To Many Filters?

bunk97

bunk97

Member
I have a 55 gallon tank I was wondering if you guys think that this is to many filters I have 2 fluval 404's 1 eheim wet/dry 2227 a prizm protein skimmer a regualr power filter and a power head. Would you take any of this out or just leave it in. I was told by many of people that you can never have enough filters. That is why I have so many But I do have other tanks i could put some on but this is going to be my main tank. So any suggestions would be great. Thank you!
humahuma
foxface Med
humahuma trigger Big
maroon clown Med
yellow tang Big
 
blutang

blutang

Member
The more filtration they better I've always said, just make sure you keep them clean or you'll be dealing with a nitrate factory.
 
broomer5

broomer5

Active Member
In theory - you only need enough surface area for the bacteria to grow on - that will maintain the colony to sufficient numbers to consume/convert the ammonia / nitrite in the tank.
You could have hang on power filters lined up end to end, all the way around the 55 gallon tank's front, sides and back- and 10 more Fluvals and a couple more wet/drys- but what would you really gain besides a lot more water circulation ?
One might expect the bacteria to grow on all these filter media surfaces - but their growth and numbers are somewhat limited to the available ammonia, nitrite and O2, among other things.
I think it's possible to have too much biofiltration (powerfilters) for a given tank load, and is not necessary - but I wouldn't start yanking them off a system all at once if already in place and working.
I'd prefer to have my bacteria in a concentrated colony, doing what they do best, than to spread them around too thin in multiple filter media.
MO
 
blutang

blutang

Member
Or thats a good suggestion, I was just thinking about more bio-filtration=better water and more movement.
 
shadow678

shadow678

Member
You can certainly take one of the Fluval 404's off, as they are each rated to properly filter up to 100 gal tanks. As for the others, If you decide to cut down your filter load, I would suggest taking one off every 2 weeks so the remaining filters can adjust.
 
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