# overfilteration no problems



## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

i am trying this overfilteration trick where theres a filter at end of the tank and the water is really moving alot lol aparently from what i was reading over filteration will leave u with no problems and a well oxygenated tank with clearer water. on another site the guy who over filters his tank claims to have no animonia or bad water troubles.


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## H . (Apr 23, 2010)

You can do "overfilteration", but your filters will do part time jobs....


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Hugo is 100% correct. Filtration does give you lots of surface for your bio-media. Over filtration will only give you room in case you want to add more fish and load your bio more. You still need to change water to get rid of nitrate unless you have a marine tank.

If you want surface movement, try using a circlation pump and aim it to the surface. That will give you lots of O2.


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

I ALWAYS overfilter my tanks. I find my tanks are less prone to ammonia spikes because I often overfeed (so my ottos get enough to eat). I also like the extra circulation for CO2 dispersion .

Respectfully,

Stuart


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

CRS Fan said:


> I ALWAYS overfilter my tanks. I find my tanks are less prone to ammonia spikes because I often overfeed (so my ottos get enough to eat). I also like the extra circulation for CO2 dispersion .
> 
> Respectfully,
> 
> Stuart


Same, i love overfiltering haha

ive got a 25 gallon sump, a fluval 205, and an xp3 all on my 1 55gallon tank
if i get the 90 gallon im looking at (48x24" footprint) i plan to run a fluval 404 and a 405 on it plus sump


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## Gone Fishy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hello,

Does a 130 gallon with an fx5 and an ac110, and water change every 4 days count as overfiltration?! Just my two cents, but overfiltration does not in any way mean 'hands off' or no maintenance. I still do water changes every 4 or 5 days with gravel vac....there's no other way to remove the nitrates, as Charles stated. At some point it will become redundant as you can only produce enough food to support your maxed out bacteria. But, it certainly will be beneficial to support spikes from overfeeding, over crowding at points, etc., this coupled with the advantage of having more than one filter come cleaning time and no mini-cycles or 'blooms' of any kind, is the way to go. The big problem with overfiltration is the false sense of security it may give individuals who may think that there is no reason to intervene.

Lance


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

im definitely in the overfilteration crowd. I like the extra circulation without taking up space within the tank


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

Gone Fishy said:


> Hello,
> 
> Does a 130 gallon with an fx5 and an ac110, and water change every 4 days count as overfiltration?! Just my two cents, but overfiltration does not in any way mean 'hands off' or no maintenance. I still do water changes every 4 or 5 days with gravel vac....there's no other way to remove the nitrates, as Charles stated. At some point it will become redundant as you can only produce enough food to support your maxed out bacteria. But, it certainly will be beneficial to support spikes from overfeeding, over crowding at points, etc., this coupled with the advantage of having more than one filter come cleaning time and no mini-cycles or 'blooms' of any kind, is the way to go. The big problem with overfiltration is the false sense of security it may give individuals who may think that there is no reason to intervene.
> 
> Lance


X2!!!
You stole the words right out of my mouth.

All my tanks have 3 times(or more) filtration.
It's just easier for me to do maintenance.
I now have plants growing out of my HOBs too.
The plants will help a little with nitrares, but I still do weekly WC's, & daily PWC's on some of my tanks.


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## 240sx (Sep 4, 2010)

`GhostDogg´ said:


> I now have plants growing out of my HOBs too.
> The plants will help a little with nitrares, but I still do weekly WC's, & daily PWC's on some of my tanks.


This I want to see!


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

240sx said:


> This I want to see!


I just stared about week ago, I want to do a Riparium eventually.
I thought this would be a good test on what plants can make the transition.
So far the plants are surviving, most of the roots are just below the water level in my HOB's.
Some of the larger roots are submerged in my tanks(hanging from my HOB).
I have the same plants in pots too(natural sunlight), just to use as a reference.

It's really nothing fancy, it's probably as you'd picture it in your head.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

neven said:


> im definitely in the overfilteration crowd. I like the extra circulation without taking up space within the tank


You're making an assumption that the overfiltration is in the form of canisters (big water volume increase) or HOB's (small volume increase). If they're using internal filters, it actually takes up more spaces and reduces the water volume.

To address the OP's statement:

The ultimate overfiltration is a sump, where you increase the water volume significantly. Even with my FX5, XP3 and 2028, I'm only increasing the water volume in my 125 gallon by 5- 10% (depending on what's inside and how you measure). I'm planning on going to a 33 gallon sump, which would increase my water volume by 25%. No filter can beat that.

There's nothing wrong with overfiltration, except cost of the filters and energy consumption. Let's look at the cost/benefit:

1. Extra volume - if you use a big canister, you might get up to 10%, so that's a big plus. But if your canister is $500, why not just buy a bigger tank? $500 will buy you a 125 gallon easy, maybe a 240 used.

2. Extra circulation - there is only one outlet, unless you customize and split the outlet, but then you lose outlet pressure. An HK 750 will outcirculate anything but an FX5 and uses 5 watts. The FX5 uses 40 watts I think. No brainer.

3. Oxygenation - powerheads, airpumps, etc., will all do this more efficiently, albeit maybe not as quietly.

So overall, to recap, I think overfiltration makes sense in these situations:

A. You are overstocked, or are planning to overstock.
B. You have space limitations so cannot use the $ saved to get a bigger tank.
C. You like the complexity of multiple filters and the cost is not a big deal for you.
D. You tend not to clean your filters much, so that the flow rate slows WAY down over months.
E. Bragging rights.

Did I miss anything?


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

One more, F, you cant resist a good deal on yet another filter.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Rastapus said:


> One more, F, you cant resist a good deal on yet another filter.


That's true. I'm a sucker for that one.


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## paul_28 (Jan 20, 2011)

the man over the road has 4 pearl scale goldfish in a 5gallon tank and its cloudy water, with no filter just an air pump. so u see i want to keep my fish healthy the reason i gone filter crazy lol


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

paul_28 said:


> the man over the road has 4 pearl scale goldfish in a 5gallon tank and its cloudy water, with no filter just an air pump. so u see i want to keep my fish healthy the reason i gone filter crazy lol


Well, that man has 4 goldfish too many in a 5 gallon tank. If you put a 12 inch fish into a 12 inch long tank, no amount of filtration is going to help. The tank is a closed system. So the fish waste stays in the system no matter how many filters you put into it.


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## `GhostDogg´ (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> 1. Extra volume - if you use a big canister, you might get up to 10%, so that's a big plus. But if your canister is $500, why not just buy a bigger tank? $500 will buy you a 125 gallon easy, maybe a 240 used.


You's still have to pay $500 for a new filter for the bigger tank.
You'd be out $1000 instead of $500 for an existing setup.


Let look @ the facts...
Bigger filter/more filters usually leads to more/new tanks.:lol:

I like option E.
Bragging Rights!!!
:bigsmile:

Just bustin balls.


Another thing about sumps, you get to hide everything in them, which leads to a nice "wire tuck" for your tank.
IMO sumps are a must on any show tanks.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

`GhostDogg´ said:


> You's still have to pay $500 for a new filter for the bigger tank.
> You'd be out $1000 instead of $500 for an existing setup.


Actually forgot that one. $100 for a pump, $30 for a used glass tank, <$200 for the sump if your tank is drilled!


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

125g with a 33g sump = 10%-15% increase only. You never filled up sump all the way.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

charles said:


> 125g with a 33g sump = 10%-15% increase only. You never filled up sump all the way.


A 125 gallon filled will fish plants, rocks, and wood is 100 gallons at best, more like 90 gallons. I extract 60 gallons and it's 3/4 of the tank.  Most of us aren't using bare stock tanks in our living room, Charles.


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