Too many filter pads?

[saullman]

Hey guys and girls,
I'm just wondering if over filtration is a thing. I have been told by the professionals at my lfs that my tank is running too clean. My corals were not looking too hot. They tested some of my levels. My nitrates were at 1 and my phosphates were at 0.1. Im not sure if there is any coralation (haha) to how many filter pads I have in my tank. I counted them and I have a total of 6. My tank is a 45 gal JBJ aio. I don't have a big bio load and I am new to the coral game so I just have some lps and softies. I have a pic for you, but it's going to be hard to see everything. I'm just wondering if I should remove some of the pads or is there no such thing as having too many filter pads. Thx.

 

[KellyCorals]

In my opinion too many pads shouldn’t cause a problem. The pads usually just catch left over food and debris anyways. What i think the LFS is getting at is you might want to increase coral feeding to get a little more nitrogen and phosphates in the water column or else the corals might be going hungry.

 

[Bluenote]

Too many filter pads on their own shouldnt be a problem, but if you are changing them too rapidly you may be reducing nitrates too fast. The frequency for this to occur though would likely be changing several times per day, which I doubt you are doing. Bioload is helpful to create nitrates. How often are you changing water? That is likely your primary source of reducing nitrates that would otherwise be present.

 

[Bluenote]

If you have 6 pads there probably isnt much added benefit after 2. I think you could reduce them in half just to decrease your own maintenance routine and rinse out the remaining ones as needed, maybe twice per week.

 

[Max_nano]

How often do you change the pads? Changing them frequently will remove food and other waste before it is converted to N and P by bacteria.

What kind of tank do you have? (LPS, mixed, SPS, etc) because those N and P aren’t bad.

But if you want to raise them you either need to reduce nutrient export by changing the filter pads less, or doing less frequent wc. Or you need to increase nutrient import by feeding more and/or adding more fish to produce waste.

 

[saullman]

In my opinion too many pads shouldn’t cause a problem. The pads usually just catch left over food and debris anyways. What i think the LFS is getting at is you might want to increase coral feeding to get a little more nitrogen and phosphates in the water column or else the corals might be going hungry.

Yes, I wasn't feeding the corals at all. The lfs told me to feed a small amount (1/8 teaspoon) once a week so I don't get a spike.

 

[saullman]

Too many filter pads on their own shouldnt be a problem, but if you are changing them too rapidly you may be reducing nitrates too fast. The frequency for this to occur though would likely be changing several times per day, which I doubt you are doing. Bioload is helpful to create nitrates. How often are you changing water? That is likely your primary source of reducing nitrates that would otherwise be present.

I am definitely not changing filter pads too often. They are all sponges. I usually just rinse them out Everytime I do a water change. Water changes I am doing on a monthly basis.

 

[saullman]

If you have 6 pads there probably isnt much added benefit after 2. I think you could reduce them in half just to decrease your own maintenance routine and rinse out the remaining ones as needed, maybe twice per week.

I am using all sponges. Some of them are very small. I was using socks but I had a hard time cleaning them properly to the point that they would get clogged too fast. That is when I switched to a bunch of sponges.

 

[saullman]

How often do you change the pads? Changing them frequently will remove food and other waste before it is converted to N and P by bacteria.

What kind of tank do you have? (LPS, mixed, SPS, etc) because those N and P aren’t bad.

But if you want to raise them you either need to reduce nutrient export by changing the filter pads less, or doing less frequent wc. Or you need to increase nutrient import by feeding more and/or adding more fish to produce waste.

I am using a bunch of sponges. I rinse them on a monthly basis when I do water changes.

I have a small 45 gal aio. Corals are a few lps and softies. All beginner corals because I am a novice in Coral care. I just started feeding my corals reefroids. Only 1/8 teaspoon to start out.