What canister filter to use?

[jtbadco]

I run a Fluval 405 on my 33 gal reef. It is stuffed with biomax only. I clean it out every month or so. I have never had any issues with Nitrates or algae. Running for over a year now.

I am not debating that a sump may be a better option if it possible to set one up. I personally don't like the noise and hassle.

I am upgrading now to a 65 gal reef and I will not be using a canister, just 2 Koralia powerheads, 2 Aquaclear 70 HOB refugiums and a Tunze 9006 skimmer

[Coralgurl]

In all honesty, with having tanks with a sump and a canister filter running atm, the filtered tank is much quieter. As I said in my first post, I clean the canister every 2 weeks with a water change, have 0 nitrates and phosphates and my tank looks really good. I run carbon, ammonia and rowaphos in it all the time. Yes it does need to be primed when hooked back up, but that takes 10 seconds. I'm just starting with a sump system and can't speak to the maintenance yet but it takes me maybe 1/2 hour every two weeks to maintain and clean everything. I've had more issues with the skimmer than I've had with the canister. I had a HOB refugium going as well and that drove me crazy, due to the water level needed to maintain the skimmer, there was too much of a gap, so I had constant water running with bubbles. Its been off for over a month now and still no issues. As the tank has matured, I find its doing more on its own with a bit of assistance from me. Its not even running a skimmer now and the tank is actually cleaner. That said, there are only 6 small fish, so low bioload.

[Myka]

A noisy sump or overflow is simply caused by design flaws. My sump and overflow are absolutely silent.

[Nano]

my sumps really quite too, just my return pump needs some sound dampening, I havent used a canister on saltwater before, and dont see a huge problem with it a side from cleaning. I have one on my FW tank, and its awesome for filtration, but takes 20 minutes to clean at least

[paddyob]

Oh yea I forgot to mention (and since you cant edit=more thread congestion)... I am definately pro-sump. I love mine. Life is easier.

But.... if a canister is the only option at this time, it can be successful. As mine was.... and will be again once I set up the rena on my 20.

[Coralgurl]

Originally Posted by Myka

A noisy sump or overflow is simply caused by design flaws. My sump and overflow are absolutely silent.

Agreed! It's my first sump and still figuring things out, tweaking etc. I wanted to do a sump on the 55 but the stand was too small and the canister worked. I knew I wanted a sump on a larger tank, right now it's the return pump that's noisy! Everything else is good!

[The Guy]

Thanks again to everyone for your advice and opinions, feeling a lot more comfortable now with this new venture. Cheers.
Mods would you please close this now. Thanks

[Okguy]

Now that I know that this is my old tank, I used to run a Fluval 405 with a surface skimmer. Nitrates did eventually start to rise (after the first year). I took out all the media and replaced it with live rock rubble and never had another issue. I periodically threw in a bag of carbon in the first chamber to polish the water. But the Fluval with live rock and the remora kept the Nitrates at or near 0 for over 4 years. Good luck with the setup!

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Okguy

Now that I know that this is my old tank, I used to run a Fluval 405 with a surface skimmer. Nitrates did eventually start to rise (after the first year). I took out all the media and replaced it with live rock rubble and never had another issue. I periodically threw in a bag of carbon in the first chamber to polish the water. But the Fluval with live rock and the remora kept the Nitrates at or near 0 for over 4 years. Good luck with the setup!

Great input.