High drama
To recap:
1) Canisters almost never fail - HOBs, even ACs, fail to restart during power outages all the time and are quite capable of causing infuriating leaks/discharges albeit generally not as suddenly or dramatically;
2) While canister use may indeed be subject to certain perils that are largely foreign to HOB/sponge/UG applications, said perils are often wildly exaggerated (in 4 years using 6-8 of them I have never had one blow a connection and drain a tank, priming is never more than a momentary issue if it appears at at all, and the intake/outflow quandaries are in fact options that allow much more flexibility/freedom to regulate and direct water movement inside the tank than what is afforded by other types of filters;
3) While all media is not created equal, a canister has room for much more of it than anything else. That means more bacteria, more time/interface between said bacteria and the waste products they consume, and better filtration. Period.
4) Despite what respected (formerly) CCA members may offer on the subject, one of the joys of canister filters is that they don't really need to be cleaned more often than once a year, particularly if one is using pre-filter sponges. Said sponges will require periodic cleaning, but a canister itself is no more or less needful of maintenance than a giant (and aesthetically unappealing) slab of Poret foam physically situated inside a tank.
5) In technical parlance, all filters are a "PITA" to clean - that is simply the norm for taking out the trash and/or cleaning a bathroom, filter service is no exception.
6) No one uses canisters simply because they're "cool" (except for maybe Mssr. Chambers and Holly whom we all secretly look to for clues on how to dress, speak and act so that we also can he hipsters - Francine is simply in a class by herself and beyond compare/emulation). We use canisters because they're really dependable and good at what they do.
That being said, all filter aps are pretty good at what they do or we wouldn't be using them, spawning the bejeezus out of our minions and basically giving them away on account of low mortality levels resulting in more fish than we really have space in which to keep them.
The truth is, this whole aquatic obsession can be a PITA, but as its more gratifying than most such posterior aggravations, it is not without reward. Like CCA, my favorite and arguably the most exalted monthly social event of the greater DC/Baltimore metropolitan area in this the capital of the most amazing nation in recorded human history.
The offense(-iveness) rests.
