Too Much Filtration...is It Possible?

[Chris_R]

Is there such a thing as too much filtration?
For instance if I am going to get an external Fluval or similar for my second tank as its got a stand to hide one away under (may get one for the first tank too at some stage). My tank is 70 litres so any of the 105, 205, 305 range etc are rated above my tank capacity, however, the 205 is marginally more expensive (like within a few quid) than the 105 and the 305 is also within reach of my wallet.

Could going for a bigger filter than I actually need be detrimental in anyway to the well being of my tank, and ultimately my fish? Or is bigger always better in regards to filters?

Also are Tetratec, Fluval and Enheim all much of a muchness at a budget of around £60? Should I need to spend more than that? Do they all come with the necessary equipment to get started? I can see the Tetratec appears to have all the pipework with it...

Any help appreciated.

 

[fish-aholic]

I believe that there is no such thing a over filtering. I am going to run four eheims and a wet/dry on a 90g. I would chip in a bit more money and go for an eheim (they are amazing). If not the at least try for the Tetratec (heard good reviews about them. All of them come with the pipework.

 

[Chris_R]

I believe that there is no such thing a over filtering. I am going to run four eheims and a wet/dry on a 90g. I would chip in a bit more money and go for an eheim (they are amazing). If not the at least try for the Tetratec (heard good reviews about them. All of them come with the pipework.

Thanks for the help fish-aholic, I have been doing some further reading (think the search is broken on here at the moment so took a while browsing pages of posts) and it looks like a toss up between the Tetratec EX700 or a Classic Eheim 2213 or 2215 at the moment. Tetratec looks more modern and has more user friendly features while the Eheim are well proven, reliable and also quiet.
Hmmm decisions

Edit:
Actually it was quicker than I thought, Zooplus had the Ex 700 for £50 plus 10% off first order (and a free coconut cave LOL) which won the deal

 

[fish-aholic]

I think you will be happy with your purchase. It is called the marineland multi-stage in the states and its a fierce rival of the eheim.

 

[marcan]

You must consider filtration and current.

Over filtration is not a bad thing....however strong current is not appropriate for some fish.

If your current is too strong, you can use a spray bar or you can position the flow output on the glass.

 

[SuperColey1]

I have an EX700 and its a darned good filter.

One thing to take into account is : Is the filter actually overfiltering?

It may say on a box the flow rate but once media is inside and then allowing for some gunk inside then the flowrate is greatly reduced.

The tetratec comes with all the media which is good in one way BUT. IMO it has too much media in it. The flowrate reduces very quickly.

Therfore in mine I have removed some of the bio balls to fit a black pad from the second compartment in the same tray, then removed the remaining media from the second tray and put it where the carbon goes in the top tray.

Andy

 

[Lateral Line]

The current issue has already been mentioned, this can definitely be detrimental to your fish. If you want a high tech planted tank, then you definitely don't want to much water movement otherwise you'll loose the benefits of your hi-tech.

The bacteria in your filter(s) need food to survive. Adding twice the accomodation without doubling the food source is not going to give you twice the bacteria, rather you'll get roughly the same bacteria spread over a larger area. In this regard, adding more filters then necessary is simply a waste.

Where it can be a bonus however, is in the event of a failure. I routinely use 2 small externals on my big tanks rather then one larger model. That said, I have never lost an Eheim that wasn't due to my own stupidity, so I am protecting my setups against an unlikely scenario...

 

[CFC]

As LL said no matter how many filters you add or how much media you have in them the bacteria colony size is still governed by the ammount of waste produced and how much oxygen is available to the bacteria, having more than two filters of suitable size running is just a waste of electricity.

 

[Chris_R]

Hmmm, I am little less sure about my purchase for the 2nd tank and think it would be better suited to tank 1 from what I am understanding reading here.
Tank 2 is basically going to be my Crayfish and possibly one or two tank mates nothing else.
Tank 1 on the other hand is home to a host of mollies which produce an awful lot of waste and I am forever cleaning the internal filter (Juwel) and hoovering the gravel substrate.

The crayfish tank is going to be not a lot of waste so it may be as well with just the hang on or a smaller external.

The flow rates are not a huge worry as tank 2 will be only fake plants in there due to the cray just ripping them up all the time.

 

[mlawson]

If you want a high tech planted tank, then you definitely don't want to much water movement otherwise you'll loose the benefits of your hi-tech.

Actually recently a lot of people use high-flow, and large turn-over rates in high-tech planted tanks. As long as you have a lot of additional CO2 the movement actually lets nutrients and CO2 get to the plants more easily, it also prevents dead spots. This would not work very well in a Low-tech system however.

 

[Dave Spencer]

I have just recently bought two Tetratec 1200 filters for a 240l tank which will be a "high tech" planted, which works out at a turn over of ten times per hour.

It may sound like a lot of filtration, but as Andy says, you never get what it says on the tin. I will also be adding an inline CO2 reactor and inline heater, which will restrict the flow, so I will take a large amount of the filter media to keep the movement of water all around the tank.

I suppose you are only overfiltered if the current is causing your fish distress.

Dave.

 

[matt121073]

well i hope you cant over filter i have a fluval 302 and 303 externals ( which i would not give a thank you for) and a rena xp2 in a 200 litre set up, all in all my tank water is filtered roughly 8 times an hour. my water is crystal clear but that could be the 50% water change i do weekly oh well it works for me

 

[Chris_R]

Well the Ex700 turned up this morning and its a beast of a thing. I set it up on tank 1 as I think it should be the quickest way to "mature" it along side the existing internal Juwel unit.
Need to cut the hole in the lid a bit larger though, will get to that later on today I think.

 

[philfista]

Hi Chris i have a Jewel 180 with a internal filter which i think was not man enough for the job so also bought a tetratec but the 1200 as i want to upgrade later but dont want to spash out on another filter. What a difference , just overnight the tank was crystal clear.

My advice is to cycle the new filter with the old one for a month 6 weeks. I took all the media sponges out of my Jewel and put them in the new one , which i thought was o.k ,,, wrong the tank went into a mini cycle for a week the reading were really high and i had to do water changes every day. Very lucky not to lose some fish.

You might want to buy a long pipe brush because in a couple of months your pipes will be green.

 

[Chris_R]

Hi Chris i have a Jewel 180 with a internal filter which i think was not man enough for the job so also bought a tetratec but the 1200 as i want to upgrade later but dont want to spash out on another filter. What a difference , just overnight the tank was crystal clear.

My advice is to cycle the new filter with the old one for a month 6 weeks. I took all the media sponges out of my Jewel and put them in the new one , which i thought was o.k ,,, wrong the tank went into a mini cycle for a week the reading were really high and i had to do water changes every day. Very lucky not to lose some fish.

You might want to buy a long pipe brush because in a couple of months your pipes will be green.

Would wholeheartedly agree with that. The water has cleared massively in just a day or two! Highly recommend one to anyone. Its super silent too IMO.