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I have an acrylic tank and the directions said to fill it to about 1/2 an inch of the top.

The current with my filter (280 MarineLand Bio-Wheel Emperor) is pretty strong for my little baby fish and somebody recommended that I fill the tank as high up as possible - that filling it all the way would help keep the current down.

Why do the directions say not to fill it all the way? would it be bad if I filled it more, just to try and see how it affects the filter?

The filter is also a touch noisy (splashy) and I wonder if it wouldn't be more quiet if the tank was filled all the way.

Just in case anyone knows these things....

I'm a bit of a worrier....

Thanks very much.

Melissa

you can fill it up all the way..well close to all the way. I would leave it down a little from the top. I dont see why it would hurt any, but I dont know the builder of the tank either. Most likely they want you to leave the room because of splash from a filter, etc.

don't worry about it at all. If you leave the water level low it will create more current flow from your filter but will also put more oxygen into your water. On the other hand, by raising the level to just below the output you will lower both the current and the oxygen, but not enough to worry about, especially if you have airstones. slower current is better for some fish, especially those that prefer not to play in it. Also, if you have live plants, the less flow will agitate the surface less and allow less co2 and other nutrients to escape. Really, its a matter of preference.