Canister or not?

[mcva3]

Hello all, I am new to the SW tank hobby and trying to read all I can to get some more info. My question is here for filtration. I had a penguin 350 Bio-wheel power filter. I took it off and got rid of it for a fluval 405 canister filter. I did it because I thought i would get more filtration with it. Is this a bad thing? Some say No to canister filters others say yes they ok. I don't have a sump/refuge yet so what should I do if anything?

[IAreef]

With out nearly daily maintenance the canister will turn into a nitrate factory in no time, I use one for water polishing now and then but the vast majority of your filtration in my opinion, and many other on this site will come from natural means, live rock, sand, macro, etc... even without a sump/fuge you can have all of these things, the macro is definitely easier with a sump but that could be something you add later, also what type of tank are you planning a FOWLR, reef, ??? this will help us give you advice as some animals a capable of handling different things in our tanks.

[mcva3]

Well my goal is to have a reef set up. I have live rock, live sand, 2 corals and misc fish now. You can see what I have in another post in the section New To Saltwater, under "adding 40lbs rock". I do plan to get a fuge /sump as soon as I learn the difference and which one is going to be better for me for the long term. I hate getting something then finding out it is the wrong thing to do and have to start over. Looks like my LFS is out to just sell things and not lead to correct info on anything.
So it is looking like no on the fluval canister then? I guess I need to get reading more info on filtration then and the sump/fuge options and differences.

[IAreef]

unfortunately most LFS are the worst place to get info, you have found a great place to get info here on TR, if you haven't already start listening to the podcasts there are several on filtration as well as sumps and fuges. just take your time ask as many questions as you can think of and above all have fun.

[BrianG]

A sump and a refugium are 2 different things. In generic terms a sump is a container that is usually kept under the main tank, to increase water cappacity and to house tank equipment. ie. Heaters, temp probes, protein skimmers. This is where you would also add any additives need for the tank to allow it to mix before it enters the tank, and where you would add your top off water for the tank.
A refugium is a container that is kept sperated from the sump "either an entirely different container, or just a sectioned off part of your sump, where you can grow micro organisiums, and crustations that yout tank inhabitants can not get to, it is also used to increase your biological filtration of your tank.

The best way to understand them would be to listen to POD cast 54 on refugiums and to the TRL podcast #16.

Hope this can help you

[THEJRC]

Most will say no to a cannister on a reef (including me for most people even though I myself run one). The theory about daily maintenance is a little overboard but yes you do need to maintain a cannister at least every other week. If you miss or fail you can add a great deal of problems to the tank.

I'm a heavy feeder and thus my cannister does a number of great functions, it gives me a good polishing / physical filtration mechanism and the spraybar allows me to fine tune flow better. It's also a great 2.5 gallons toward my water changes when I maintain it as I dump the water inside as well.

FWIW I run two refugiums, the confusion between sump and refugium is great but the reality is most good sumps *have* a "refugium" compartment. A refugium is like it's name suggests an area of refuge for beneficial zooplanktons and macro algaes for nutrient export.

If you do some searching you'll find that some people are tossing the regular media from their canisters and filling them with live rock, thus creating a sealed and pressurized refugium of sorts in it's own.

Best advice, go with a good sump/refugium setup and huck the cannister unless your as anal retentive as the likes of me with your maintenance.