Every canister I ever had... maybe 1 or 2 because I despised them so much was nothing but a headache and a fear factor before and after each water change... I'd take a basic HOB over a fancy canister any-day..
Sumps are the way to go, hands down and you can make them yourself for less than what you will pay the huge canister mark up...
Simply not worth it to me.
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming "Wow! - Hunter S Thompson
the one in this thread, i've been happy with it is a ruby by trigger systems
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showth...t=#post1170383
I started with a fluval and soon switched to an eheim. Eheim pro 4+ 650 has been great
If available where you are, have a look at the Eheim 1200XLT (2180). I'm running 5 of those on different tanks and they yet have to fsil me. Oldest 2 have been running for approximately 5 years with zero issues. They also have a 500w heater integrated, so no need for heaters in the tank ruining the aesthetics of the tank.
Having said that, I have an FX6 on the way to add to the big tank for extra bio filtration, seen lots of people running those on other forums and raving about them.