Not possible to over filter i worded it wrong but why would i spend more money on another filter if its not needed!!! which would mean over filtering
water changes
- Thread starter smokeythebair
- Start date
There is no such thing as too much water changed. Its not possible. Fifty percent a week is not excessive. I have tanks that I change much more than that. 50% weekly is the minimum changed. Fresh water fish love fresh water. Tanks that have more water changed have less problems and have healthier fish. Seriously fight to prevent your nitrates from ever going over 20ppm. You WILL see a difference.
Your filter needs to move your tank water through 5-8 times an hour. A Penguin 350 will move a 55 gallon tank 6+ times an hour. Its fine.
Your filter needs to move your tank water through 5-8 times an hour. A Penguin 350 will move a 55 gallon tank 6+ times an hour. Its fine.
no such thing as over filtration. Honestly it depends on what you have in the tank what types of fish and if you have real plants.
smokeythebair;4742249; said:
I would do a 35% water change once a week, on Sunday.............Clean out the filter once a month, toomuch cleaning will lead to an unbalance of bacteria.............A good way of knowing if the bacteria has gone hay-wire is if the water turns milk white cloudy..............
smokeythebair;4742338; said:
If your nitrates are that high then you need to buy another filter and do more frequent and larger water changes. 50% per week should be your baseline. And NEVER let your nitrates go above 20 ppm. Your fish may seem fine but the long term affects will present themselves soon enough.
importracer;4742447; said:
Clean out your mechanical filter when it becomes dirty, however often that may be. The easiest way to may sure you don't disrupt the bacterial colony in your filter is to always keep the mech. portion clean and never mess with the bio portion of the filter. Having two filters will help keep a balance because you can clean the mech part of each on alternating weeks with little disruption to your system.
Filters are only a bridge between water changes. Most fish in the wild don't experience any nitrates so why should they be expected to in our aquariums? There is no such thing ad overfiltering or changing too much water. Heck, if you could change 100% daily, you'd never need a filter at all
I was told to much water change would mess with the bact but i didn't really think it would because isn't it in the filter, gravel and on plants and rocks??
If you only have one filter and your cleaning the bio portion it could, but that's why two filters are better than one. I have four on each of my tanks so I never have to deal with any imbalances in the bio activity of my tanks. 50% changes shouldn't be too much as your biofilter ( if properly seeded and maintained) will expand and contract according to your bioload. And other than a denitrator ( which happen to be very tricky to use) water changes are the only way to remove nitrates.
On a side note, you may want to test your water supply for added nitrates. Mine changes depending in the amount of local rainfall and time of year. Certain times I barely need to add a water conditioner at all and other times I need lots, so make sure your are adding o good conditioner to your new water. Prime, Stress coat, etc
On a side note, you may want to test your water supply for added nitrates. Mine changes depending in the amount of local rainfall and time of year. Certain times I barely need to add a water conditioner at all and other times I need lots, so make sure your are adding o good conditioner to your new water. Prime, Stress coat, etc
