Cannister filter or sump which one is better?

[plecofan09]

Hi guys,

Im in the process of building a 3 tier tanks to try to keep higher grade shrimps and maybe try keeping KK.

My question is

1- is it better to use a cannister per tank

2- is a sump better ?

i would perfer a sump as it is easier to maintain, but scare about if there is something wrong with one tank it would affect the other tanks.

what do you guys think?

[BlueBolts]

My breeding tank is setup with a cannister filter & a sump.......works perfectly...All outflows goes into the sump, and in your case you can have say 2 canisters, one running the LHS of the tank, and the other the RHS...i.e. the cannister sucks water from the sump, and the outflow goes into the tanks...Ensure you have a tap to each tank, just in case you need to isolate it....

[Eshrimp]

Imo go cannister... Saves on CO2 bill and more control over each tank.

[plecofan09]

My breeding tank is setup with a cannister filter & a sump.......works perfectly...All outflows goes into the sump' date=' and in your case you can have say 2 canisters, one running the LHS of the tank, and the other the RHS...i.e. the cannister sucks water from the sump, and the outflow goes into the tanks...Ensure you have a tap to each tank, just in case you need to isolate it....[/quote']

BB,

i was planning to put a sump on the rhs and i have a teco chiller with uv on the other side , water flows in the sump then sump pump goes to chiller then a make up a manifold with valve for each tank so i can control flow on each tank.

Eshrimp, looking at the cannister option if i got 3 eheim 2217 =60 watts vs 2500lph sump pump =35 watts so really the sump pump works out to be cheaper running cost.

either way i only have room for either a sump or 3 cannisters on my rack as i want it all hidden.

[tropo]

Hi plecofan

Just remember that you have to upscale your pump if its pushing to a higher level 2500lph might not be enough flow and also your higher tanks will be warmer. I have a rack with a sump but over half of it runs on individual cannisters its down to what will work best for you. Give us some more info on what you intend to do. And your right, on a system if one tank gets sick it spreads through the lot. Hope this helps.

[Dean]

if you set up the sump correctly it will do a much better job than any amount of canisters and is cheaper to run and also adds to the volume of water in the system which in turn creates more stability.

if you run a UV filter on the system you wont have the problem of bacteria crashing the entire system.

and if you are able to maintain water parameters in a small tank than the larger system will be no problem at all..

i run sumps with UV only on all my racks and everything is great :)

[plecofan09]

Tropo , yeah thinking of Getting a bigger sump pump maybe 4000lph with a 3mtr height pressure.

Dean, yeah hopefully I can get it right, I have beening discussing with a mate and hopefully have it all sus out.

I will put a build post soon just need to take more pics .

[alvinchan80]

if you set up the sump correctly it will do a much better job than any amount of canisters and is cheaper to run and also adds to the volume of water in the system which in turn creates more stability.

if you run a UV filter on the system you wont have the problem of bacteria crashing the entire system.

and if you are able to maintain water parameters in a small tank than the larger system will be no problem at all..

i run sumps with UV only on all my racks and everything is great :)

i agree with bro Dean... if the sump is set up correctly it can do a great job (and definitely much cheaper then canisters... because I am doing a swap now from sump to canister... *stress*).. Large water volume can be very stable, just control yourself from adding stuff..

Bro Dean, can I check with you on your sump set up.. have you experience a point of 'maximum' bioloading where the shrimps just breed but shrimplets dont survive.. juveniles starts dying.. but the rest are still ok... just for my info because for mine, although they can breed very well and do very well but once i hit a certain quantity for the whole set up.. those issues will happen... and my reason for pinpointing to that is because when i start to net some of the shrimps (approximately 100~150pcs) out... everything went back to normal... shrimps are on a roll again... I have yet to get this issue from my canister running tanks and their bioload already hit more then the whole rack in 1 tank..

i also noticed that sump set up will just make water find the easiest way to move through the media, so what i did previously was to pack the media until there is 'no easiest' way to move for the water other then pass through the media for maximum bacteria growth area...

Sorry, i dont know if i am right or wrong in my theory.. but its just what i have experience... hehe

[plecofan09]

i agree with bro Dean... if the sump is set up correctly it can do a great job (and definitely much cheaper then canisters... because I am doing a swap now from sump to canister... *stress*).. Large water volume can be very stable' date=' just control yourself from adding stuff..

Bro Dean, can I check with you on your sump set up.. have you experience a point of 'maximum' bioloading where the shrimps just breed but shrimplets dont survive.. juveniles starts dying.. but the rest are still ok... just for my info because for mine, although they can breed very well and do very well but once i hit a certain quantity for the whole set up.. those issues will happen... and my reason for pinpointing to that is because when i start to net some of the shrimps

(approximately 100~150pcs) out... everything went back to normal... shrimps are on a roll again... I have yet to get this issue from my canister running tanks

and their bioload already hit more then the whole rack in 1 tank..

i also noticed that sump set up will just make water find the easiest way to move through the media, so what i did previously was to pack the media until there is 'no easiest' way to move for the water other then pass through the media for maximum bacteria growth area...

Sorry, i dont know if i am right or wrong in my theory.. but its just what i have experience... hehe[/quote']

Thanks Alvin for your info..

Thats good to read so your sump setup can only handle a certain amount of shrimp, where as the cannister setup can handle way more shrimps. Is that right?

do you have the same media in both set ups?

[Triggs]

i agree with bro Dean... if the sump is set up correctly it can do a great job (and definitely much cheaper then canisters... because I am doing a swap now from sump to canister... *stress*).. Large water volume can be very stable' date=' just control yourself from adding stuff..

Bro Dean, can I check with you on your sump set up.. have you experience a point of 'maximum' bioloading where the shrimps just breed but shrimplets dont survive.. juveniles starts dying.. but the rest are still ok... just for my info because for mine, although they can breed very well and do very well but once i hit a certain quantity for the whole set up.. those issues will happen... and my reason for pinpointing to that is because when i start to net some of the shrimps (approximately 100~150pcs) out... everything went back to normal... shrimps are on a roll again... I have yet to get this issue from my canister running tanks and their bioload already hit more then the whole rack in 1 tank..

i also noticed that sump set up will just make water find the easiest way to move through the media, so what i did previously was to pack the media until there is 'no easiest' way to move for the water other then pass through the media for maximum bacteria growth area...

Sorry, i dont know if i am right or wrong in my theory.. but its just what i have experience... hehe[/quote']

Are you sure you're not underfeeding your shrimp?

[alvinchan80]

Thanks Alvin for your info..Thats good to read so your sump setup can only handle a certain amount of shrimp' date=' where as the cannister setup can handle way more shrimps. Is that right?do you have the same media in both set ups?[/quote']I have better medias in the sump set up then the canisters ones..I felt that it might be the way the water force through the media makes it different..Well, I am feeding them minimum of once a day to maximum of twice.. Powder food for enhance growth, coloration... Haha...

[Dean]

i agree with bro Dean... if the sump is set up correctly it can do a great job (and definitely much cheaper then canisters... because I am doing a swap now from sump to canister... *stress*).. Large water volume can be very stable' date=' just control yourself from adding stuff..

Bro Dean, can I check with you on your sump set up.. have you experience a point of 'maximum' bioloading where the shrimps just breed but shrimplets dont survive.. juveniles starts dying.. but the rest are still ok... just for my info because for mine, although they can breed very well and do very well but once i hit a certain quantity for the whole set up.. those issues will happen... and my reason for pinpointing to that is because when i start to net some of the shrimps (approximately 100~150pcs) out... everything went back to normal... shrimps are on a roll again... I have yet to get this issue from my canister running tanks and their bioload already hit more then the whole rack in 1 tank..

i also noticed that sump set up will just make water find the easiest way to move through the media, so what i did previously was to pack the media until there is 'no easiest' way to move for the water other then pass through the media for maximum bacteria growth area...

Sorry, i dont know if i am right or wrong in my theory.. but its just what i have experience... hehe[/quote']

Hi Alvin, I have not found this problem in any of my setups running sumps. My sumps are almost 3meters long and have many stages of filtration and media, the most important thing I have learnt with running a sump is that you need to feed the sump to keep them running at full capacity. The amount of shrimp living in a tank will only hit a maximum capacity when there is not enough biofilm for the babies to feed on, regardless of feeding they still need natural biofilm and correct mineral content for high survival rates.

I only run sumps now on all my tanks as I have found that with the corect setup they are much more efficient, long as you feed them to keep the bio mass high.

Hope that helps a little ;)

[alvinchan80]

Hi Alvin' date=' I have not found this problem in any of my setups running sumps. My sumps are almost 3meters long and have many stages of filtration and media, the most important thing I have learnt with running a sump is that you need to feed the sump to keep them running at full capacity. The amount of shrimp living in a tank will only hit a maximum capacity when there is not enough biofilm for the babies to feed on, regardless of feeding they still need natural biofilm and correct mineral content for high survival rates.

I only run sumps now on all my tanks as I have found that with the corect setup they are much more efficient, long as you feed them to keep the bio mass high.

Hope that helps a little ;)[/quote']

Yes, i fully agree that you have to constantly be maximizing the sump's biomedia to grow and mature. For biofilm, and food for babies, i believe i have enough because i do feed powder food specifically for babies which adults will eat also.. biofilm dont grow fast enough to feed the shrimps i guess.. haha..

maybe my experience with sump set up is not good and strong enough... :( But based on comparing the 2 set ups which I am having, i can see the difference between the 2.. which is why i am more incline towards canisters if want stability easier.. i still love my sump set up still.. hahaha...

[Gbang]

just to add my 2 cents in, my sump has been nothing but fantastic for me. but so has my cannisters! i would have to say that both run well but if you are going to do a 3 rack system, sump is way more efficient and cheaper to run. plus more space for bio media!