Too much bio-filtration? Is there such a thing?

[[email protected]]

Hi my fishy friends,

Q: Is there such a thing as "too much bio-filtration"?

Q: Would doubling or quadrupling water turnover (from the 10X rule of
thumb) be safety redundant or just a big waste of money? Mind you I'm
not using any UG filtration as I hate those dirt holders!

I now have a 29 gal with only one cute little Spotted Green Puffer and
a AC 110 set on the 300 gph "low setting".

I now have two 55 gal's each with one AC110 on the 500 gph "high
setting" and since the tanks are so wide I'm considering to add another
AC110 to each! I love these filters, I'd throw a couple in my bath tub
if I could!!!

One 55 is a Clown Loach tank, the other is a Sichlid/catfish tank and
neither is "over populated" as of now but I hear talk that the fish
will grow bigger and bigger.

Thanks, Karl.


P.s. WTB, 75/90 gal project tank around PHX AZ, email please... :)

[carlrs]

wrote:
> Hi my fishy friends,
>
> Q: Is there such a thing as "too much bio-filtration"?

No and Yes. If your bio filter is clean and regularly rinsed, in other
words no organic slime or sludge build up, the answer is no. If you for
example are running a canister filter with 3" of muck on the bottom
that has not been cleaned in months, thus becoming a nitrate factory,
the answer is yes (but that is not happening in oyur case from what I
can tell).

> Q: Would doubling or quadrupling water turnover (from the 10X rule of
> thumb) be safety redundant or just a big waste of money? Mind you I'm
> not using any UG filtration as I hate those dirt holders!
>
> I now have a 29 gal with only one cute little Spotted Green Puffer and
> a AC 110 set on the 300 gph "low setting".
>
> I now have two 55 gal's each with one AC110 on the 500 gph "high
> setting" and since the tanks are so wide I'm considering to add another
> AC110 to each! I love these filters, I'd throw a couple in my bath tub
> if I could!!!
>
> One 55 is a Clown Loach tank, the other is a Sichlid/catfish tank and
> neither is "over populated" as of now but I hear talk that the fish
> will grow bigger and bigger.
>
> Thanks, Karl.
>

I am a big believer in filter redundancy, so more is generally better,
especially if it compliments your excisting filter(s). An internal
filter would get good cross filter flow and compliment your Aqua Clears
quite well. The Via Aqua 306 is an excellent choice for your 55 gals.

Carl

[dc]

wrote in news:1158773887.160709.150440
@m73g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

> Q: Is there such a thing as "too much bio-filtration"?

No. The bacteria living in your biological media will populate itself only
to the degree necessary to consume the available nutrients. Increasing the
amount of bio-filtration won't increase your bacteria levels, only the
amount of surface area available to them to do their job.


> Q: Would doubling or quadrupling water turnover (from the 10X rule of
> thumb) be safety redundant or just a big waste of money? Mind you I'm
> not using any UG filtration as I hate those dirt holders!

Increasing the flow rate will only help you with mechanical filtration. It
may in fact slightly hinder biological filtration--your filter may end up
doing the same work in multiple passes than it can in one pass at a slower
rate.

If you are just talking about adding on more filters then you are just
spreading out the workload across multiple mediums--nothing wrong with
that, but the dramatic increase in current may stress your fish depending
on the species.

Most filters use a flow rate that is higher than the ideal for biological
filtration--no doubt to allow for adequate filtration as they age and
become clogged. Eheim canister filters are the only filters I know of that
have their flow rate tweaked specifically to facilitate the biological
break down of wastes. Compare the Eheims to other canisters and you will
find they are much slower than comparable canisters rated for the same size
tank, but then the main media they use is quite different as well.

[Eric]

On Wed, 20 Sep 2006 12:38:07 -0500, wrote
(in article . com>):

> Hi my fishy friends,
>
> Q: Is there such a thing as "too much bio-filtration"?
>
> Q: Would doubling or quadrupling water turnover (from the 10X rule of
> thumb) be safety redundant or just a big waste of money? Mind you I'm
> not using any UG filtration as I hate those dirt holders!
>
> I now have a 29 gal with only one cute little Spotted Green Puffer and
> a AC 110 set on the 300 gph "low setting".
>
> I now have two 55 gal's each with one AC110 on the 500 gph "high
> setting" and since the tanks are so wide I'm considering to add another
> AC110 to each! I love these filters, I'd throw a couple in my bath tub
> if I could!!!
>
> One 55 is a Clown Loach tank, the other is a Sichlid/catfish tank and
> neither is "over populated" as of now but I hear talk that the fish
> will grow bigger and bigger.

Too much bio filtration in the sense of causing harm? No. But there may
certainly be such a thing as useless filtration. I'd say the AC 110 on the 29
is overkill and to add a second AC to the 55's would be unhelpful unless
those tanks are grossly overcrowded.

And remember, bio filtration mostly just converts ammonia to nitrate. If you
don't do enough water changes you will still reach stress levels of nitrate
no matter how much filtration you have.

There are conditions where one might want much less biofiltration than is
usually recommended. Plants are able to harvest ammonia directly from the
water. A thriving heavily planted tank needs almost no biofiltration.

-E