Overview of Fish Tank Filters

To ensure the smooth operation of your fish tank system, it should have clean water at all times. The cleanliness of your water is constantly compromised due to changes in water composition caused by fish deaths, uneaten fish food, fish waste, dead plant matter, and other causes of pollution. If water is left untreated when these conditions occur, your fish will get sick and die. If you plan to maintain a fish tank to make your room or home more attractive, this purpose will not be fulfilled if your fish tank water is smelly, cloudy, or murky. It is then important to have a complete filtration system.

The Different Options:

To have a complete filtration system, your tank should have mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration. You can choose to get three in order to perform each type of filtration or get one filter that supports all three. For small- to medium-sized tanks, you may use hang-ons, box or corner, internal power, diatom, and sponge filters. Hang-on filters are named as such since they are made to hang outside of your tank. They provide all types of filtration. Box or corner ones are placed in the corner of your tank, providing mechanical and chemical filtration.

Internal power options are normally used inside of freshwater tanks with low water levels. If you want to have the one that will give the best mechanical filtration available, the diatomaceous earth inside the diatom filters will do the job. Meanwhile, sponges will give you good mechanical and biological filtration at the lowest cost. The filters mentioned above are both inexpensive, simple to set up, and easy to clean and maintain. They are ideal for beginners who wish to start with small tanks and small fish population. These filters can also be used in larger tanks but only as backup or secondary filters, or else they will get clogged up easily.

If you are looking for more powerful fish tank filters, you may want to consider buying canister filters, undergravel filters, wet/dry filters, and fluidized bed filters. The first three types can provide a complete three-step filtration system to your fish tank. While fluidized bed filters do not contain necessary mechanism for mechanical filtration, their biological and chemical filtration capabilities are good for tanks with live plants and heavy bio-loads. While powerful and mostly complete, the above-mentioned filters also come with some disadvantages. Maintenance issues, such as periodic cleaning and replacement of parts, are the most common concerns with these types of filters. In the case of wet/dry filters, additional plumbing is one of the requirements.

Most important are filter accessories. Fish tank filters have parts and accessories that you have to change from time to time. The most commonly used are filter bags, filter cartridges, and filter media. Examples of filter media are ceramic rings, sponge or foam inserts, filter gravel, foam blocks, and filter pads.

Todd J. Nelson is a pet store owner and an aquarium enthusiast who likes to help others succeed in raising their fish as well. He is a featured member and guest speaker at many aquarium clubs, as well as having a few very large tanks of his own. To learn more about fish tank filters [http://www.marinedepot.com/filters__index-ap.html] and aquarium wet/dry filters [http://www.marinedepot.com/wet_dry_filters__index-ap.html], please go to marinedepot.com.

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