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When it comes to keeping fish, there are a lot of things to balance, especially with the water. If you notice a lot of bubbles in your fish tank, you might be wondering if it is possible that your tank has too much oxygen.

As long as you are using standard aquarium equipment, it is highly unlikely that your tank has too much oxygen. However, if there are a lot of bubbles and disturbance in the water, this can be stressful to your fish. It is much more likely that your water has too little oxygen rather than too much.

Your Tank Probably Doesn’t Have Too Much Oxygen

Technically, too much oxygen can be a problem for your fish tank, but this is very unlikely. A condition known as gas bubble disease (this is when gases develop in the fishes bloodstream) can be lethal, and can be caused by too much oxygen in your tank. This is a much more common problem with high levels of nitrogen though. As long as you are using standard aquarium equipment, you almost certainly won’t have too much oxygen in your fish tank.

However, one of the main ways in which water is oxygenated is by creating currents and disturbances in the water. This can be a problem for certain fish.

Strong Currents Can Be a Problem

Although having too much oxygen in your tank is unlikely to cause any problems, the way in which your tank is oxygenated might. One of the most effective ways to aerate a tank is with a filter. Many filters disturb the water and cause currents. This is fine for some fish, but for certain species that prefer calm water – like betta – this isn’t good. Water that is flowing can stress them out. Do a little research on the fish that you own, and find out what type of water they like. If you have fish that prefer calmer water, you can use foam pads (click to check price on Amazon) to baffle your filter and reduce the current whilst still aerating your tank.

Why Does My Tank Have So Many Bubbles?

If you are wondering whether or not your tank can have too much oxygen, there’s a good chance this is because your tank has a lot of bubbles. There are a few reasons why your tank has lots of bubbles, and – surprisingly – it’s more likely that bubbles are cause by not enough oxygen rather than too much. Below are some likely causes of bubbles in a fish tank.

• Filters, aerators, & heaters – All of these are going to generate bubbles to some extent. As long as these bubbles aren’t disturbing your fish (especially fish like betta which prefer calm water), they aren’t a problem.
• Bubbles on glass – When you add water to a fish tank, bubbles will form on the glass. This isn’t a problem and they will disappear on their own.
• From dead algae – If you have dead algae in your tank, the bubbles it creates are likely to be ammonia bubbles. This is not good for your tank. You need to remove the dead algae and perform a water change.
• Lack of oxygen – Fish will sometimes appear to gasp at the surface when they are feeding. But if they are not feeding, and they are gasping at the surface and producing bubbles, this could be a sign that there is not enough oxygen in your tank. If this is the case, do a water change and you will need to make sure your tank is getting enough oxygen. More on that further down.
• Fish nests – Fish blowing bubbles isn’t necessarily a sign of a lack of oxygen. Fish with labyrinth organs like betta and gourami make fish nests by producing cluster of bubbles on the surface of the water. Bubble nests are a good sign your fish are healthy and happy.

How Do I Know If My Tank Has Enough Oxygen?

Oxygen levels in your fish tank are important, but you need to worry more about not having enough oxygen rather than too much. Just like us, fish breath oxygen, so it is crucial that they have enough oxygen in the water.

So, how do you know if your tank has enough oxygen?

The first way is to use an oxygen test kit which you can find on Amazon. Usually, this won’t be necessary, but it might be worth it for heavily planted tanks, heavily populated tanks, and warm water tanks – all of which are more likely to suffer from low oxygen.

The other way is by monitoring the behaviour of your fish. If your fish are moving less and rapidly moving their gills, this is a sign that the oxygen levels are too low. If your fish are gasping at the surface, this can also be a sign that oxygen is too low, but keep in mind, they also do this when they are feeding. Fish with labyrinth organs like betta will also do this to make bubble nests. If your fish are gasping at the surface and they are not feeding or making a nest, you will want to test your water, do a water change, and increase the aeration in your tank.

Ways To Aerate Your Fish Tank

• Filters – Not only are filters necessary to filter your tank, but they also help with aeration. They circulate the water in your tank and disturb the water at the surface which increases oxygen absorption. Usually, a hang on filter will provide enough aeration for your tank, as long as it is suitably powerful.
• Aeration devices – There are various aeration devices and ornaments you can buy. If you have a decent filter and change your water regularly, these aren’t really necessary, but they do help, and can enhance the appearance of your tank.
• Live plants – Adding live plants to your tank is a great way to increase oxygen. Just like fish, they do need to be cared for though, so make sure to do some research into keeping live plants in an aquarium.

Conclusion

It’s highly unlikely that your tank has too much oxygen. However, having too much disturbance in your water (which increases oxygen) can cause stress to fish, especially those which prefer calmer water. A more likely scenario is that your fish tank has too little oxygen. If this is the case, you’re going to want to increase aeration in your tank.

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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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