Aquarium Care

Aquarium canister filters are responsible for the mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration of particulates in your aquarium water. They come in different sizes but most are small enough that they do not dominate your aquarium. They are often called submersible filters because they are placed inside the tank and not hung on the side. Tank filters are a requirement in all tanks, but they are very important in tanks which contain fish that are messy eaters.

Knowing the type of filter for your tank

There are three types of filters depending on the function. Mechanical filters remove debris and other particles from the water with a foam layer or any other type of porous material. Mechanical filters are a must for all tanks. A chemical filter removes dissolved materials with a carbon layer. This is most effective for removing ammonia but it is also useful in removing metals and odors.

Biological filters do the job that is not finished by the previous two kinds of filters. They contain beneficial bacteria called nitrofiers that remove harmful wastes.

How to maintain your filter

Regular cleaning for your aquarium canister when is a must because aquarium filters do the main part of cleaning the tank and they tend to collect a lot of debris quickly. Accumulated debris can clog your filter and this could lead to an accumulation of harmful toxins in the tank.

You clean the filters when you replace the tank water, removing the filter and taking it apart so you can clean the individual parts like the impellers, tubings and intake and outlet pipes, and the main body. You can lubricate the parts of the filter using petroleum jelly or liquid silicone before putting the tank parts back together and reinstalling the filter.

Choosing aquarium canister filters

There are some factors that you need to consider when choosing a filter. For one, you need a filter that has easily replaceable parts since there will come a time when you need to replace parts such as rubber gaskets and impellers. Make sure that your store regularly stocks on filter parts so you can easily get a replacement when one is needed. You also need to choose aquarium canister filters that are easy to remove, clean, and reinstall. You may need the help of an expert when putting up the filter for the first time, but subsequent cleanings will require you to handle the disassembly and the reassembly yourself. Also make sure that the filter is easy to use in case of emergencies when you have to stop the filter.

Get to know your filter before you buy, such as how to assemble and disassemble it. You can get an expert to teach you how to install the filter for the first time so you can do it yourself later on.

Jeffry Johnston is a pet store owner and an aquarium enthusiast who finds happiness in helping others succeed in raising healthy, happy fish as well. He is a member and guest speaker at many aquarium clubs, as well as having a few very large tanks of his own. To learn more about aquarium filters and other aquarium equipment, pleasego to marinedepot.com.

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It must make any aquarium enthusiast cringe, having to feed his fish every day in the same water that they swim in, breathe in and release their bodily wastes in. If it were not for reasons of yuckiness that that such a situation could not be allowed, it would certainly be objectionable for the way this would poison the water and make it incapable of sustaining aquatic life. How do you treat your fish to a better life then? If the fish lived in a natural water body, a pond or stream, there would be enough clean water in the system that all the bodily waste would not make a difference; in a closed water body like an aquarium, it comes down to the owner of the aquarium to do something to constantly clean and freshen the water the fish live in, to give them a reasonable standard of living. Aquarium filters are the answer; though there are so many, they can hardly be called one answer.

The empathetic aquarium owner must worry most about the health implications of having his fish swimming around in a weak solution of their own bodily waste. What must all the bacteria and other pathogens in the water do to the fish? Do their eyes sting; do they breathe with difficulty in such a toxic water cocktail? Biological aquarium filters are the solution to such concerns. A biological filter is a unit that encourages the growth of beneficial bacteria inside it. These bacteria subsist on the bodily waste of fish; and they break down the poisonous ammonia in the waste into nitrogen compounds, nitrites and nitrates and these are a great way to take the sting out of the problem.

Under-gravel filters are a great example of biological aquarium filters; they’re not marketed as effectively these days, owing to the fact that they are simple to build, and offer no opportunity for a killer markup, but are very effective. The idea is that the filter is placed under the bed of the aquarium; water is drawn through the gravel over the bed; the gravel filters out a large part of the suspended debris, and the bacteria that live in the gravel take care of the ammonia. The water is drawn down and sent back up after purification by message of an air stone or a powerhead.

One of the best options that modern aquarium filter technology provides is the canister filter. Canister aquarium filters force the water in an aquarium through a variety of filters and cycle the entire contents of an aquarium every hour. The result is a visibly bright and clean and aquarium that manages to be free of most kinds of impurities. A minor drawback to this type of aquarium filter is the way it keeps drawing all the water through its system constantly; this action creates quite a strong current in the tank that can be annoying to some fish.

One of the most satisfying kinds of aquarium filter to use is the sump variety. Basically a sump aquarium filter is a large aquarium-like tank by itself, used exclusively for water purification in the main tank. The sump is sectioned off into three or four areas, each one installed with a different kind of water purification system. These aquarium filters are mostly the domain of experienced do-it-yourselfers; you could have a sump with a compartment for beneficial plants, one for gravel and charcoal purification, and so on. It is easy to be bitten by the purification bug and let it run away with you though. The final test of how successful your attempts are, rests in the health of your fish population. If your veterinarian certifies them to be as healthy as can be, there’s no reason why you should not congratulate yourself on a job well done.

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Aquarium canister filters are needed in order to maintain the balance and cleanliness of the aquarium. This type of canister filters may be used for either a freshwater or saltwater aquarium. Depending on the type of canister filter, it may contain media that may filter the water through mechanical, chemical, or biological means.

When you look at the built and functions of the canister filter, these are quite similar to that of the ?hang on? filters. However, the canister filters are designed to provide more mechanical filtration compared with that of other filters. These filters are best used for aquaria that have fish types that tend to be messy eaters. Unlike most filters that are hung on the tank, canister filters are usually placed below the tank. At times, you might also find them inside the tank. For this type, the term ?submersible filter? is used. Some aquarium owners also choose to attach a wet-dry wheel to the outflow of the canister filter, which leads to the improvement of the biological filtration.

Most canister filters are designed to filter larger amounts of water compared with conventional water filters. These are also easily customized that you can specify if you would like the canister filter to have a mechanical, chemical, and biological functions. You may also ask for a canister filter that has bio wheels, UV sterilizers, or a water chiller.

The most noteworthy disadvantage of having a canister filter is the need to clean it frequently. Because this functions mainly as a mechanical filter, the debris from the water can easily clog it up. If you decide to submerge the water filter, clean up will get even more tedious than if the filter is located outside the aquarium. Despite the trouble in cleaning the filter, you have to do this often to prevent the decaying and toxic waste from coming back into the aquarium’s water.

Once the water has been freed from the chemicals, it is allowed to pass through the bacteria bed, wherein the bacteria present in the bed change the nitrites into nitrates. This biological filtration is necessary in order to lessen the toxic effects of these chemicals.

Guide to proper choice of canister filters

1. Replacement parts are readily available

When shopping for a canister filter, you have to inquire if the store also carries replacement parts for the filter. Although the filter is durable and is guaranteed to last for a long time, there will be a time that you will have to change the parts of the canister filter as part of maintenance. It is best if you have spare o-rings, impellers, and rubber gaskets. You can?t be sure when you will need to replace them.

2. Are these the right ones for your aquarium type?

Just a short reminder: Although canister filters work with both freshwater and saltwater aquariums, there are some that work only with freshwater aquariums. Be sure to inform the seller if you will use it with a saltwater aquarium.

3. Ease of installation and use

At first, an aquarium expert can help you with installing the filters. However, after this, you are on your own. Choose a canister filter that is easy to maintain and replace, even by a non-technical person. There are lots of advantages in getting a canister filter for your aquarium. Just keep these simple tips in mind when getting one so that you maintain the balance in your aquarium?s ecosystem.

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