fish_4_all
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think there has been a really important point that has been overlooked in the discussion about overfiltering. That is the fact that only a certain number of denytrifying bacteria will grow depending on your bioload.
Example: I have an aquaview running in my 10 gallon tank and I have the smallest sponge filter I could find. The aquaview has no discoloring in the filter floss and therefore I would assume no beneficial bacteria. The sponge filter is almost nasty looking after 2 weeks and definately has a massive amount of beneficial bacteria.
If I was to take out the sponge filter, could it not cause an ammonia spike because the aquaview doesn't have the bacteria? When I set up my Aquaclear, will it get the needed bactrerial growth for me to remove the sponge filter? I have my doubts about that.
I guess the real point is that if you do not plan to keep all the filers running in a tank that is overfiltered you can most definately overfilter and run the risk of a disaster if they want to reduce the amount of filtration.
Example: I have an aquaview running in my 10 gallon tank and I have the smallest sponge filter I could find. The aquaview has no discoloring in the filter floss and therefore I would assume no beneficial bacteria. The sponge filter is almost nasty looking after 2 weeks and definately has a massive amount of beneficial bacteria.
If I was to take out the sponge filter, could it not cause an ammonia spike because the aquaview doesn't have the bacteria? When I set up my Aquaclear, will it get the needed bactrerial growth for me to remove the sponge filter? I have my doubts about that.
I guess the real point is that if you do not plan to keep all the filers running in a tank that is overfiltered you can most definately overfilter and run the risk of a disaster if they want to reduce the amount of filtration.