trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Hey guys, i currently have 2x 1200x450x450 and 2x 1o00x500x500 anda few smaller fry tanks can anyone PLEASE lead me in the best direction for making my life easy and getting rid of th canisters they are such a mess and a pain! a knowledgeable member told me to look at sumps and he tried to somewhat explain it, but still a little confused :-? other option that i heard about was using air filters? this could work as i have a massive airpump. However my main concern is water qaulity as i have tropheus and malawi's. if anyone can give advise or direct me to some some info on options or what you guys have as filters for multiple tanks that works good and is easy and what i would need to get to make it work and set up it would be much apreciated :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 What's so bad about cannister filters? If you set them up properly, they are quiet, provide great water quality, require hardly any maintenance, and for many years without incident. The maintenance is important though. Got to check things like o-rings and stuff otherwise you'll come home to a tank drained onto the carpet and your fish swimming around in 2" of water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 what type of canister filter are you using? i have 2 and have just stuffed one in the corner as im sick of it too, i find the main problem is that the canister filter needs to be easily acessable and that it must have taps on the tank side of the disconnects so you can take the canister filter away without having to re run the pipes or disconnect it and have a nice siphon onto the floor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 canisters are great, i use them for larger tanks than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 ive never used a canister filter but have always liked the idea of sumps. my next tank..... will definitly have a sump. the tank needs to be built for/modified for them though, so if you already have fish in them it might get a bit tricky. I love the idea that they are so customisable and they increase the water volume of your tank. glass is expensive though. wonder if anyone has tried acrylic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henward Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 canisters are one of teh best inventions in the aquarium hobby. lasrge bio filtration capacity. completely separated systems so diseases wont spread. you acn rig up all teh tanks to a giant sump. thats easy. thats like having a tank wtih a sump system but having multiple tanks feed to it. ' if you are using cheap chinese rip offs for canisters....that may be your problem. I use Fluval - fantastic! Eheim i hear is better...but not for the pocket:D Maintenance for canisters minimal in most cases unless you have massive fish waste and solids... I have a fluval 404 in my 2x 1200 litre tank set up shares same system, and i havent cleaned it for months -and output is still massive. In saying that, i also have 3x fx5 in that same system - i have to claen one fx5 per week to clean wool and foam. but tahstone a week with the massive feeding i do! you wont need that in breeding tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 if set up properlly.. yeh i already have so many pipes and power cords from lights and pumps and also all the canisters its a real mess so matter how nicely i try to set it up plus such a danger if any way water did get on the eletrics im currently running 3 multi tabs it wud be over :evil: . henward how did you get your canister running on two tanks? gah i really want to get away from using them thouhg but wud still be interested to hear. Dont care houw great some people think canasters are at the end of the day like it has been said it is open to risk of a great mess happening. a sump has to be less maintance and just as effective as the water is still passing through media. would like to hear from anyone with sump ideas how to set up or where i go to getting one made? i found the following as a design, does anyone use something similar? i could see how this could easly be made by a glass maker but where would i get the piping and how the flow would be distributed evenly to all the tanks. website for more info on this design : http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/man ... ilter.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malevolentsparkle Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 most people use plumbing pipes from hardware store. or I suppose you could use the pipes from your canister filters if you want them to be flexible. to use one sump for multiple tanks two pumps would be essential. that way you can turn them off seperately and adjust the flow to suit the different tanks needs. people also put their heater in the sump too to tidy up the tank. it would need to be a big one though (even if you left the heaters in the tank a bigger one might be needed anyway as you will have more water to heat) anyway someone else must have more experience than me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 You're annoyed at the mess and inconvenience of cannisters and want to change to a sump? Hahahaha, Going the wrong way there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 haha really? my canister seal has worn and so hard to get it on perfect so it doesnt leak once ive opend it. i have aqua one and there is no stopage of water flow when i open it so i have to take all the pipes out the tank every time (mess) and then after when put bak into the tanks i can NEVER get the flow goin to i have to use a bucket and have return pipe lower than the tank to get flow started and then quick out the bucket into the tank (MESS) times all this by 4 and this is what i face. Sump is sounds pretty good to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 haha really? my canister seal has worn and so hard to get it on perfect so it doesnt leak once ive opend it. i have aqua one and there is no stopage of water flow when i open it so i have to take all the pipes out the tank every time (mess) and then after when put bak into the tanks i can NEVER get the flow goin to i have to use a bucket and have return pipe lower than the tank to get flow started and then quick out the bucket into the tank (MESS) times all this by 4 and this is what i face. Sump is sounds pretty good to me So all cannister filters are at fault because you apparently have some that aren't working properly? Maybe you'd be better off actually fixing the problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diver21 Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 haha really? my canister seal has worn then replace the seal... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 sorry guys still doesnt solve the problem of trying to start a flow every time i need to clean it out. However this is not even the point All i was asking was for any ideas for a sump and a little info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
breakaway Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Fair enough, but setting up a sump is a million times more work than using a cannister. To set up a sump you have to sort out overflow systems. The most simple one is to drill a hole in the tank high up for an overflow. This isn't really recommended on tanks that have already been built as it can apparently weaken the glass and cause the whole thing to crack. Then you have to worry about overflows blocking, return pumps, etc. Then there's the whole issue of making it quiet (if needed). You say you have to take the tubes out of the tank every time you clean it? That isn't right. Don't you have a valve near where thet tubes go into the canister? I know almost all the cannisters do, including the cheap ones. All you have to do is close this valve, then un-hook the pipes. Once you are done cleaning, you hook all the pipes back up, open the valves so the water drains into the cannister from your tank (the syphon is maintained as the intake hose is never taken out of the water). Then plug it in, and you're away - the filter will just start running. No need to shag about with priming it etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 You're annoyed at the mess and inconvenience of cannisters and want to change to a sump? Hahahaha, Going the wrong way there. Eh? My sumps are far less mess and inconvenience when it comes to cleaning than a canister... :-? OP; Have a look through the setup and filtration, and DIY projects forums on monsterfishkeepers.com, there have been hundreds of threads on different sump designs and ideas. The more you learn the easier it will be to come up with a solution for your problem. I am convinced that a large sump/trickle filter is the only way to go for a large tank (seems how we don't get Ultima filters here), and would be a far better solution for multiple tanks that having them individually filtered with canisters. It would have been a lot easier to set it up if you were starting from scratch, rather than trying to retrofit it to an existing set up, but its certainly not impossible. You could run all four of your largest tanks on one communal sump, or run them in pairs on two smaller ones. I'm not really a fan of the design you posted, I prefer a wet/dry trickle filter style set up with media submerged and above the water level, as in this pic; http://s88.photobucket.com/albums/k186/ ... =Sump2.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 awsome thanks for your info just wat i needed! :bounce: i presume there is some kind of catch that stoped the sump fulling up however im sure ill find out as i read more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Once you have the water level set then the only thing that can cause it to overflow is a blocked overflow hole on the tank, or a crack in the plumbing somewhere. If set up correctly they are pretty much foolproof, much more so than canisters IMO. If you're ever out east and want to have a look at how mine are set up just let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Eh? My sumps are far less mess and inconvenience when it comes to cleaning than a canister... :-? Maybe if you can drag your sump out from under the tank, and you can carry it to the kitchen sink, and it's totally covered so you don't get any splashes escaping, and overflow is quiet... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gagaforfish Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Is there a reason this is in the cichlids category??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trophy_malaw Posted July 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 yup! was hoping other people keeping cichlids could share what filters they used?? =/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David R Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 Maybe if you can drag your sump out from under the tank, and you can carry it to the kitchen sink, and it's totally covered so you don't get any splashes escaping, and overflow is quiet... I change the filter wool in my sumps without having to carry anything to the sink and dismantle the whole assembly and disturb the bio media. Plus you can buy it in bulk sheets rather that expensive cut-to-shape pads for the filter. My sumps get new filter wool on a weekly basis (along with a rinse of the micro pads and coarse foam) where as the canisters only get it every few months as its such an ordeal in comparison... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ryanjury Posted July 17, 2010 Report Share Posted July 17, 2010 I use canister filters on most of my big african tanks, to be honest them and sumps do the best jobs at really cleaning up the water. I also use air powered box filters on tanks upto 150-200L I usually use a few of them in each tank and have them bubbling so hard it is like the water is boiling, it works well but the tanks are never as clean as with canisters. I have found a really good way to restart the canisters is to just fill them up most of the way with the inlet hose, then hook it all up plug it in open the taps and then lean the filter over towards the outlet side. This will make sure the impeller is under the water and starts pumping water, you can give it a few taps while it is leant over and then start leaning it over and tapping it as you go to get the air out. As long as you take it slow and let all the air get pumped out in stages you can get it going within a few minutes I also only clean out my filters every 3-6months so while the 7-8 of them I am running are a few I only usually end up cleaning 1 a month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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