Sump vs large canister filter(s)

I am in the process of finalising a new aquarium build. It will be a 1500 x 600 x 600 mm (so a bit over 500 litres of water). It will be low tech planted and house medium cichlids (such as my three Electric Blue Acaras and maybe some Firemouths and similar) and my 4x large SAEs and a large rescue Pleco.

I am looking at the pros and cons of a sump vs one or two canister filters. Thoughts and advice please.

Sumps seem like a cheaper and more flexible option but I am worried about the noise. The aquarium will be in our home office and my missus is sensitive to noise while she is on Teams meetings. Also what is the maintenance on a sump like. My back sometimes gives me hassles and this is a consideration. Crawling under a large aquarium to get to something is not fun for my back.

I am currently running an Eheim 3 Pro 600 in a 240 litre aquarium. It has run non-stop without problems for 8 years. I could reuse this and supplement it with another, larger canister such as an Oase Biomaster 850 or a Fluval FX6. These seem to be in short supply and/or very expensive. Are there even any Fluval FX6's in shops lately?

TIA,
Jonathan

 

From your two main concerns I'd suggest a canister rather. I'm running a Dophin C1000 in my 180l but would grab an Oase system in a heartbeat if I could justify the cost to myself. In terms of cost sumps are perhaps a bit cheaper.

Here's my thoughts from having a sump in my previous 500l cube.

Sumps
Pros:
- Lots of filtration capacity (you can almost have 1:1 relationship in terms of tank to sump volume if you want - but that's overkill)
- Personally found it less fidgety and messy than canisters
- Fully customisable - you set up the compartments as you want
- Can take your additional equipment like heaters etc out of the tank (you get canisters that do this but they are more expensive)
- Additional space for livestock / plants if you need to separate them physically from the main aquarium

Cons:
- Noisy... My wife was driven crazy by it. I personally loved the sound of trickling water.
- You have to watch water levels and gravity flows in case of power failures.
- It's not fun crawling underneath an aquarium to clean it.
- Need to carefully plan your return pumps to ensure that you get enough flow (their performance degrade rapidly with each cm additional height water needs to be pumped)

Canisters
Pros:
- Silent
- No need to fidget with plumbing pipes etc (I personally hated this aspect of sumps)
- No need to think about how to set it up and plan compartment design

Cons:
- Messy (impossible not to spill water in the cabinet when disconnecting), at least with the Dophin.
- Still need to fidget under the aquarium to disconnect, but cleaning is easier.
- Can't take your heater and additional equipment unless you pay a premium

 

Just with regards to noise if your inlet to the tank is below the overflow (or at the same level) then there is no noise. Same with the water falling into the sump. Additionally if your first chamber is filter floss and then sponge there is no cleaning. throw the filter floss away and rinse the sponges out in old tank water and you are good to go.

 

My sump is silent. Takes some tweaking but it’s doable. Need a gate valve on the main drain running full siphon, and a second drain for emergency overflow.