Favorite Canister?

[Nate77]

I'm headed for a minorish surgery tomorrow, so not sure how soon this is going to happen. But I'm planning on setting up a 180+ gallon freshwater.

Quiet is at the top of the list. Every sump I have had was noise it didn't matter what style of overflow. I do like pumps for keep equipment out of the tank , but noise is a deal breaker.

Which leaves HOB and Cans , I am not familiar with canisters, I was looking at fx6s , but looking on 1st few pages there is at least 1 post with an issue.

What are your go to cans ?

 

[Aiken Drum]

Fluval.

You won't be able to find any aquarium product that doesnt have issues and negative reviews if you look for them. Fluval is probably upper-mid tier equipment. Reasonably priced, reliable, lots of people use them so issues are fairly easy to troubleshoot, and you can easily get spare parts if you need them in a hurry.

Personally I'd probably say an FX6 is overkill for anything under 200 gallons. I'd probably go for a FX4, or for redundancy 2x FX2s. Even 2x 407s would probably work on less than 200 gallons.

You have eheim that are a bit more premium, but they dont really do an equivalent to the FX6. You will certainly need to go with more than one filter with eheim for larger aquariums. And you will find issues even with Eheim. Many people resort to bulldog clips on the hoses because they dont have a flow regulator for instance.

The only real alternative canister to the FX range for large aquariums are pond filters.

 

[Nate77]

Ty Aiken for the response there is no way I can comprehend this right now, will read when I am more coherent

 

[G2-B]

A lot of pump noise is caused by turbulence.
Reduce turbulence to reduce noise.
A pump with the outlet on the side of the impeller housing runs quieter than a a centered outlet because less turbulence.

If the pump has different sizes adapters, use the biggest one with wider tubing/pipes for less turbulence.

An adjustable pump will be quieter at its lowest volume. Better to use a bigger pump at low setting than a small pump at high setting. (similarly: a small motorcycle at high revs makes a lot more noise than a big one at low revs.)

Wider tubes / pipes reduce water pressure and slow down the flow ( = less turbulence) without reducing the volume.

Smooth curves or two 45º angles give a higher flow and less noise than a 90º elbow.

The pump doesn't have to work so hard with your sump at the same level (instead of underneath or above your aquarium) It runs quieter because it doesn't have to lift the water up.

I also found that a pump runs quieter when it is submerged, even when it is hooked up as an external pump with an inlet pipe. Being submerged also cools the motor better, which makes it last longer.

An overflow pipe that ends below the water level of the tank can create a siphon. An airgap prevents catastrophic siphoning that empties your tank.
An open T-connector at the top of the overflow pipe is less noisy than a waterfall.

 

[Nate77]

@Aiken Drum thank you , I am familiar with equipment having issues all to well , just never messed with canisters !

@G2-B Its not the pump noise with sump, it the overflow noise. Sump beside tank at same level isn't going to be an option.

 

[Aiken Drum]

My experience with fluval canisters is, if you look after them they will run fairly quietly. Monthly maintenance, give any moving parts (eg. impeller, impeller shaft, impeller cap) a clean to remove any detritus. Every year buy the service maintenance kit and replace all those parts along with the o ring. They get a bit rattley if they arent maintenanced.

 

[G2-B]

Sump beside tank at same level isn't going to be an option.

It rarely is because it takes up twice the space.
An alternative is AIO, where you build the filter/sump on one side or in the back of the tank. You lose a lot of tank space of course, and maintenance isn't always simple or easy.




You can reduce overflow noise with a pipe/tube that ends underwater, so you don't have a noisy waterfall airgap.


If you do that, you will need an open T-connector at the top of your overflow pipe to create the airgap that prevents catastrophic siphoning.


I put that inside the tank, so I can use it as a skimmer or as an additional drain if the water level gets high.

These are pictures of my aquaponics system.
Aquariums are scaled down, but the principle remains the same.

 

[Nate77]

I have tried multiple versions of all that on last sump I had , I had other people mess with it , just no quieting it down.

AIO quiet yes , superb pain in the rear