How much is too much?

[Talvari]

I've gotten into this discussion a few times with customers of mine as well as fellow fish enthusiasts: How much is too much when it comes to filtration?

I have heard a few different sides of the story, though Im leaning more towards side "B"...

Side A) Too much filtration is bad. It can take out too much good bacteria and it causes too much current in the tank. You should stick within a few gallons! (example. 20 gallon tank with at most a 30 gallon filter)

Side B) No such thing as too much filtration. In the wild, there are so many different types of filtration, from plants to rocks, and they ecosystem is so much more balanced with bacteria and animals filling each niche of the food web. The more filtration you have in an aquarium, the healthier the fish would be. (Example, a 60 gallon tank with a 90 gallon filter)

What do you guys think?

 

[jcolon]

Side B) No such thing as too much filtration. In the wild, there are so many different types of filtration, from plants to rocks, and they ecosystem is so much more balanced with bacteria and animals filling each niche of the food web. The more filtration you have in an aquarium, the healthier the fish would be. (Example, a 60 gallon tank with a 90 gallon filter)

Yep ... this is often a source of a lot of debate.

IMO ... it's not so much as too much filtration (lots of places for BB), but there is such a thing as too many filters. BB grows in response to Bio-load, so at some point you may have a bunch of filters providing excess current, but it's not filtering the water an better. Depending on the stock, some aquarists look to do a GPH 10x the tank's volume with large bio-load fish. I'd think a GPH of 5x gets the job done for smaller bio-loads.

So a running a fluval 405 (100gal cap) in a 40g sounds fine, running two may be a bit much and an FX-5 a full force may be too much current.

 

[MonsterfishGuy]

You cant have to much filtration!!

If there is to much water movement the problem is about water movement and not about filtration!! Put spray bar!!

With more filtration you can put more fish with less work on maintenance!!

But remember that if your fish are territorial the limit is on space and not on filtration.

For example, my malwi tank of 77 gal.run a fluval 405 and a fluval U-4.

My brackish 140 gal. Run a FX5, a fluval U-4 and a fluval C-4 and my cycle is great!!

I over filter all my 25 gal as i put to much non-territorial fish and i want them to be clean and healthy so i run a aquaclear 50 and a fluval U-4, that way i run like 50 tetra by 25 gal and the maintenance is easy as the filtratipn is great!!

My neon tank of 25 gal has 80 blue neon and with yhese 2 filters thats always clean and i experience no dead for the last couple of years...

Its more about fish needs than the fact you have to much filtration! To much filtration is just less work for you but its more expensive!!

When you save time you dont save money and vice versa!!!

 

[Talvari]

Awesome. Yeah I always try to convince people who buy the larger tanks (55 long, 60 long, etc) to get an extra filter. One filter on ONE side of a long tank does not provide enough filtration.

My 55 gallon currently has a filter rated for a 60 gallon, but I want to get a second filter... I picked up a filter rated for a 30 gallon tank cause it was on sale for a steal... and of course, it doesnt fit over the back of my tank. The rim is too wide. So I'm thinking the only one that is probably going to fit is another "60 gallon" filter.... That should be fine, though, right? Particularly since the filter is never on full blast. (my knife hates that!)

 

[MonsterfishGuy]

If water movement is to much put spay bar!!

 

[MonsterfishGuy]

But yes a second filter is always good!!

 

[Rokuzachi]

I have two 100g-rated filters on my 56g.

My line of thinking is that in general, we will never be able to approach the amount of flow/circulation fish see in the wild (or "gallons per fish"). They constantly have a fresh source of water as it moves past them, in a stream for example. With the exception of water changes, we're basically recycling the same water over and over for them to swim in as it passes through the filter.

 

[Tigroscr]

I'm going to go with B! As long as the bb is established I don't think you can ever have too much filtration IMO!

 

[jetajockey]

You can never have too much filtration, but still, is there going to be a significant difference between running one large filter on the tank versus running two? If a person has a regular water change routine, and the tank is not so stocked that the filter gets absolutely crusty every week, what would be the point other than just running up the power bill?

I look at it from a cost vs purpose standpoint since I have so many tanks, every little bit helps. That's why I'm not running t5ho lighting on most of my tanks.

 

[MonsterfishGuy]

Thats a good point!! I've never noticed the energy cost because in Quebec, Canada the electricity is cheap!!

 

[jsoong]

I go for B ... but yes, there is a point of diminishing return.

For FW, 10 - 15x hourly turnover is prob the max for return. Running more won't hurt the fish, but prob won't do too much good.

 

[epiphysis]

I go for B as well.

I prefer also to have 2 filters that each will carry my tank alone. It has happened that one filter stoped working in the middle of the night. In that case the other filter will still carry. But this is in the case of internal and HOB filters.

And also remember, that what the package say the strength is and what the actual strengh of the filter is can differ a lot. As soon as you got water going through and debris start setting in the flow rate will start to deminish. Nothing you can do about. It its what the filter is there for.

Just my 10c worth

 

[BillD]

As already mentioned, adding more filtration when there is sufficient, only increases the flow. Adding more filtration so you can increase the bioload does not decrease maintenance. If the filters are working you will have to change more water, and the filters will need to be cleaned more often. If you look at sponge filters, they have very little flow and work rather well.

 

[Bubble_B0y]

If water movement is to much put spay bar!!

this!

But to answer the original question. If your fish are constantly in a whirlpool, then there is too much filtration.
You don't want to stress your fish with very strong current, but you want a high turnover rate.

Also, you need to practical when it comes to overfiltration
There is such a thing as redundant filtration.
It will be silly if the filter was bigger than the tank itself i.e. a 100 gallon wet/dry filter, on a 10 gallon tank.


Also, a filter does NOT necessarily mean more fish.
Fish still need room to grow and do not like being crowded.

Having a 100 gallon sump on a 10 gallon tank does NOT mean you can keep 100 gallons worth of fish.
Yes, you have more 100 gallons of water, but the size of the tank does not change - its still 10 gallons!

 

[Sco453]

I'm on the bigger is better side if you have a sump, purely because you can load up with bio balls etc. the level of bacteria will be proportional to 'system load' but if you have excess capacity then you have a safety factor built in.
External canisters are okay and are great for loading up with media, people can add additional filtration and not overly affect water speed or turbidity.
I hate internals, unsightly and on the low side of media area in my opinion.

People need to remember they are caring for living creatures, too often I've seen people in shops happily buying more fish because the tank had crashed; the but that makes me angry are these faceless shops blindly sell them more without getting to the bottom of what's gone wrong!!?? If they were coming back repeatedly for a kitten or puppy they'd soon ask why.

Rant over!!! ?