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You’re probably aware of how important bacteria is in a fish tank. It breaks down toxic ammonia into nitrites, and then the nitrites into nitrates which are much less toxic. A lot of this beneficial bacteria in your fish tank will be on the filter, so whenever you change your filter, you want to make sure you retain as much of the bacteria as possible.

The first thing you want to consider is whether or not your filter actually needs replacing. The filter itself won’t need replacing unless it literally doesn’t work, and the media will only need replacing if it is falling apart. And if you need a more powerful filter, you’re better off keeping your current filter and adding a smaller, secondary filter.

If you do need to replace your aquarium filter, the important thing is to keep the media from your old filter in the tank with your new filter for about a month. You can either keep the whole unit in there, or just the media. Another option is to simply use the media from your old filter in the new filter.

Why Is It Important to Prevent Bacteria Loss?

You might already be aware of the importance of beneficial bacteria in a fish tank, but if not, here’s a quick explanation.

Waste from your fish and uneaten food releases ammonia into the water. This ammonia is lethal to your fish. Beneficial bacteria breaks ammonia down into nitrites, and nitrites into nitrates which are less toxic. And then when you perform a water change, many of the nitrates are removed, keeping the water safe for your fish.

Your aquarium filter provides a great environment for bacteria to grow, so when you need to replace the filter, you want to keeps as much bacteria in your tank as possible.

Do You Need to Change the Filter?

There’s a good chance that you don’t actually need to replace your filter or filter media. Many filter manufacturers will recommend changing the media every month or so. Except for chemical filters, this isn’t necessary. The reason manufacturers recommend this is so you spend more money on replacement filter media. As long as the media isn’t falling apart, it won’t need replacing. Instead, give it a thorough rinse once per month in tank water.

Another reason you might think you need a new filter is if your current filter is too small for your tank. In this case, I would actually recommend keeping your current filter and running another small filter along side it. This way you won’t lose the bacteria, but also, if one of the filters stops working, you will have a backup. Another advantage is that you can use one of the old filters that is already colonised with bacteria to get a new tank started more quickly.

Ideally, you don’t want to change your filter, but obviously if your filter has stopped working, you will need to replace it. The rest of this guide will help you with that.

3 Ways to Change a Filter Without Losing Bacteria

There are three ways you can change a filter without losing bacteria. The main thing is to keep the older filter media in your fish tank for a month or so with the new filter.

Option 1

The first option is to leave the old filter in place along side the new filter for a month. This will give time for the new filter to be colonised with bacteria. One thing to watch out for is the flow caused by the filters. If they are creating too much of a flow that it is disturbing your fish, turn down the settings on the filters if you have that option, or you can baffle the filters with filter pads. Unless the old filter is broken or the flow is too strong, it’s a good idea to leave both filters in permanently. If you don’t want to do this, you can remove the old filter after about a month.

Option 2

The second option is to put the media from your old filter into the new filter. The media is where a lot of the bacteria resides. Obviously this will only work if the filter media is the same size and shape for both filters. And of course, this method won’t work if the filter media is falling apart.

Option 3

If your old filter is broken and the media from your old filter doesn’t fit in the new filter, the third option is to place the media from your old filter in the tank next to the new filter. This will allow the new filter to be colonised with bacteria. After a month or so you can remove the old filter media.

Conclusion

Unless your filter is broken or physically falling apart, you probably don’t need to change it. If you need some more filtering power, you’re better off keeping the old filter and running it alongside another small filter. If you really do need to change the filter, to prevent bacteria loss, make sure you keep the old filter media in the tank for about a month.

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Filtration in your fish tank is incredibly important. Without proper filtration, debris and toxins can build up leading to devastating consequences for your fish. The importance of filtration might be clear, but what isn’t, is how often you should change your fish tank filter. The answer depends on which type of filter.

The actual filter itself – which holds the media – won’t need replacing unless it stops working. Mechanical filter media will not need replacing until it starts to fall apart (in fact, replacing it will do more harm than good), however it will need rinsing once every month or so in tank water. Chemical filters will need to be replaced about once per month. Biological filters won’t need replacing until they fall apart, but you will want to rinse them once per month in tank water.

Mechanical Filters

Mechanical filters force the water through media such as a sponge to remove solid debris. This helps to keep your water clear and fish tank clean. The filter itself will not need replacing unless it stops working, and as long as the filter media is not falling apart, it won’t need replacing either.

In fact, there are negative consequences to replacing the media in a mechanical filter. Beneficial bacteria that acts as a biological filter will build up on the media, and replacing the media will completely remove this bacteria from the tank.

Eventually the filter media will start to clog up and you will need to rinse it. You should do this about once per month. It’s a good idea to combine this with a water change so you can use the tank water to rinse the media. This will help to keep as much bacteria as possible on the media. You can also rinse it in conditioned water, but do not rinse in unconditioned tap water.

If the filter media starts to fall apart, it will need replacing. When you start using the new media, leave the old media in the tank for a few weeks to give the new media time to build up bacteria.

Chemical Filters

Chemical filters are used to remove impurities from the water. Carbon is the most common media used. With chemical filters, the media adsorbs particles and will eventually fill up and become saturated. Chemical Filters will need to be replaced about once per month, or at least once every two months.

Biological Filters

Biological filtration occurs all over your fish tank. Beneficial bacteria breaks down ammonia into nitrites, and then nitrites into nitrates which are much less toxic. This bacteria will grow all over your fish tank, especially in the gravel and mechanical filter. You can also purchase biological filters which just act as another place where bacteria can easily grow. You won’t need to change a biological filter until it starts falling apart, but you might want to give it a rinse in tank water every month or so.

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There is a lot of discussion about providing fish tanks with the right level of filtration. Most of the time, people talk about the consequences of under filtering a fish tank. But what about over filtering? In this post, I want to take a look at the different ideas relating to over filtering a fish tank and some things you need to take into consideration.

As long as the flow caused by filters isn’t too powerful for your fish, then over filtering shouldn’t cause them any harm. You are much better off providing your tank with slightly too much filtration rather than not enough.

Too Much Flow Can Be a Problem

The biggest problem you’re going to have with too much filtration in your fish tank is flow. Filters can generate quite a powerful current and your fish don’t want to live in a washing machine. Some fish are fine with a gentle current and actually quite like it. Certain fish – like betta – prefer much calmer water. Do some research on your specific fish to get an idea of the level of water movement they are comfortable with. An effective way of reducing flow is by using foam pads to baffle the filter.

Bacteria & Contact Time with the Water

Biological filtering is extremely important. This is when beneficial bacteria breaks down ammonia into nitrites, and then into much less toxic nitrates. There is an argument that over filtering will reduce the contact the bacteria has with your water.

Beneficial bacteria will grow all over your fish tank, but your filter provides the perfect place for it to grow. As your filter pulls water through it, the water has contact with the bacteria. If you have too powerful a filter, the water will move through so quickly that it doesn’t have a lot of contact time with the bacteria. And if you have a filter that is physically large, the bacteria will be spread out within the filter, essentially diluting the bacteria and making it less effective.

Although this logic appears to make sense, it isn’t clear how much of an impact it has and if it really makes that much of a difference. Overall, I would be more concerned with the flow of the water than with the bacteria’s contact time with the water, but it is worth keeping in mind.

Multiple Filters Are a Good Idea

As long as you keep the flow of the water under control, it can be a good idea to have multiple smaller filters in your fish tank rather than one large one. If one of the filters stops working, you will still have some filtration in your tank until you get a replacement. And if you plan on setting up a new tank, it also means you can get the new tank started quicker with the friendly bacteria by using one of the old filters in the new tank.

You Still Need to Change Your Water

Some people think that by providing your tank with lots of filtration, you don’t have to do as many water changes, or any at all. This is not true! Biological filtering breaks down toxic ammonia into nitrites, and then into less toxic nitrates. The keyword here being less toxic, not non-toxic. High levels of nitrates are still dangerous to your fish, so you still need to perform water changes to get rid of nitrates, no matter how much filtration your tank has.

How often you should change your fish tank water depends on a few factors, but a good guide is 25% once per week.

How Much Filtration Should I Have?

Most filters have a recommended tank size printed on them. Make sure you choose a filter rated for at least as big as your tank, but preferable a bit bigger. If you plan on using two filters, each one can be a bit smaller, but make sure they both add up to at least the size of your tank, but again, preferably a bit bigger. So if you have a 60 gallon tank, two filters rated for 40 gallons would be ideal.

Conclusion

So to answer the question, “can you over filter a fish tank”, I would say that as long as the flow isn’t too strong for your fish, then you aren’t going to do them any harm. Over filtering might lose some efficiency because the beneficial bacteria won’t have as much contact with the water, and there will come a point where you will be wasting money and electricity on too powerful a filter. However, you are better off going slightly overboard with your filters rather than under filtering. As long as you stick to the tank size guides on the filters, you should be good.

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