How does filtering work?

[[ЯтR] TroutOfDoom]

There's 4 types of filtration, I can't determine how exactly they relate to water quality, but it seems like if you try to use equal amounts of 3-4 types of filtration you get the highest water quality with the fewest amount of filters...I think?

[worstcase11]

Yes, different and bigger filters work better than several small filters of the same type. How much filtering a tank needs depends mostly on the number of fish inside - there are some fish which have higher requirements or create more dirt.

- Freshwater tanks do not accept all filter types.

- It doesn't hurt to have an extra filter set up in case one of the main filters fail.

- Some of the plant decorations and living stones can also boost the water quality.

[Spaznetz]

Originally posted by ЯтR TroutOfDoom:

There's 4 types of filtration, I can't determine how exactly they relate to water quality, but it seems like if you try to use equal amounts of 3-4 types of filtration you get the highest water quality with the fewest amount of filters...I think?

It seems to work that way, yes.

Equal amounts of Normal Filters, Protein Skimmers, Nitrate Reactors, and UV Sterilizers will give you the biggest "bang for the buck", but it's difficult to do that since they all unlock at different levels.

Also, Protein Skimmers don't work for Freshwater, so you'll need to compensate with extras of the other 3.

And, as worstcase11 said, extras keep you from losing fish if something breaks and a mechanic can't get to it in time.

[Fortuna]

That's how it works, yep. There's a gradual scale where if you add more of a single type, you get less results, so having a ton of one type will get you less filtration than having less of multiple types. So you want to have multiple types when a tank needs a lot of filtration.

[☭ Little King Trashmouth ★]

At first I was kinda frustrated too that filtering felt a little bit like trial and error, or to put it different: trying different combinations out until I got the best result. Not like temperature, where you know exactly what you need.

But after I read about the basic rule (add different types together, as equally as possible) it really helped to get me a sufficient feeling that I know what I am doing when deciding what filter to add if more efficiency is needed ;) and so it doesn't feel like guessing around anymore.

I mean, as the developer pointed it out in another discussion regarding this topic, filtering is kinda complicated, since it depends on many factors, not only on tanksize but also on how many and what fish you put together. Just like in reality.