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Both filtration methods have their Pros. Sump: larger than most canisters, so it will hold more media. Easily add/remove temporary media like carbon, purigen to absorb medicines. A wet/dry system can remove more Nitrates no surface scum build up the churning of the water increases aeration/oxygen exchange, but is not good for a CO2 tank. You can run the sump in the opposite light period to the tank to reduce pH fluctuation by setting it up as a refugium. Easier to clean media. You can remove Bioballs or whatever biological filter used and clean all the mulm build up easier than canister filters. You can hide all the usual tank equipment in the sump, like unsightly heaters. A sump can be used to house fry. Water changes are easier with a sump. A sump increases water volume dramatically. As we all know, the more water volume, the more stable a tank is. Canisters: Small foot print Water is physically forced through filter media. That means you can use finer micron filter to really polish the water. Sumps will never get the same water pressure through the filter media. Cost is lower, to some extent, for smaller tanks. A sump becomes more economical for large tanks, especially when one canister is not enough to service a large 4ft + tank. Less evaporation. Less noise. You can hear the water splashing with a sump. No need to risk drilling holes in a tank. No need to worry about overflow, back drain or power outage designs. ie. Too much water will spill onto the floors. No water during a power outage means you need to ensure the media in your sump is still submerged in water. There are probably more pros/cons that I can't think of at the moment.

10 Crystal Red Shrimp added this morning, look so good, coloured up and got cruising around the tank in no time, really glad I got these little critters.

Everything of what @jayc already mentioned above and I also use my sump: - Float the brine shrimp hatchery. The sump runs at 28 degree Celsius for discus which is the perfect temperature to hatch brine shrimp eggs for feeding fry. - Hatch eggs away from parents... e.g. blue rams, corydoras, etc.

Thanks @fishmosy. These shrimp are massive and i think i under quoted above. I have about 20 of them but 4 are berried. Once i get my outdoor tank up and running they will have a better home and hopefully they will breed in fresher water. My plan is to get a stable breeding population in the aquarium and then offer them up to WA SKFA members.

Cheers Demon, hopefully all goes well and fills in nicely.

We all have almost had some bad experiences with pest snails, and some have never got past the bad times and experienced the good times some species of snail can give us. I want to share snail appreciation, So here are my snails Nerite ( I don't believe this guy or his brethren nerites in the tank caused the damage to the leaves, he roamed out on to the leaf, wondered around very quickly and high tailed it back off. Quickest I have ever seen a nerite move) Light coloured shell and body notopala And dark coloured body and shell This huge type, no idea of its correct name but doesn't seem to breed in the tank Not a standard MTS, and wild caught locally I don't know what these guys are either but for now I am calling them turban shells All of these snails are from creeks generally not far from my home in Central Queensland.

The above are photos from early September. The colony is currently doing well. I haven't seen any deaths since I started the tank, not to say they haven't been occurring though, but certainly no large die offs. The juvies in the above pics are getting close to adult size now. I'm currently playing around with protein levels in order to get some more berried females as I've only been feeding fairly low protein foods for the past month or two. I've tried feeding frozen spirulina brineshrimp and saw a moult but no eggs. I'm reluctant to try bloodworm until I get the TDS a bit lower (its currently 25) as I want the shrimp in the best of health before I introduce something that could spike the bacteria count and/or nitrogen levels in the tank. One or two feedings of bloodworm over two weeks has been enough to kickstart breeding in my CRS and Bloody Mary colonies so I'm hoping the same will happen with the zebs.

Shrimp Crack is good crap man, gives you that 'extra' hit!

The other thing I have been asked about is feeding. And this relates far more to water parameters than you might think. Firstly in tanks with inert substrate, food is going to be the major contributor to increases in TDS. More food equals greater increases in TDS. As we know, zebs like low TDS. I minimise any increases in TDS caused by food by: - Feeding only every two or three days, although 1 mulberry leaf is always available and replaced when it is completely consumed - feeding small amounts which are totally consumed overnight (excluding snow which tends to be consumed over several days) - feeding foods that are low in protein (Benibachi kale pellets, Boss Aquaria Snow). Proteins are high in nitrogen. If the food rots, the proteins decompose straight to ammonia. When the shrimp eat and use the proteins, they release the nitrogen stored in the proteins as wastes. This increases the TDS of the tank, but also exposes the shrimp to 'high' levels of nitrogenous wastes. Nitrogenous wastes are not detectable in the water of their natural habitats so any level where these are detected is really too high.