# Canister, SUMP, pond, or Fluidized sand bed filter



## pan2008 (Sep 17, 2013)

OK, :fish:

I am going to ask stupid questions again.

Most people with cichlid using canister filter, right? Fluval FX5 is 925gph, 6 liter media, I assume it work for 180 gallon tank.

For a sump equivalent to FX5, I guess the size should be 100 gallon? with 200 pond live rock? Any one using sump pls correct me.

Also anyone using pond filter on indoor aquarium? How about the noise? I know it depends on pump, but pond filter usually has larger gph, so the noise should be louder? Also I suspect pond filter is only a mechanical filter, but leave bio filtration to pond sand/rock?

Is it a good idea to try fluidized sand bed filter, I mean connect it to FX5 outtake for denitrification?

Thanks guys.


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## djoneser (Mar 20, 2008)

FX5 would work fine on a 180, but most aquarists like to have at least 2 filters in case one fails..

Sump sizing is partially based on how much overflow you have when your pump shuts off, you need to have enough space that the overflow fits in the sump at least without flooding over. For a 180 tank a 40g-55g sump or larger should work, I have a 90 I will be using with a 250g main..

"Pond filter" is a somewhat generic term. The sump pump can be a 'pond' pump, in fact Laguna pumps are very efficient and work very well as a sump pump. You would not want a true outside pond filter with waterfall inside your house. Too loud. There are some models that do bio filtration also.

FSB is more common in SW environment, but you can do one for FW, personal choice.

I strongly suggest you do some reading of other related topics on the forum. The answers are out there if you make the time to look.


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## Tyler_James_L (Jun 19, 2013)

Regardless of noise, I feel that a sump is far superior (if you have the space) to canister filters because you can put a lot more media in them and they are far easier to clean, depending on how you have it setup.


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## nodima (Oct 3, 2002)

Don't try to reinvent the wheel. GPH is only one measure of a filter - since it is the easiest one to grasp people put more weight into it. Reality is the volume of filter media, and filter design itself play a huge role in how "good" a filter is. This is partially why a properly designed sump is superior to a canister for large aquariums - there is the ability to use a high volume of filter media, design so there is little or no bypass, and still make it easy to maintain and not need a HUGE pump to drive it all.

The sump on my 180 is approx 40 gallons, normal operation has the water level at about 30-40% of the sump capacity - plenty of room to absorb the extra water in the event of a power failure. Tank will only drain down about an inch which is something like 5-10 gallons. This sump contains a 2" layer of poret foam and a bunch of bio balls. Only used the Bio Balls as they were free, any other media would work fine too.


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