Filter Power?

[pompeydaz]

Hey I have a interpet pf2 filter and wondering about something. It has a thing on it to turn up and down the power, at the moment I have it about in the middle but wondering should I turn it up? Surely the higher its filtering the better?

 

[joeskandal]

i think that the tap on the top just controls the output of the water, i.e, turned down will angle it so the water is pushed down into the tank, or turned up, so it has a more skimming effect.
Regardless of whether you have it turned up or down, it still sucks in water at the same rate, thus not affecting how the filter itself works.
This is in my experience though, it might not be the case in all filters.

 

[pompeydaz]

i think that the tap on the top just controls the output of the water, i.e, turned down will angle it so the water is pushed down into the tank, or turned up, so it has a more skimming effect.
Regardless of whether you have it turned up or down, it still sucks in water at the same rate, thus not affecting how the filter itself works.
This is in my experience though, it might not be the case in all filters.

When its turned up its alot stronger.

 

[OldMan47]

Pompeydaz, you are a victim of a common misconception. Although a higher flow rate will stir your tank water more and can remove slightly more suspended solids by being a mechanical filter, the real function that serves us is the biological filtration. Biological filtration requires two things to be successful. The first is enough flow to expose the water to the bacteria in the filter to be processed. The second is lots of surfaces for the bacteria to colonize. A big filter with a small pump can readily provide the flow and surface areas required to satisfy this pair of needs. A huge pumping capacity with a small filter volume cannot. You have a specific volume in your filter to hold media and that alone will determine how well your filter processes nitrogen. Changing the flow may slightly affect the particulate filtration but will not affect the biological filtration of that filter.
I would simply adjust flows and flow patterns to get a good mix of the water in the tank while keeping the fish comfortable with the flow. That will be your best filtering arrangement, not an artificially high flow.