnt have a large tank, my pump runs at 145w. The heaters are what really suck up the power so the pumps are a minor difference that isnt worth it. I hope to get my new tank soon.

 

[David R]

The difference between your pump and heaters is that the pump runs 24/7 but the heaters may only be on for 20-40% of the time depending on the temperature difference between the tank and the room. I'm not sure what sort of pump you're running but 145W seems like a lot for a 220g. I just ordered a Laguna 11000LPH pump for my 2000L tank that only uses 125W. That 20W difference in my case would end up costing me about NZ$40 a year in running costs...

 

[guano]

The difference between your pump and heaters is that the pump runs 24/7 but the heaters may only be on for 20-40% of the time depending on the temperature difference between the tank and the room. I'm not sure what sort of pump you're running but 145W seems like a lot for a 220g. I just ordered a Laguna 11000LPH pump for my 2000L tank that only uses 125W. That 20W difference in my case would end up costing me about NZ$40 a year in running costs...

+1 on Lagunas. I got have a 2000gph max flo on my 125gal and works great. Only uses 80w and is very quiet.

 

[pacu mom]

I have not bought the tank yet though so I can have it drilled as well. I do have access to a 75-100 gallon sump but wasn't sure if I should use it.
I get the feeling it is pretty much a matter of preference. Do you drill your tank and setup a sump system of do you just get canisters? Canisters take more time to clean but not sure if I want to drill my tank. Definitely not doing overflow boxes.
Lots to consider. If anyone else has input please share. Once I have my decision and tank setup I will send pics


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What do you have against overflow boxes?

I'm having this same exact dilemma right now for my undrilled 240... Has anyone here tried an ultima II 1000? I heard they're great for bio and have a ton of flow for only $450 on amazon but I'm not sure how loud they are

You have to buy a pump to power the Ultima...so it will be as loud as the pump you purchase for it.

Im going through the same thing. I'm going with a 120 gal and debating on sump or canister. Im putting my tank in a room dividing wall, but want to be able to see straight through the aquarium from either room. Almost leaning on the canister however I like the idea of the heater being in the sump and i hear less water changes are made.

"less water changes" only if your sump greatly increases the total water volume of your system. Your nitrates would be diluted with a greater water volume.

A tank with a built in overflow box can make for a very esthetic room divider. Here are pictures taken from Midwestcustomaquariums gallery:

http://midwestcustomaquariums.databae.net/photo-gallery/acrylic-tanks-with-cabinetry/

Not sure if this is still the case, but I was always told that the worry with sumps is that if power is lost you have to worry about your room getting flooded. I am sure there are mechanisms to prevent this but have clue how they work or how big of a concern they. Always wanted to go with a sump, but like I am intimidated by it.

Once the water level in your tank is below the top of the overflow box, water will not be entering the overflow box/sump system. If your sump system is a wet/dry trickle filter, the biggest worry would be die off the beneficial bacteria during a power outage, since typically, the biological media in a wet/dry system is not submerged. This has always been a concern to me as we live in an area where long power outages can and do occur. Until we got a generator, whenever we had a power outage, I would add more water to the main tank until the bioballs in the wet/dry filter were submerged. That always worked for us. But the nagging question remained, "What if the power goes out and we are away?" For me, that's a strong enough argument for a sump system with submerged media rather than a wet/dry system.

 

[Fighter Fish]

I dont like overflow boxes because imo they are large compared to a drilled hole with a grate on it, but if they have some big advantages please let me know as it may be something to consider where i have the holes drilled in the tank.