Overfiltration

I like to overfilter slightly - but I feel it's better to split it between two separate filters rather than use one very large one.

I usually do a canister and a HOB, each rated to a bit above the tank size.
 
lots of good advice here.

remember: the filter is there to do 3 main things:

1. provide substrate for nitrifying bacteria to live on, thus keeping ammonia and nitrite zero.

2. to provide water movement/surface movement to help increase the dissolved O2 content

and

3. to keep the water clear

BUT the filter is still part of a CLOSED system, that is, wastes are broken down into nitrates that build up. Thats where our water changes come in.

now, with most smaller fish, you can let the filters go a fair bit of time without servicing.

If you have tankbusters, they need to be serviced much more regularly to avoid clogging and creating nitrate factories.

its better to get that waste out of the tank before it has a chance to be broken down into nitrates.

For example, my Aquaclear 110 gets clogged and pushed up after a week in my 90 with my giant barbs.

thankfully, I have a big Rena XP3 on there that handles the load much more easily and does not clog up so quick.
 
1 good thing about having 2 filters is that you can put the out pipes at opperset ends of the tank and the returns at the same ends and set them to turn over 3 to 4 times an hour thats 1.5 to 2 each which will take care of any dead spots in the tank and increase the bio- load.
 
VFC said:
if you have lake fish like African cichlids, you should have minimum turnover (3x to 5x).
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Seriously ? I over filtered on the basis that they are messy fish ? so in a 180L I run the internal Juwel Filter and a Fluval Four Plus = about 1600lph...I diffuse the flow by running a spray bar on the Fluval and directing the Juwel outlet to the surface of the water...should I get rid of one or the other?

Medium term plan is to install a cannister, as soon as I get the nuts to go drilling behind my tank (complicated set-up for aesthetic reasons...forced on me by my aesthetic technician...)

edit...there really is no visible flow in the tank, because of the diffusion, except accross the top courtesy of the spraybar.
 
no such thing as over filtration, and with the fish needing only a certain amount of bio-load, what if you over feed accidentally, if you only have just enough bio-load for the fish on a normal diet, gonna take a while till the levels go down, if you have a lot of empty bio-filtration area, then the bacteria quickly spreads and you wont have such a bad spike, so to stay on the safe side, get as much filtration as you can get.

No such thing as over filtration but there is such thing as too much current.
 
TEL said:
1 good thing about having 2 filters is that you can put the out pipes at opperset ends of the tank and the returns at the same ends and set them to turn over 3 to 4 times an hour thats 1.5 to 2 each which will take care of any dead spots in the tank and increase the bio- load.
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The PennPlax cannister filters come with a long perforated return flow tube so you can mount it horizontally and get even return flow in your tank....
 
stepan said:
would you work 40 hours extra every week for no pay? (I guess if you really LOVE your job...or you love to waste money/power on extra filtration)
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Not really a waste, having a spare filter is also a good thing when one of them breaks :( or gets clogged. Sometimes I don't get to change my water every week, they are also nice in those instances if you have enough chem media in them (Purigen etc)
 
echoofformless said:
I like to overfilter slightly - but I feel it's better to split it between two separate filters rather than use one very large one.

I usually do a canister and a HOB, each rated to a bit above the tank size.
Click to expand...

redundancy will save your fish! :thm:
 
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