Sumps, canisters, and skimmers.

Tristan

Detritus
I have an Eheim canister, and a hang-on skimmer.

Ive been reading alot of stuff on the forum and i found that canisters are useless in a saltwater aquarium. how much difference would it make if i just removed it and just leave my skimmer in my 55 gallon aquarium until i get a sump? would it be the same, better, or worse?

Also I want to make a sump. there's not much space under my aquarium because there is a divider that im too scared to cut. there would be enough to fit a 10 gallon tank under there though. any thoughts?
 
canisters are good for running carbon or gfo in but other than that they just trap crap inthem and lead to water quality problems. if you can keep it clean than go ahead and use it. i am lazy so i dont like the extra work if it is not needed.
 
it will work or you could build a little low stand next to the tank and use a bigger sump. and make it a port of the viewing space. one other thing you could do if you have a basement is build a large sumo in the basement and get a good pump to pump from the basement to the tank. after my wireing project gets done that is my next plan is a big stock tank and a big pump. well if the wife lets me drill a big hole in the floor.
 
i honestly dont know why no one has a basement. it never really gets flooded on guam and tsunamis arent too much of a worry because of the marianas trench.
are you houses made out of wood where you live?
 
they are made out of wood brick metal you name it and they are made out if it. i have seen houses that are made out of wood and inside the walls it is straw. they use the straw for insulation it is way better that regular insulation but you have a wall that is 3feet thick
 
even here many people do not have basements but mostly old people here so they don't have to worry about the stairs. my house is made with cement blocks and the insulation sucks i wish it was a wood house with good insulation in the walls you can feel the cold come right through the house
 
Canisters are not completely useless. They are good for emergency situations. If you leave them running on a salt tank, eventually detritus will build up in them and they will become nitrate producers which is bad. But if there is some pollutant in the water and you want to clean it fast you could run the canister with the right filtration media overnight and it will do the job.
 
I use a canister to run carbon on my tanks. Run it for a day or two and then dump it.

I agree that canisters are not all that great for use as a full time filter.

A 10g sump will work. Just enough for a skimmer and a return pump, but you'll need an auto top off, because the evaporation from the 10g sump is gonna be huge.
 
what are the benifits of carbon in an aquarium?

It absorbs toxins. But I can't afford to run it all the time. The carbon is too expensive.

Also, I don't keep SPS corals, so a little dissolved organics in my water is fine. I keep zoas, polyps, mushrooms and LPS corals. All known to thrive in "less than perfect" water conditions - and my tanks are proof of that!! :lol:
 
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