Whether you have a freshwater or saltwater aquarium, a fish tank filter is a total must. All animals produce excrement either through respiring or from food waste. A fish aquarium is a very limited environment and this waste, unbridled would finally contaminate the water and kill off your fish. Fish tank filters will clean off this waste and ensure you have a clean aquarium all the time. Filters, because of catching mud, also get mucky themselves and so have to be changed every now and then.
There are 3 steps in a purification process, and every step requires a different filter.
a. Mechanical Filtration: This sucks up floating particles and waste in the tank. A siphon filter usually found at the back of an aquarium is the one which does this best.
b. Biological Filtration: This is the most vital filtration to have in an aquarium because it encourages the expansion of good bacteria. The good bacteria converts ammonia waste to nitrites and then into nitrates. This nitrogen cycle is imperative, especially for exotic fish!
c. Chemical Filtration: This removes dissolved waste from the water. Carbon or zeolite is placed in a filter and they may both get the job done, although carbon has a far shorter lifespan.
There are different kinds of fish tank filters, and these will change dependent on the kind of fish tank in use.
1. Corner Filters: These will typically sit in the corner or be stuck to the glass. They sometimes are able to do all 3 parts of the purification cycle, but need frequent maintenance. When changing filters, the single thing you have to do with these filters is change the carbon portion.
2. Under-gravel Filters: These are generally good for amateurs in aquarium keeping. They use a combination of both the filter and the gravel to keep the aquarium clean. They have got a big downside though: because they use the gravel for part of the purification process, you typically have to vacuum the gravel clean "no easy task. They also have a tendency to capture lethal air bubbles in the gravel which can sometimes be released and poison your fish.
3. Sponge filters: These are good especially for biological filtration. When water flows through a tube and into the sponge, good bacteria grow on it. But there is no mechanical filtration or chemical filtration. You will need to modify water very frequently with this sort of filtration due to this. It's good for bare-bottomed tanks, especially those that hold young fish; the frequent water change makes them grow quicker.
4. Power Filter: This is the most popular kind of fish tank filters. It is simple to clean and it is doing the full filtering process. It combines mechanical, chemical and biological filtration. They're awkward in design though; the entry for the dirty water is just above the exit for the clean water. If you'd like a power filter, get one with 2 filter media slots. All you have got to do when cleaning the filter is swap from one side of the filter to the other, and this suggests that you don't throw away the accumulation of good bacteria.
5. Canister Filter: These are expensive, but it's because they're very effective. It comes in the shape of trays, with each tray doing a different purification process. The water is pushed from the bottom up in a few of them, but in others, it is the other way around. You need to know how yours works so that you can place it correctly.
6. Protein Skimmer: These are specifically for salt water tanks "they're worthless in clean water tanks. They remove dissolved organic material from the water. The waste will adhere to them. Its one of the best things that you can get for your aquarium though a bit pricier than a regular filter.
7. Powerhead: Salt water tanks generally require more water movement than fresh water tanks to be sure that all water gets mixed and that food particles move around and are either eaten by the fish or get into the filter. These are great for water movement; although they should be utilised with an undergravel filtering system. Water is cleaned through the filter and the forced upward and out, causing movement.
Fish tank filters are essential for aquarium! When you're setting up your aquarium, you have to know which one would be the best for your sort of set up.
There are 3 steps in a purification process, and every step requires a different filter.
a. Mechanical Filtration: This sucks up floating particles and waste in the tank. A siphon filter usually found at the back of an aquarium is the one which does this best.
b. Biological Filtration: This is the most vital filtration to have in an aquarium because it encourages the expansion of good bacteria. The good bacteria converts ammonia waste to nitrites and then into nitrates. This nitrogen cycle is imperative, especially for exotic fish!
c. Chemical Filtration: This removes dissolved waste from the water. Carbon or zeolite is placed in a filter and they may both get the job done, although carbon has a far shorter lifespan.
There are different kinds of fish tank filters, and these will change dependent on the kind of fish tank in use.
1. Corner Filters: These will typically sit in the corner or be stuck to the glass. They sometimes are able to do all 3 parts of the purification cycle, but need frequent maintenance. When changing filters, the single thing you have to do with these filters is change the carbon portion.
2. Under-gravel Filters: These are generally good for amateurs in aquarium keeping. They use a combination of both the filter and the gravel to keep the aquarium clean. They have got a big downside though: because they use the gravel for part of the purification process, you typically have to vacuum the gravel clean "no easy task. They also have a tendency to capture lethal air bubbles in the gravel which can sometimes be released and poison your fish.
3. Sponge filters: These are good especially for biological filtration. When water flows through a tube and into the sponge, good bacteria grow on it. But there is no mechanical filtration or chemical filtration. You will need to modify water very frequently with this sort of filtration due to this. It's good for bare-bottomed tanks, especially those that hold young fish; the frequent water change makes them grow quicker.
4. Power Filter: This is the most popular kind of fish tank filters. It is simple to clean and it is doing the full filtering process. It combines mechanical, chemical and biological filtration. They're awkward in design though; the entry for the dirty water is just above the exit for the clean water. If you'd like a power filter, get one with 2 filter media slots. All you have got to do when cleaning the filter is swap from one side of the filter to the other, and this suggests that you don't throw away the accumulation of good bacteria.
5. Canister Filter: These are expensive, but it's because they're very effective. It comes in the shape of trays, with each tray doing a different purification process. The water is pushed from the bottom up in a few of them, but in others, it is the other way around. You need to know how yours works so that you can place it correctly.
6. Protein Skimmer: These are specifically for salt water tanks "they're worthless in clean water tanks. They remove dissolved organic material from the water. The waste will adhere to them. Its one of the best things that you can get for your aquarium though a bit pricier than a regular filter.
7. Powerhead: Salt water tanks generally require more water movement than fresh water tanks to be sure that all water gets mixed and that food particles move around and are either eaten by the fish or get into the filter. These are great for water movement; although they should be utilised with an undergravel filtering system. Water is cleaned through the filter and the forced upward and out, causing movement.
Fish tank filters are essential for aquarium! When you're setting up your aquarium, you have to know which one would be the best for your sort of set up.
About the Author:
Jill Kaestner identifies the object of each sort of filter and for what aquarium it should be used on. Visit her fish site for information regarding a fish tank pump or an aquarium hood.
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