Too much Filtration.

[JosephMCorbett]

Seems like most of the posts I read about setups have way too much filtration than is necessary. I guess you can't have too much, but why bother with the expense and maintenance. I've heard of some 100+ gallon tank with 3 canisters....come on. IMO, if your not overstocked, isn't the recomendation on the box good enough. The Rena XP3 says up to 175 gallon tank. Why do you need two on a 125? Are people just trying to get away from water changes? IMO, tanks under 65 gallons do fine with a single good HOB like a Penguin 330, tanks from 65 to say 150 do fine with a single good canister (why put 3 HOBs?), and tanks above 150 should probably have a good wet/dry sump. All of this is occompanied by proper water changes and gravel vacs., common sense/proper bio-load (maybe even slightly understocked), and adequate airation and surface agitation. Seems people get hung up on guidelines....one inch of fish per gallon, 11 times turnover, etc., etc. I saw one post of a 300 GPH filter on a 30 gallon tank....what! A small HOB would be fine. Some people would scoff, but I've raised perfectly healthy Oscars, Pacus, and JDs with no filter at all. Just large, regular gravel vacs. and water changes. You can't compensate for water changes and gravel vacs.....no matter how many times you turn the water over, you still get crud in the gravel and behind rocks/plants that needs to come out and 10 cannister filter still won't cut it.

 

[pbecot01]

What's your point? You may not have noticed, but a large percentage of this community goes WAY above and beyond what is neccessary. This obviously carries over to filtration.

 

[slipknottin]

Though I essentially agree with you, in that there is no real benefit from extra filtration, I commonly use multiple filters on a tank for redundancy sake. Too many times have I had a filter not restart after a power hiccup, or have a filter jam or break.

 

[RTR]

There is no rule saying that you must overfilter just because some of us do. But then, some of us have learned the hard way that many manufacturer's estimates of filter capacity just may not function in the real world, so for us the recommendation on the box ranges can range from vivid imagination to frank misrepresentation.

I think if you check more closely, quite a few of us who overfilter (in your terms) are the same folk pushing large and frequent water changes. We are called conservative hobbyists.

 

[JosephMCorbett]

I guess I don't really have a point, I was maybe looking for some explanations? I think your right, that most of the people on this site are going overboard and filtration is just one of the many areas in which they do it. I can understand. We all have a lot of money and time invested in our charges and we want to do the best for them. I also can understand redundancy - this makes sense. It's just that after reading so many threads you start to look at your own system and second guess it.

 

[JosephMCorbett]

RTR, I checked out your tank specs. page and all I can say is holey-moley. You are a LFS unto yourself. Impressive.

 

[StreetCypher]

I'm runnning 2 XP3s and an AC500 on my 180 (according to Rena, 1 XP3 should do the job). I'm in need of some major filtration upgrading. I keep large preds though and they are much messier than most fish. They also get a lot of raw fish, raw shrimp and prawns, live earthworms and crickets, as well as your standard high protein pellets, all the raw/live foods shibby the water faster than straight out pellets.
I still water change ~40-60% 7-10 days and thats barely enough.

 

[Harlock]

Maybe you are referring to me thinking about the 2 XP3s on a 125. That is certainly my plan. For one, I like redundancy. If one filter goes out, there is a backup of adequate size until I can get a replacement. I do this with heaters as well. Secondly, I primarily use sand as a substrate. The water movement and subsequent mechanical filtration keeps the water clear of most debris as well as keeps the surface of the sand clean as two filters remove any "dead zones". I happen to like water and substrate that doesn't have a lot of fish crap in it. Sand, unlike gravel, shows fish waste, dead leaves etc. very readily. Thirdly, I like having places to store extra biological media without having to run a sponge filter in a show tank so that I can get my quarantine tank up and running when I need it without fear of a cycle.

You don't have to like it. You don't have to agree with my reasoning. By assuming I am trying to get out of water changes or looking to overstock, you've fallen prey to falsehoods. I do 50% water changes and substrate vacs at least once a week, generally every five days as a rule. I clean one power filter one week, and the other the next. This helps prevent accidents of detroying my whole bio-filter should something go wrong. Also, I am very careful not to overstock. So far, my results have been great this way. I have healthy plants and fish and a tank that is crystal clear and a pleasure to look at. In other words I'll stic with what I do, and if you're pleased with how your setups go, I suggest you stick with yours.

 

[Aqualung]

I currently have only one HOB filter on both my 29 and 40 gal. They are rated for double the tank sizes, and they do the job ok along with my very frequent water changes. However, once my tax return comes in I will be adding more filtration due to the reasons already stated. I have invested a good deal of money in my fish - not to mention they would be very hard to replace, and should anything go wrong with one filter while I happen to be away, it would be good to have backup.

 

[Dragon Queen]

RTR, I checked out your tank specs. page and all I can say is holey-moley. You are a LFS unto yourself. Impressive.

No kidding, do you have a seperate house for all of those, or any helpers?