I used to swear by canisters, but now having had a sump and got over the learning curve, its not even close. Sumps all the way!

Wet dry sump best investment I ever made on my 300 gallon, not to mention makes a great quarantine area.

This was just the video I was looking for. I am getting back into the hobby and going 180/240. I am going with canisters and will build a sliding shelf in the stand (like under kitchen cabinets) that will allow me to slide the canister towards me. Making it easier to disconnect and lift/place on a rolling plant stand. Roll Outside and clean. Don’t waste that good water down the drain, use it in your garden or plants.

Seamless sump for the Win all Day!

All the filters are as great as eachother. It all comes down to what we as the people maintaining these filters, find convenient. Personally I don't have a lot of space, so all the space saving filters immediately are better for me in my situation currently. Having said that, if space wasn't an issue I find the flexibility and adaptability of a sump really enticing. Having easy access to loose media to instantly cycle a new tank is another pro of sumps that I like. Yeah, other filters can do the same, but not as easily.

Really liked my Fluval back in the day. That was yeas ago when I didn't understand my water conditions and parameters. Now I got the water dialed in, but just using sponge filters and hang behind Whispers. Really no complaints with it as long as it keeps the fish safe. 👍

I use Fluval canisters on all my tanks. Some FX series filters and a Few 07 filters. My 07 series filters and my FX4 are dead silent, my FX 6 is louder than I’d like it to be….however my tanks are for the most part always super clear and I feel they are easy to maintain as long as you give them a cleaning every 5-6 months or so. My only annoyance is with the FX and how glass tops to this day aren’t made to fit such large hoses and it’s just a pain when you have to get the glass cut to close the tops correctly🙈 As for sumps, I say they are a must if your doing anything over 200 gallons because I wouldn’t want to have to clean more than 2 fx series filters.

This was just the video I was looking for. I am getting back into the hobby and going 180/240. I am going with canisters and will build a sliding shelf in the stand (like under kitchen cabinets) that will allow me to slide the canister towards me. Making it easier to disconnect and lift/place on a rolling plant stand. Roll Outside and clean. Don’t waste that good water down the drain, use it in your garden or plants. Amazon Treegun plant caddy holds up to 330 lbs.

I’m moving more and more into background filters. It’s easy, demands VERY little maintanence and will run for years without being in need of cleaning. In my smaller aquariums up to 110 liters I use the Hamburger Matten Filter combined with a Czech Air-lift. A really effective biological filter.

Thanks a lot for the video! Just in time! Now have external canister filter for my 100l aquarium and almost happy. Want to upgrade to 200-250l. Was thinking about sump, but now I'm sure, that my choice is just bigger external canister filter. And everybody will be happy, me, my Convict and Salvini cichlids and all the others.

Awesome info Video, I have a canister filter on my 50 gallon tank, I really like it, it a Fluval 307.

The reason I have canisters is that my tanks are on the main floor of my house. To have a 6 foot tank and then add a 50-100 gallon sump beneath, the weight would be excessive. If my tanks ever migrate to the basement, I will explore sumps.

Most canisters I know (Sicce, Oase, AquaEl) have non of the negatives you mentioned - flow can be adjusted on the outlet - they have quick disconnect plugs. simply pull/turn a lever and disconnect the hoses. minimal dripping, a paper towel is enough - I don't understand the hosing issue. Connect the inlet the outlet first and cut the hose to length at the cannister - they have handles built in, not that hard to move them, not even the larger ones - Fluval is the worst example here I think, there are much better options on the market - I prefer moving the whole dirty bucket to the bathroom for cleaning then trying to clean the sump in the middle of the living room - Oase and AquaEl have easily accessible prefilters. You don't even need to clean the whole thing, just take out the prefilter, 5 min max. - external prefilters with quick disconnects are also an option In some areas I still prefer sumps, as they are much easier to customize (alga reactor, mangrove, skimmer, ATO), etc. but they also need to move together with the aquarium. A canister can be placed everywhere. If every need can be covered by a canister, then no question

Well so I have a sump I have FX 6s and hang on backs. It really boils down to your applications and your preferences. If I had all big tanks my preference would be for sure sumps.

And once again, canister filters are simple to make 5 gallon bucket with a lid seals and a couple holes in a pump. And you've got yourself a great canister. Filter. All you have to do is fill it with whatever you want.

Ive done cannisters my whole life. I bought my first sump. From custom aquariums. There seamless sump. So far i like it ✅👋. Only thing is there. A bit loud.

The easiest canister to clean is the Fluval 07 series, it unhooks and opens up fast, the dirtiest 1st layer sponge tray is on the SIDE, not the bottom like all others. You can just take out the sponge tray, clean that and keep running. The FX series are bigger but much more time consuming to clean out.

Hi! I have a juwel rio 450. Going to put peacock cichlids in it. Will 1 fx6 cannister be enough for it? Cheers from Belgium

Would you ever consider doing a in-depth guide on the seemless sump? I'd love to learn how to use it for a bigger 100+ gal tank set up one day.

So I know this question has nothing to do with your video, but I didn’t know who else to ask. So can I put 1 severum 1 green terror 2 Jack Dempsey 1 firemouth 1 convict 1 phantom pleco and 1 Oscar in a 75 gallon. I am going to have a bigger tank for the Oscar in the future. I have the Jack Dempsey firemouth convict and pleco but I want both the severum and the Oscar. What do I do

Im a HOB guy ..Seachem Tidal is the best to me out there for HOB

What size sump would be good for 180gallon fish tank

When I got into the hobby years ago, I never heard of the sump and have been using canisters. I have 2 canisters hooked up to my 4 feet tank and am looking to add a sump but I can't do plumbing at all so I'll probably stick to canisters for now 😂

Iv had canisters and good for the smaller tanks but for a larger tank the sumps have more benefits and easier to clean..

Getting back into the hobby. So much shit has changed since 1992😂.

I have a sump that is built in on the back of my tank it uses a top over flow system. It has three tiers one mechanical. Next layer mechanical or a mix , the bottom has three chambers for biological media and the pump to put it back in tank. The water falls from top4” to the first then4” to the next , then 3” to the return . Puts lots of O2 in tank.

I believe it would be canister up to a certain size and sump there after. Where the line is I don’t know for my 75 canister is perfect, for me.

I clean my fluval and sunsun canisters once every 6 months. Easy peasy. Rinse the foam, change out the polishing pads. Rinse out the canister.

Or you can do what I'm doing with my 600 gallon that is reverse flow under gravel filter. I'm half way through the build of my plywood aquarium and will be using this system which I had great success with a 300 gallon in the past. This time I will be using Red Dragon pumps and two very large diatomaceous earth or just DE filters to control any waste that may collect under the plates. My heaters will be inline for a very clean set up. I may use a small canister filter to run some charcoal but that would be it. With my 300 gallon I used a pleated pool filter cartridge and it kept the water crystal clear. With the DE filters the water will have a polished look to it all the time. There is nothing better than 2-1/2 to 3 inches of substrate that you don't have to clean and use it for your biological filter. A 4x8 foot print is a large area that is needed for a aquarium that will house some very large tropical fish. The size of the substrate is 2 to 3 mm. What's nice is I never have to clean the substrate. I just pull the DE cartridge out rinse them off add new power and turn the pumps on. Can't get much simpler than that.

I still like my canisters for they work best for me 😅.

I sold my fx4. Fluval white fine filter pad clogs too fast. Fx filters are a back injury waiting to happen. Oase pre filter and the top handle is much easier on your back.

Sumps are so underutilized in freshwater hobby with big messy fish like African rift lake cichlids. If i was to set up say a large Malawi tank now i'd have a diy sump with a 'be an animal overflowbox, automated fleecefilter roller like the Red Sea Reefmat, a large refugium chamber with plenty of plants or suitable algae, smaller biomedia chamber with heaters and a pump chamber. The need to do water changes should go down and the overall water quality improve and energy consumption go down by using a DC pump instead of AC pumps like the ones used in canisters and other filters.

Isn't it more riskier to have a sump system since you have to drill into the tank?

Notice any difference between the two as far as removing waste off the substrate?

Is it possible for you to get the seamless close to 'silent'?

What about running multiple HOBs on a larger tank?

A properly built sump (filter socks and a fluidized bed bio-filter) is by far the best for ease of maintenance. To clean the filter socks, just toss them in the washing machine with a little bleach. A fluidized bed filter is self cleaning, just change/clean the air stone once in awhile. For water changes, just drain and refill the reservoir section of the sump, let the heater warm up the tap water before to turn on the main pump. A air driven fluidized bed can be noisy but if needed, just put the air pump on a timer when you regularly use the room. The bio filter will still work with the air off, just not as well. The seamless sump is way too complicated and expensive. .

Need concrete floors with big tanks and sump filters. I can't do that in my manufactured home.

I went with 3 FX6s on both my 210 and 150. Although a sump woulda been better, I found that sumps can get quite loud and both of those tanks are in my basement rec room, which is also our home theater room where we watch lots of movies, and I wanted both tanks to run as quiet as possible. We cant even hear the FX6s running. Im no expert on sumps, so maybe the pumps have gotten better over the years, but my past very limited experience was the noise factor was no bueno. The BIGGEST drawback that does drive me nuts about the canisters is if you want to run carbon, having to open them once a month is a pain in the a...... lol. But I stopped running chemical filtration on the big tanks.

What happen when the power goes out will it back feed and drain your aquarium

👍👍👍🐟🐟🐟

I have fluval 407 canister for my 75 gallon chilid tank

Sump for sure it’s not even close

one of the cons for canister is if your pump motor get burn you have to throw that container. instead of that sump pump is cheaper to buy.

The biggest problem I had was the availability of drilled tanks.

I'm still a big Eheim fan. Hard to find these days.

Can you put filter floss. In the filter socks ?? To help polish the water. 💦 👋

No matter what size aquarium I have I'm sticking with HOB I have a 150gallon aquarium I run 2 aquaclear 110 filters on Dat aquarium and have 2 big sponge filters on each side of aquarium for oxygenated purposes just don't want 2 deal with canister or a sump

What’s the beautiful fish at 00:12

My hose definitely droops.

Also, drilling some tanks for a sump will void the tank warranty.

I disagree canisters are much easier to clean out you're not cleaning your some properly if you don't at least once a year clean all the detritus from the bottom of it . Fine particles make it past the socks and the sponges and sits down at the bottom of your sump you have to go in there with a Shop-Vac to get it out. So it's a lot harder to pull your sump out than it is to pull the canister filter out. So every time you clean your canister filter out you do it much more thoroughly. But I believe the sump is way more effective just harder to maintain long-term.. and one thing you didn't mention about a sump is it controls your water level in the tank down below so your tank never really gets low the sump does. And not everybody can afford a seamless sump those things are expensive, so we get more affordable sumps or make them ourselves and most of the time you can't control the evaporation rate because you can't cover them.. making it harder to keep up with the evaporation.

I like the sumps but I would prefer to hire a professional and let them plumb it.

The average fish keeper wants something simple. Thats a canister filter. I can’t do plumbing so sumps not for me. And your average fish keepers don’t get 300-500 gallon tanks or bigger. 120g are the biggest but most have sizes below this. Not everyone has a showroom or extra space in their homes for extremely large tanks.