Aquarium Filters

People love to see fish swimming around in the ocean, in ponds and aquariums. Unlike the ocean which provides not only an endless supply of food for the sea creatures and a natural cleaning system, the water systems that have been built by man need to be cleaned and the fish given a healthy amount of food. To keep your aquariums fresh and clean of harmful organisms aquarium filters are used.

There are different varieties that you can install on your aquarium but they all work in the same manner. Since the aquarium has certain cleaning specifications you need to understand these before you select an aquarium filter that is best suited for your fish tank.

The first thing that you need to know about aquarium filtrating is there are three steps to be performed. In the first step the aquarium filter mechanically filters the water. Various chunks of biological waste matter and debris are removed from the tank with a screen, sponge, or some type of floss material.

The second stage is where chemicals are used to remove molecules like ammonia. The material that is used in the removal stage is carbon and zeolite. These molecules are trapped within the carbon and zeolite filter zone and are not allowed to re-enter the aquarium.

In the final stage of cleaning the aquarium filters use biological matter to filter the waters of the aquarium. This is the most important step in keeping your fish healthy. The filtering in this part is performed by bacteria that are beneficial to the aquarium. This bacteria digest all of the waste that the aquarium filters trap within it.

There are various types of aquarium filters that you can buy. The usual type of aquarium filter is that of the box or corner filters. These are small plastic containers that are used hold the filter material. Generally these materials are floss and carbon, which are connected to an air pump.

The next type of aquarium filters that you can consider for your aquarium are the under gravel filters or UGF. These fit in the bottom of your aquarium. They are placed under an inch or two of gravel or the other material that you use for your aquarium. These under gravel aquarium filters are connected to an air pump or power head. You should be careful to never just turn off an under gravel filter. Turing the power off in the manner could cause a short to occur.

You can also use canister aquarium filters which hang on the aquarium sides. These filters have their own pump. There is a sealed container in the filter’s canister to trap various waste materials that is found in the water.

All of these types of aquarium filters will give you an excellent source of filtering to keep your fish healthy and happy. Therefore before you install any of these filters see which one is ideal for you.