canister filter help

[fishlover2]

im lookin at gettin a canister filter for my 55 gallon tank n need some suggestions on which type is the best n which one i should get for my tank.....i was lookin at the fluval 405....any suggestions? please let me know what you think or any other types that work well....thank

[Joel]

If this is for a fish tank, a properly sized wet dry would be a much better choice. If this is a reef type aquarium, a mud or marsh types sump would be a good option. Canisters are a major PITA and often don't keep your water quality where it needs to be.

[fishlover2]

how do i set up a mud sump?

[larrynews]

i bought a filstar xp 2 fro my fish only and so far have been happy

[fishlover2]

is there a way to do like a DIY mud sump maybe?

[JoeAyers]

You may want to check out this site.

http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

I would suggest a sump as well just for the benefit of the added water and you can hide stuff like heaters and skimmers in them.  How big is your tank?  I have an old 29 that you could have to make a sump out of. Not pretty but would work great as a sump.

Joe

[fishlover2]

my tank is 55...i have fish and corals in it....i could probly get a picture on here

[fishlover2]

i dont have the slightest clue at how to make one though lol...im a rookie

[fishlover2]

my tank

[Joel]

Canisters would be a really bad filter for this type of aquarium. A sump type system would be the best bang for your buck in my opinion. The problem I see the most often with the 55 gallon is that the stand is so narrow from front to back so it limits what size sump would fit. The minimum that I would do would be a 20 long (30"x12" foot print) but I don't know if it'll fit in the stand. A 10 gallon would be to small in my opinion. I think a good starting point would be to first determine where the filter is going to  go and to measure how much room you have. At that point we can figure out what your best options would be.  Lets start there, where are you planing to put the filter and how much room do you have?

Joel

[fishlover2]

i would plan on puttin the sump inside the stand...so like u said....not much room...maybe 10-12 inches wide and as long as the aquarium....48 inches i believe

[UDJustin]

dont forget that you have to get the sump inside the stand so those dimensions may need adjusted

[fishlover2]

is it possible to make my own sump? what would i need to make it....or would it be better to get one somewhere else already made?

[Bigmoo]

Making a sump is very easy, basically either a tank or the cheaper way is a plastic container. The draw back to the later is that it can be very difficult divide off areas for things such as refugiums which requires one to be very creative as I have learned. I personally have gone through many changes with my plastic sump from a five gallon bucket for the filter, to making my own canister filter to my newest creation (muhahaha)  a drip tray with multiple drawers so that I can use several types of filtration especcially chemical as needed. If anyone is interested in this I hope to have a pic or two up rather soon. However, as I said, the plastic is the cheapest but not the easiest to work with so I too am looking for a tank for my sump (20 gal long). Hope this helps a little...

Dave

[Riderc82]

If you look at the above link I believe he has a whole section on making your own sump.  As someone else stated that is the biggest draw back to a 55 gallon aquarium is there is no room for a decent sized sump.  If your aquarium is in front of a closet you could put your sump in the closet but you would have to run your plumbing through the wall.  Another option but it would be a pain is to have a custom sump built or make your own and then empty your 55 take the tank off the stand and then drop your custom sump in through the top the downfall to this approach is that if your sump starts leaking it will be a pain as well, or you could do the Rubbermaid sump which I have never tried because they generally start to bow then it is hard to keep everything where you want it.

[Lost Floridian]

I'll let Nikki (Reef'd Up) elaborate more when she gets up from her nap but we have a 40g tank that has the same footprint as your 55. We are running a 20g sump like what Joel mentioned and it is doing great. Sumps can be super easy to make and is a great project for a first time DIY'er - the best part is if looks like poop nobody will ever see it hiding inside your stand. So go see if you can wiggle a 20g tank in your stand then get to work!

[MechanicalEngineer]

Thanks for "voluntolding" me, Will!   

To start, you have a very nice "newbie" tank!! 

Will is right.  We have a 40g long tank, and when we first started we just had a 10g sump (with no problems.)  I recently upgraded to a 20g sump and moved the 10g sump to be the sump for my 10g frag tank.

I'd avoid a canister filter like the plague.  I've had them before, and they're too expensive and unreliable.  If you have a cheap junk one, they're great as a carbon filter or phosphate remover...but that's about all.

If your tank isn't drilled, you'll need to get an overflow box and U-pipe (may be purchased locally from our sponsors probably...sometimes you can pick them up used.)  The expensive part is the pump to pump the water back up to the main tank.  We started with a 500gph main pump with our 40g.  We've recently upgraded to a 1200gph pump since our 500gph pump was going bad.  (And the 1200gph pump is a bit much now.)  The good thing is, is that this pump with help oxygenate your water...which will help with coral health.  Additionally, the sump will provide a refuge for copepods and other awesome critters. 

Making the sump is the easiest thing ever.  If I can do it, anyone can.  Basically, make sure a glass tank the size you want will fit through your doors on your stand.  The bigger, the better.  With the 10g, I bought the 8"x10" precut plexiglass panels at Lowe's for a couple bucks a piece (I think they were like $1.64 or something.)  Anyway, I also got some clear aquarium silicone.  I didn't even bother to cut the panels to the correct width on the 10g.  I just stuck them in there sideways and siliconed them in (check Melev's page for baffle design).  Let it dry for 24 hours...and you're done.  The only part to be careful with is making sure that the volume that will drain from the main tank when the pump is off will fit in the sump. 

If you decide to go this route, I'm sure I'll host a meeting soon and can show you this.  The sump cost me a whopping $10+the pump+tubing+overflow/u-pipe.  My 1200gph pump was around $100...so, worst case, $150.  I'm sure you can get a 500gph pump cheaper.  IMO, for the cost versus benefit...the sump is definitely the way to go. 

[Joel]

I looked at that picture of your tank again and it appears to be the black pine stand from All Glass. The inside dimensions of the stand is smaller than the display tank. A 20 long will not fit front to back.  Having a custom sump built is an option but would be expensive to do. With keeping the 55 gallon, a cheaper & better option may be building a stand that will accommodate a larger sump. My personal favorite combination with a 55 gallon tank is to use a 33 long or a 40 long as the sump. They are the same foot print as the 55 but are not as tall. This is a spacious sump with lots of room for everything.  An option that I have done in the past is to buy a iron stand that is made for a 55 on top and a 33L / 40L on the bottom and then trim out the stand with your choice or wood trim. Pretty cheap, functional and decent looking. A 20 long and 30 long will fit on the bottom of this stand as well. Turning an aquarium into a sump is pretty easy and we can help with ideas. (I've built many of them) I have the stand in stock if you want to see what one looks like and have larger working sumps to look at for ideas and to answer questions about them. The shop is open 3-8 today and tomorrow and noon- 5 Saturday if your interested.

Joel