10X Filter Water Turnover Rate is like a general standard, but what is a reasonable upper limit?

I like to over-filter my tanks. Putting a Emperor 280 (280GPH) in a 5 gallon tank is pushing it but what do you think? Even in a 10g tank. At some point the poor fishys will be sucked up against the intake grate . . . swimming for dear life. I currently have a 10X rate on my new 10 gallon but it's not cutting it. I personally have a 5, 10, 28 gallon tank.

What's a good upper end turnover rate without adversly effecting the health my my goldfish?

Thanks in advance for the input

I have always heard that 7.7X per hour was the low end of the spectrum, the absolute minimum for a healthy goldie tank, and 10X per hour was the optimum setting.

At some point the current will get too high for a goldie, especially the smaller ones. As to your question.... if your goldies have a dead spot that the current stays low and they can rest, AND that they are not being buffeted in the places where current is high (i.e. swimming for dear life but staying in one place, knocking against walls, being unable to swim in a certain portion because of the high current) then overfilter to your hearts content.

However I do think that at some point it becomes redundant and the amount of time you spend cleaning the filters will outweigh the actual cleaning power. For example if you have a Fluval 404 on a 10gal tank that only holds one fish.... its very redundant.

Cheers!

Why is the 10X on your 10 gal "not cutting it"?

As far as your goldies are concerned, the "upper limit" is when they have trouble fighting the water current. Like Obsidian said, though, too much of a good thing is not always worth it.

that means my 50 gal tank is underfiltered while my 30 gal has optimial filtering

I say that since I am cleaning the 10 Gallon tank far more than my other tanks. The only major difference between the tanks, are that in the 10 gallon tank I have all the Lionheads and my filtration rate is roughly 10 tanks pre hour (less than my other tanks). Another reason could be that my Lion heads are more dirty tan my other Goldfish, I guess. Or possibly that my nnnnnn filter on the 10G isn't that good as well. Or I am overfeeding.

Possible Problems

• Water Turnover Rate
• Excess Waste
• Bad Filter
• Overfeeding

Am I missing anything else?

I cut down on the feedings from 2 to 3X a day to once a day to see if that is the problem. And I still am cleaning frequently. Also, I changed the filter media and bag. So I decided to see if maybe I don't have enough filtration.

By the way, I have a pair of 1" lionheads and a single 1 1/2" lionhead in the tank.

sdramones,

just some opinions:

your problem with cleanliness lies in the fact that you most likely have too many goldies in one tank. that and/or overfeeding. once a goldie reaches a couple of inches they can create quite a lot of waste. once they get bigger than that you really should try to adhere to the at least ten gallons per goldie rule of thumb. while they may do well at first, three goldies will quickly outgrow a ten gallon tank. are you planning on getting your little guys a bigger tank soon?

for now, you can keep doing biweekly water changes with a gravel vac to keep your water params at a safe level. trust me on this, your goldies will need more space soon! substituting tank maintenance by blasting them with a heavy water current from multiple filters isnt the best route to go. if i were you, i would stick to 10x (max 15X) filtration and work on keeping your tank clean manually.

hope this helps!

by the way, i curious about your screen name! whats the story behind it? do you like ramones/punk rock? are you from san diego? you dont really have to indulge me, i was just wondering.

Actually, I'm already eyeing a 0-55 gallon tank for all my goldies.

But why only my 10 gallon tank??? And on my other tanks I have roughly 15X turnover? And I have had similar fish stocking/numbers. and no problems.

By the way, I moved one of the smaller fish to a bigger tank. So as to not stress out the fish.

Thanks for all the suggestions ---> everyone.

i think you answered your own question there. if you have 15x filtration on the others, 10x filtration on the ten and the ten is the only one that you seem to be having cleanliness issues with, then its because you have lees filtration on the ten gallon.

just a reminder: the tenx filtration rule of thumb only pertains to tanks that have at least ten gallons per goldie. any more than this and the bio-load created can be too hard for most filters to process.

hope this helps!

actually My name is Sean Ramones lol

also, another hint:

does your filter intake tube stretch down to the bottom of the tank or does it stop short? if you were to extend it to where it sits at the bottom. it will be much easier for it to draw in the "heavier" and less bouyant particles.

i got a 500/lh in a 55 gallon!! thats NOTHING i nee to buy another filter, any cheap suggestion, soz for stealing

Actually it does stop short. Thanks for the suggestion. That's a great idea!!!

<Nick> No problem.