Canister filters usually have a lower maintenance need than power filters and sumps because the water is being forced through the media as opposed to flowing over or around the media. Most of these filters also return water to the tank via spray bar. This reduces evaporation and current.
Trickle filters provide excellent biological filtration, but do not do much for mechanical or chemical filtration.
Over time, you'll either run the sump dry causing a flood from the display tank, or you'll remove too much water from the display tank overflowing the sump and causing a flood from the sump. Yes, you can use a canister filter as a return pump, but even there you do need to be careful.
Bio balls can be submerged underwater!In fact, this is how most of you will use them – in your canister, HOB filter or sump. The only time you wouldn't place bio balls underwater is if you are using them in a trickle-filter setup.
Protein skimming removes certain organic compounds, including proteins and amino acids found in food particles, by using the polarity of the protein itself. Commercial protein skimmers work by generating a large air/water interface, specifically by injecting large numbers of bubbles into the water column.
Basically, it is any method of filtration that utilizes a protein skimmer, liverock and should have a means for mechanical filtration as well. The system utilizes a sump, which is a tank separate from the display that contains all the equipment out of view.
An aquarium canister filter is an enclosed filter and pump that sits under the aquarium. Inlet and outlet hoses move water through the filter and back to the tank. Some canister filters add features like electronic control, UV sterilizer, or external aquarium heater.
That's why cars with track intent, like a Ferrari 488 or a Corvette Z06, have a dry sump system while cars that are likely to be mostly on the road, like a Hellcat or a CTS-V, use a wet sump.
The dry-sump system uses two or more oil pumps and a separate oil reservoir, as opposed to a conventional wet-sump system, which uses only the main sump (U.S.: oil pan) below the engine and a single pump.
Within piston engines, a wet sump is part of a lubrication system whereby the crankcase sump is used as an integral oil reservoir. Piston engines are lubricated by oil which is pumped into various bearings, and thereafter allowed to drain to the base of the engine under gravity.
A wet sump system is based on the original equipment oiling system, and can be enhanced with certain components to improve oil control and increase power. A dry sump system is designed for the top levels of racing where maximum power and oil control are absolutely essential.
The term wet sumping is used to describe when oil fills the crankcase of a dry sump system. There are two causes for this: Oil is not returning to the tank or oil is seeping through the pump while the engine is sitting unused. Both are oil pump related issues.
To change oil in a Dry Sump System, the oil should first be still warm from running. Dry sumps differ from standard wet sump systems in that the majority of the engines oil is stored in the Dry Sump tank. However, there will still be oil in the pan, lines and filter.
Semi-dry sumpWhat this really means is that the system is to all intents and purposes a dry sump design, with two oil pumps, but the oil tank is still incorporated inside the engine cases.
The sump sits below the main tank, and is used as a filter, as well as a holding place for unsightly, miscellaneous equipment such as protein skimmers, calcium reactors, and heaters.
They are not intended to trap detritus and particles, and if you are using them in the sump, should be placed in the area of your sump least likely to come into contact with detritus, normally closest to the return. Detritus should be removed through other forms of filtration such as a filter socks or filter sponges.
So IMO, what it boils down to is that canister filters become nitrate factories because of the amount of work that it takes to keep them clean.
