Can I over filter

[Chicxulub]

It is if you also want to keep the smaller tank, in which case you'll need to buy an appropriate sized filter for it anyway. And who really wants to sell a tank?! Also, the size of the filter could limit your potential to upgrade, unless you're willing to run an Ultima 4000 on a 55g!



But yeah, you do have a point. It certainly makes sense if you're just getting into things and bigger tanks are on the cards to buy products (not just filters) that will work on larger set ups. But if we're talking about a permanent set up, there will be a level (depending on stock, feeding, water changes etc) after which more filtration simply becomes a waste of money, both in buying the gear and running it.

So unless you have an unlimited budget, I still believe you can over-filter a tank.

I'm actually running a bead filter roughly equivalent to an Ultima 4000 on my 150 gallon.

It's not possible to over filter a tank. Can you break the bank on filters? Yes. Is it possible to have too much filtration on a tank? Never.

 

[David R]

I think what is differing here is our definition of "over filtering". Obviously you can't harm fish by simply having too much filtration. You could have a 55g plumbed into 20 filter socks and a cubic metre of pond matrix and your fish would be fine. Would the fish be any healthier than with a correctly sized filter for the tank? No.

Can you "over-filter" a tank in the sense that you will harm your fish? No, not really.
Can you "over-filter" in the sense that you are not achieving anything by adding more filtration? Certainly.


Maybe you can't "over filter", but you can definitely have more than enough filtration...