3 filters Too Much Filtration?

Is it possible to have too much filtration? I just bought a used 29 gal that came with a bunch of stuff, including three filters. I have all three running now but is it necessary?

 

Is it possible to have too much filtration? I just bought a used 29 gal that came with a bunch of stuff, including three filters. I have all three running now but is it necessary?

As long as the fish aren't being blown around the tank it should be fine

 

There is no such thing as too much filtration but too much water flow is possible. Some fish like current, some don’t so if they seem to to be struggling then you might have too much current.

 

Ok thank you. There are no fish yet so I'll just keep them running for now.

 

More filters means more surface area for beneficial bacteria.

 

While "more" filtration media sounds better, but the question is, do you actually have more bacteria, or just using electricity needlessly?

The reason I say this is because if you don't have enough bioload to support a BB population on that maximizes on all 3 filters, then yes they are still living on the media, but you might be able to hold that population on 2 or even 1 of your filters, depending on the load.

This why there might be a saying of "never can have too much filtration" but I personally think there could be "too much filtration media", as far as the surface area goes.

An example would be that if you had 1 filter that is rated for a 100 gallon tank (along with all the media it provides, and even more if you add something to large reservoir), but you somehow rig it up to use it on your 10 gallon tank, along with the normal fish population that a 10 gallon can handle. There would be a flow problem but there would also be a lot of surface area that the 10 gallon fish population probably can't fill.

 

While "more" filtration media sounds better, but the question is, do you actually have more bacteria, or just using electricity needlessly?

The reason I say this is because if you don't have enough bioload to support a BB population on that maximizes on all 3 filters, then yes they are still living on the media, but you might be able to hold that population on 2 or even 1 of your filters, depending on the load.

This why there might be a saying of "never can have too much filtration" but I personally think there could be "too much filtration media", as far as the surface area goes.

An example would be that if you had 1 filter that is rated for a 100 gallon tank (along with all the media it provides, and even more if you add something to large reservoir), but you somehow rig it up to use it on your 10 gallon tank, along with the normal fish population that a 10 gallon can handle. There would be a flow problem but there would also be a lot of surface area that the 10 gallon fish population probably can't fill.

Thank you for that info. My tank is now lightly stocked with 7 danios. I removed two filters. One because it sounded like it was trying to juggle marbles.

This brings up another question. If I remove all my fish from my 10 gal, how long with the BB last without the bioload?

 

The reason I say this is because if you don't have enough bioload to support a BB population on that maximizes on all 3 filters, then yes they are still living on the media, but you might be able to hold that population on 2 or even 1 of your filters, depending on the load.

As much as I agree with this statement, I still prefer to have the load spread out over two filters because:
1. If there is an ammonia spike, the two filters will probably deal with it better then one filter as they will have the twice the tolerance.
2. If one filter goes down, then the other will take over - great help especially if one fails and you have to wait a while for parts.
3. With two filters, you can get the water movement within the tank balance better as you can locate the intakes / outlets to where the water movement is required.