Adding Another Filter To An Existing Tank?

[Electric Warrior]

HI. So, I am going to add another canister filter to my new 200L tank for extra filtration. It's been fishless cycled, and currently has four fish at the moment, although I will be adding more. I've purchased another of the same filters that I am running right now, and am going to add it to the other side of the tank. My question is, and sorry if it's a dumb one, but this will not cause any issues with the filter that I am currently running right? Do I need to do anything to it, because I was just going to add new media and let it cycle on its own, or do I need to add some media fro my existing filter? I just want to make sure that it wont kill off any of the friendly bacteria that are currently in my matured filter, therefore causing an issue in my tank? Thanks.

 

[cambojnr]

HI. So, I am going to add another canister filter to my new 200L tank for extra filtration. It's been fishless cycled, and currently has four fish at the moment, although I will be adding more. I've purchased another of the same filters that I am running right now, and am going to add it to the other side of the tank. My question is, and sorry if it's a dumb one, but this will not cause any issues with the filter that I am currently running right? Do I need to do anything to it, because I was just going to add new media and let it cycle on its own, or do I need to add some media fro my existing filter? I just want to make sure that it wont kill off any of the friendly bacteria that are currently in my matured filter, therefore causing an issue in my tank? Thanks.

all I would say is put the intakes and the outputs beside eachother to not cause 2 flows flowing towards each other and with the bacteria they will probs just split 50/50 between to 2 filters. I may be wrong though.

 

[Electric Warrior]

HI. So, I am going to add another canister filter to my new 200L tank for extra filtration. It's been fishless cycled, and currently has four fish at the moment, although I will be adding more. I've purchased another of the same filters that I am running right now, and am going to add it to the other side of the tank. My question is, and sorry if it's a dumb one, but this will not cause any issues with the filter that I am currently running right? Do I need to do anything to it, because I was just going to add new media and let it cycle on its own, or do I need to add some media fro my existing filter? I just want to make sure that it wont kill off any of the friendly bacteria that are currently in my matured filter, therefore causing an issue in my tank? Thanks.

and with the bacteria they will probs just split 50/50 between to 2 filters. I may be wrong though.

Yeah, that is kind of what I thought would happen, but I wasn't sure.

Do they really need to be next to each other though? I have seen photos of other people's tanks that are running two externals, and they seem to be on opposite sides?

 

[Electric Warrior]

Anyone else have opinions?

 

[Noahs ark6]

The filter that has already cycled will be fine, and the new filter will cycle on it's own without any intervention. As long as the outputs aren't directly opposite it will be fine.

(The black boxes are meant to be the outputs )

 

[Electric Warrior]

The filter that has already cycled will be fine, and the new filter will cycle on it's own without any intervention. As long as the outputs aren't directly opposite it will be fine.

(The black boxes are meant to be the outputs )

Okay, that is good to know. Why is that, something to do with the flow I assume?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I'm still not fully awake this morning, so be gentle with me if I missed it, but I did not spot anything that said about your long term plans for the two filters...

If you plan to run them alongside each other in the same tank long term, given they are the same filter model, I would split the mature media between the two filters as well as the new media, perhaps giving the older filter a good clean of the impeller plus its cavity with some cotton buds and cleaning out the cannister itself with a few rinses of removed tank water. That way each filter will rapidly be colonised and the older filter gets a "spring clean" in the process to improve the water turnover to what it once was.

 

[Electric Warrior]

I'm still not fully awake this morning, so be gentle with me if I missed it, but I did not spot anything that said about your long term plans for the two filters...

If you plan to run them alongside each other in the same tank long term, given they are the same filter model, I would split the mature media between the two filters as well as the new media, perhaps giving the older filter a good clean of the impeller plus its cavity with some cotton buds and cleaning out the cannister itself with a few rinses of removed tank water. That way each filter will rapidly be colonised and the older filter gets a "spring clean" in the process to improve the water turnover to what it once was.

Hi, yeah sorry... I do plan to run them alongside each other in the tank, long term, and the new one is the exact same model. This is a fairly new tank though, it's only been running with fish for about 10 days (after a nearly 7 week fishless cycle.) so the filter that I have running now isn't very dirty yet at all, and the flow is still fine.

 

[Noahs ark6]

The filter that has already cycled will be fine, and the new filter will cycle on it's own without any intervention. As long as the outputs aren't directly opposite it will be fine.

(The black boxes are meant to be the outputs )

Okay, that is good to know. Why is that, something to do with the flow I assume?

If theboth opposite the flow will clash in the centre of the tank causing a flow which the fish won't appreciate

 

[Electric Warrior]

But since I just adding another filter to the tank as a permanent fixture, I don't need to 'seed' the new filter with any media from the mature filter, right? Just let it cycle on it's own?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

But since I just adding another filter to the tank as a permanent fixture, I don't need to 'seed' the new filter with any media from the mature filter, right? Just let it cycle on it's own?

You don't have to seed the new filter, but you will get things stabilised quicker by seeding, mixing old and new media between the two like I wrote earlier. Otherwise for several weeks, the new filter is essentially a glorified powerhead moving water, it takes something in the ballpark of six weeks of running filters alongside each other without seeding to get any significant colony in the new filter.

 

[Aquascaper]

You could setup the new filter, turn off the old one and remove the sponges, squeeze the sponges next to the intake of the new filter so it sucks in any gunk, replace the sponges in the old filter and turn back on.

That way you will seed the new filter as best as you can without disturbing the balance in the old one