Canister Only.

[Evil1]

This reminds me of lifting the hood on a race car to see what is hidded there! Nice canopy!

Nice tank, too many tangs for some folks but we will pretend that no one else can see this feature.

Frankly I don’t give a dam what anyone thinks. Besides I’ll be upgrading within the next few months. Thanks for the compliment

 

[Evil1]

I have had a sump on most of my tanks for many years. Canisters, if they lose power for an extended period are prone to going anoxic, and possibly could dump a bit of bilge water into a tank when the power comes back on.

But here's a thread that explains why we need sumps if there are kids in the house.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/urgh-seriously.377375/

That’s hysterical and messed up at the same time!

 

[exnisstech]

That’s hysterical and messed up at the same time!

Little bit of this would be in order for the kids and the dad.

 

[Freenow54]

Here is what I made

How do you support the whieght?

 

[Freenow54]

I like sumps but have run hob filters and canisters. I prefer hobs over canisters because maintenance is easier. Freshwater I ran two FX6s on a 180g and it was a chore dragging them out and cleaning them.

Me too I put them on little benches . They seem to get heavier every time

 

[Freenow54]

Here is what I made

I replied on my phone but don't see my reply here, so I will ask again. How do you support the canopies weight ? Also I see no screens are you not afraid of Olympic high jumpers ? I defiantly

Here is what I made

need screened lids as my Tang is a mass murderer. Can you show a side view ?

 

[mfinn]

How do you support the whieght?

You asked Evil1 about the weight of the canopy.
I have made several canopies over the years and have always used 3/4" plywood ( especially on 72" long tanks) and some of the canopies were fairly heavy. The ones I made when I used metal halide lighting and VHO actinic had to be 14" tall. These required 2 people to lift them off. With the wood, fixtures and the ballasts, I'm guessing 75-80 lbs.
When sitting on the rim of the tank, all of the weight was pushing down on the vertical panes of the glass. They aren't going to bend and easily support the weight. The rim was 192" around.

 

[Freenow54]

You asked Evil1 about the weight of the canopy.
I have made several canopies over the years and have always used 3/4" plywood ( especially on 72" long tanks) and some of the canopies were fairly heavy. The ones I made when I used metal halide lighting and VHO actinic had to be 14" tall. These required 2 people to lift them off. With the wood, fixtures and the ballasts, I'm guessing 75-80 lbs.
When sitting on the rim of the tank, all of the weight was pushing down on the vertical panes of the glass. They aren't going to bend and easily support the weight. The rim was 192" around.

I want to make mine as just a fascia . Only the weight of the Canopy material. I don't even want that weight on the rim hence the question . I like the flip up idea absolutely would prefer a wood front that is on hinges , but was thinking just for lightness to use acrylic. With wood in mind how would you build and mount it ?

 

[mfinn]

I want to make mine as just a fascia . Only the weight of the Canopy material. I don't even want that weight on the rim hence the question . I like the flip up idea absolutely would prefer a wood front that is on hinges , but was thinking just for lightness to use acrylic. With wood in mind how would you build and mount it ?

Is this a tank with a rim? Rimless?

 

[Freenow54]

Is this a tank with a rim? Rimless?

Seapora Rimmed 100G 4 feet by 18 inches

 

[mfinn]

I want to make mine as just a fascia . Only the weight of the Canopy material. I don't even want that weight on the rim hence the question . I like the flip up idea absolutely would prefer a wood front that is on hinges , but was thinking just for lightness to use acrylic. With wood in mind how would you build and mount it ?

If you can't hang anything and you don't want any weight on the rim, I don't see any other way.

When I made my canopies, I just made a box to the exact measurements of the outside rim of the tank. Then fastened a 1" x 1" piece around the inside of the box to sit on the rim of the tank.
Once the shape was made and trimmed out I cut the box in half ( not quiet half. more like 65/35 ) with my table saw and created what is called a clam shell style canopy. Used a long piano hinge to hold the front part to the back part.
Some I cut access doors in across the front. The back I left open as much as possible.

Thanks to ImageShack losing pictures I don't have anything that shows the process of making them.

Just this .

 

[Tangdora]

Personally would never chose a canister over a sump. Sumps offer way more versitililty. Being impatient during setup is the number one reason leading to overflow imo. A sump will never over flow if one actually takes the time before filling or even purchasing the sump itself to actually lay out where the returns will sits and then simply do the math to determine volume loss during an outage based on the lowest point between every return and the overflow baffles. From there it’s as simple as determining how much you need for the skimmer adding the water loss factor and picking the next size or two bigger. If size then become a problem then one needs to determine a better return setup

Had to have a custom 90 gallon made for my 375 gallon to prevent overflows simply because nothing pre built existed to fit.

 

[Freenow54]

Personally would never chose a canister over a sump. Sumps offer way more versitililty. Being impatient during setup is the number one reason leading to overflow imo. A sump will never over flow if one actually takes the time before filling or even purchasing the sump itself to actually lay out where the returns will sits and then simply do the math to determine volume loss during an outage based on the lowest point between every return and the overflow baffles

Totally agree especially with an internal plumbing set up and a DC pump during a power outage . If no power outage it will happen with a blockage on my existing two pipe system . However my new tank is drilled and will have an actual overflow box done bean style. As long as there is no complete blockage of all three it will be fine except in an extreme situation where all the drains get plugged. So I just hate that one chance .

 

[Evil1]

How do you support the whieght?

3 aluminum L channels either side of tank and around front. Sits right on top of tank

 

[jft]

Ran multiple reef tanks with Eheim canisters for years NEVER AN ISSUE, I have also used sumps both have pluses and minuses, Good LUCK!

 

[KrisReef]

Personally would never chose a canister over a sump. Sumps offer way more versitililty. Being impatient during setup is the number one reason leading to overflow imo. A sump will never over flow if one actually takes the time before filling or even purchasing the sump itself to actually lay out where the returns will sits and then simply do the math to determine volume loss during an outage based on the lowest point between every return and the overflow baffles. From there it’s as simple as determining how much you need for the skimmer adding the water loss factor and picking the next size or two bigger. If size then become a problem then one needs to determine a better return setup

Had to have a custom 90 gallon made for my 375 gallon to prevent overflows simply because nothing pre built existed to fit.

Never overflow?

I have done some remarkable flooding incidents during water changes that were ill planned for displacement. Certainly could have done the same thing in a sumpless set up, but somehow I think the existence of the sump played heavily in my miscalculations, which seemed doable and right until the cascade of sump now waterfall kicked off.

So, perhaps a sump is no replacement for a properly thinking brain during a water change? Mine is often not working properly due to bad management, chronic abuse, and chemical warfare both medical and recreational in orgin.

But yeah, proper calculations before set up should avoid these things.

The other big factor in sump floods would be bumping those flexible return arms to lower spots during cleaning and having a siphon remove more water than was meant to discharge while the return pump has been idled during cleaning chores.

Or the failure of a seam in an overflow weir that allows water to enter the overflow below the weir teeth level.

 

[vlangel]

I've had HOBs, sumps and now a canister for my current tank. I am coming on 30 yrs experience with saltwater (6 or 7 yrs as an aquarium tech who saw many tank crashes due to failed equipment). I think its all a matter of preference and they all are valid depending on what the aquarists wants. This month marks the 1 yr. anniversary for my tank with the canister and its not been a disappointment. Here are my reasons for choosing a canister for my 75g display.
1. First and foremost, I wanted to simplify this tank. This tank is predominantly biologically filtered with abundant rock and partial DSB.
* I chose an Oase Biomaster thermal 800 with an intergrated heater, so no heater in the tank. This canister is very quiet and my display is in my livingroom. Also the BioMaster comes with a very easy to clean pre-filter (if you do not put it in the cabinet- mine is behind an end table). It takes 5 minutes. The canister itself is full of rubble rock for biolife to colonize and mine is full of fan worms and sponges. I only opened the canister twice but once every 6 months is probably more often than necessary from what I saw. This canister can be safely throttled back with the valves so I can fine tune flow when I want to use the UV sterilizer that I have plumbed into its return. Finally with lily pipes this gives my display a very clean, uncluttered appearance with just powerheads in the tank and a dosing line.
* I don't want to watch teeth in overflows anymore for potential blockages.
* I don't want to worry about macroalgae clogging the drains.
* I want minimal equipment that can break on this tank. (no skimmer, no rollermat, no turf scrubber, no ATO, or no controllers except an inkbird for temperature.
* I have redundancy for aeration and temperature, the 2 main fail points.
* I have glass tops for evaporation control. I know folks say that doesnt allow for enough oxygen exchange but I have used them for years without issue. Yes they need cleaned but it takes minutes every 2 weeks so not a big deal, and they never fail and dump fresh water into the display.

Again, HOBs and sumps are great depending on what you want. I started with a AquaClear 110 HOB but it was too noisy to suit me in our livingroom. The biggest risk is probably if a power outage occurred when we are out of town. I actually move the rubble rock into the display where there is a battery back up pump to keep the display aerated. That way the canister is only running water through it without any built up detritus so can go longer before turning noxious. I could have my sister/neighbor come to the house and unplug the canister and I would just clean out the bilge water when I got home. My web cam would let me know of the power outage so that risk is greatly minimized. My tank as it looks today. Dont mind the cyano, that is a separate issue, high PO4.