Aquarium Filters

One of the most important parts of a man-made aquatic environment are the aquarium filters. These filters are the one item within the aquarium set up that help prevent fish death on a daily basis. While fluctuating temperatures can kill a fish, an unfiltered tank is a breeding ground for diseases, high levels of ammonia and other products, and filthy to behold. On account of this, you need to make certain that you have a properly working filter that can handle the bio-load that you have in your aquarium.

The biological sponge filter with or without some added media is most commonly used. You can use an external canister filter or an internal filter. For the ease of maintenance and esthetical purposes I prefer the external variant.

Aquarium filters come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, for a wide range of different tanks. On account of this, there are several things that you need to know before you purchase your filter. First, you need to know the size of the tank, in gallons or liters. This will allow you to select a filter with the proper amount of filtration power, so you are not under-filtering your aquarium. It is perfectly acceptable to over-filter your tank, as long it is within reasonable amounts and the fish you have enjoy strong currents. Second, you need to make certain that you can obtain the filter media required in the filter locally. This allows you to get any replacements you need immediately, without having to wait for shipping. This is important for the life and health of your fish.

We feature a great many articles about aquarium filters, and especially we cover a lot of ground of the Eheim Aquarium Filter

Once you have done this, you need to know how to maintain your aquarium filters. Unlike the heater, you need to unplug and dismantle your heater on a monthly basis in order to clean out the motor. If you fail to do this, the filter will fail to function, which can result in the loss of your cycle and fish deaths. When you dismantle your filter, it is important that the filter media is stored in old aquarium water that has not been touched by water with chlorine or other chemicals in it. You filter media contains the bacteria of your cycle, and destroying these bacteria can result in the damaging of your cycle.

Aquarium filters can be maintained by removing the motor housing of the unit and wiping it down with cotton swabs and paper towels. Simply pull out the base motor and clean within the motor housing. In addition to this, you will need to rinse waste from the filter media by shaking and squeezing the sponge in a bucket of old aquarium water. This should be done on a weekly to bi-weekly basis.

With the proper care and maintenance, aquarium filters can prevent the disease and fish loss by helping maintain high water quality.

Selected Links

Betta or Siamese Fighter Fish

• Breeding the Betta Fish
• Beta Care
• Beta Fish Illness
• The Beta Fish

Filters, Pumps, Heaters

• Eheim Filters

Also see: [ Betta or Siamese Fighting Fish ] [ Aquarium Supplies ] [ Tropical Aquarium Fish Food ]