Can you have to much filtration?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Bderick67 said:
So four AC110s or Emp 400s on a 55g tank? :duh: What a waste of $200 in filters when one AC110 will effectively filter a 55g no matter what the stock.

Pennies a month add up,At 10 cents per kilowatt hour it costs a little more then a buck a month to run an AC110. Mutliply by 3 on multiple tanks and now your talking over a 100 bucks a year wasted. Senseless :screwy:
Click to expand...

1 buck per month, times 4(4 filters, AC110 for the sake of discussion), times 12 months in a year, equals.....$48:duh:

Whatever, this is a "can I" thread, not a "should I"...duh. We all know we shouldn't waste electricity.:screwy:
 
ColeFishing said:
Ok. Then I might just move the g3 to my 75 so it can back up the fluval405
And keep the fluval C3 and aquaclear30 on my 26. Sound good?


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Click to expand...

You do what you want to do! I am behind putting major water through major filter! My 210 is doing 8x turn over through a sump. Some people think that isnt enough. I think if your fish are thriving, then go for it! If it isnt causing stress, why not? Part of the fun in this hobby is trial and error, yes, error. Experimentation, exploration! Its what it is all about. Dont be afraid to try things, and dont let a bunch of opinions sway determination and curiosity!
 
imo if your fish are being blown around you have too much water movement.. thats not technically filtration. you can have a bio tower the size of a garbage can.. to filter a goldfish bowl... is it overkill? obviousely.. but imo most people under filter, which is why water quality issues are such a problem in the hobby. that and they dont do water changes enough ect ect.... so is it possible? yes, likely? no... its like saying you can take too good of care of yourself.

I think running 2 filters on a tank is ideal, each rated enough to handle the tank alone imo. particularly with hobs ive noticed they undergage what they can do. ie i run emp 400s on my 75 is it overkill? imo no. if one filter goes out i have insurance. not to mention the bio capacity isnt a worry.
 
boldtogether said:
1 buck per month, times 4(4 filters, AC110 for the sake of discussion), times 12 months in a year, equals.....$48:duh:

Whatever, this is a "can I" thread, not a "should I"...duh. We all know we shouldn't waste electricity.:screwy:
Click to expand...


That's just on your one tank, most people have multiple tanks and most people pay alot more then 10 cent per kilowatt hour.

The answer to his question is YES, you CAN have TOO MUCH filtration. Key words in CAPS for ya.
 
I am new to the site (not to keeping fish, though), and need 5 posts to be a "full MFK member", so here goes....

Leaving aside power usage and blowing fish around, I am in the you cannot have too much filtration camp. I have an over crowded 55 gallon African cichlid tank (22 fish, including targets and a pleco), using a 500 gph HO filter (heavily modified), a Magnum 350, a 300 gph pump pulling in through a sponge and then down the under gravel filter tubes and about 200 gph through a home made wet/dry filter in a sump tank, which holds an additional 5 gallons. Although the level is low, ammonia is always present. Nitrites are zero, and I gain about 7-10 ppm nitrates per week. I like the redundancy, so if one system goes out (or I pull one to maintain it), the others will be adequate.
 
If you only clean your your mechanical media once per month it doesn't matter if you you have 100 filters. If you clean 1 of the filters once per day, then I think that's reasonable. To me the concept of filtration is a bit misunderstood. If you let a filter run for a month without cleaning it out, it's not really filtration at all, it's just sequestration, by that I mean, you are just taking the gunk from one room, and putting it in a another, not really getting it out. If you have a sponge on a powerhead and squeeze it out over other day, that's better than 4 canisters you clean out once per month.
 
So then is it safe to say that it depends on the person...fish...time...etc? i overfilter because it eases my mind about being afraid that im filtering too little...and i dont want the fish to suffer. Isnt that the point of filtration? (Not being smart) so that it takes the "stuff" out of the water and puts it in a place easy to manage? My biggest thing is my schedule. I simply dont have time to change water every other day, so instead of not enjoying the hobby all together...i over filter. It only buys me time. Obviously filtration doesnt replace changing the water...but id prefer a better situation than worse. I do think there is a cutoff to where you cant get any cleaner so to speak...and you would eventually have to do a water change bc the filters wont perform magic:) but if youd like to keep them on the tank i think its a good idea to change the media depending on your situation..chemical..mechanical..biological..but if your fish are " blowing in the wind" you may wanna take some off Haha you can maybe determine your need by taking some off and observing how the conditions change..and switch the filters around accordingly. at the end of the day, do what gives you piece of mind. I used to check ammonia every day and drove myself crazy..i havent checked it in at least 2 months and my fish are just fine. So make decisions based on your own situation. Sorry so long. Good luck:)

Wait...i just remembered...are we talking about a 55? Sorry..lol still do what you want...maybe a canister and a hangon depending on media and what theyre rated for. Gl!

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Sorry about my long post. I was thrown off by reading all of the responses. Im not sure about the exact filters you mentioned initially regarding your 26 gallon...but id make sure i was turning over quite a few times and i think youll be more than okay. Sorry again.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom