Aquarium Filters
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This page continues
the discussion of Aquarium Equipment with information
and advice about aquarium filters. |
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The top picture shows the Eclipse Aquarium Hood on
my Aquarium with the cover of the hood open. The red arrow points to the BIO-Wheel filter in the hood. |
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Here is
a closer view of the BIO-Wheel filter
with the folded pleats that increase the surface area to provide more living space for the bacteria. This
BIO-Wheel is new and has not yet been populated by bacteria. |
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1. Aquarium Filters
Excellent water quality is very important for keeping
fish healthy. Aquarium filters can help maintain
excellent water in aquariums, but it's still essential
to clean your aquarium and to change some of the
water twice each week.
Click
here
for more information about how to clean your aquarium,
and click
here
for more about how to change water in your aquarium.
No aquarium filter will eliminate
these tasks. Click
here to read the Aquarium Maintenance Schedule.
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Click
here
to listen to a Special
Pet Fish Interview
hosted by The Bailey Brothers about the
proper equipment for a Saltwater Aquarium,
including an aquarium filter.
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2. Aquarium Water Filtration
There are three steps to filtering water, and these
three steps are usually called mechanical, chemical,
and biological.
1.
Primary treatment
mechanically filters the water by removing chunks
of waste and debris with screen, sponge, or floss
types of material.
2.
Secondary treatment
chemically removes molecules such ammonia with materials
such as activated carbon and zeolite.
3.
Tertiary treatment
biologically filters the water, and it is by far
the most important type of filtration for maintaining
excellent water quality in an aquarium. Tertiary
water treatment is done by the "good" or beneficial
bacteria that digest waste out of the water.
Click
here
for a more complete discussion of aquarium water
filtration with more details about biological filtration.
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3. The Various
Kinds of Filters
Here are brief explanations of how various aquarium
filters work. |
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Box or Corner
Filters
are small plastic containers that hold
filter floss and carbon and are connected
to an air pump. |
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Undergravel Filters
(UGF) fit in the bottom of the aquarium
under an inch or two of gravel and connect
to an air pump or power head. Caution:
never just turn off an UGF.
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Canister Filters
such as the "Magnum" hang on the aquarium
and have their own internal pump with
a sealed container to trap waste materials
from the water. |
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Fluidized Bed
Filters
also hang on the aquarium and pump water
up through a layer of fluidized material.
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We've
used and
carefully tested
all of these types of filters for many years, and
we don't recommend any of them for your aquarium.
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4. We Recommend
BIO-Wheel Filters.
A power filter hangs on the back of the aquarium
and sucks water up from the bottom of the aquarium
through a siphon tube.
Then lets the water drain
back into the aquarium through a filter pad that
may contain floss, carbon, zeolite, sponge, or other
filtering materials.
A
BIO-Wheel is an important accessory that sits on
top of the power filter. The BIO-Wheel is made of
a special material that provides beneficial bacteria
an ideal place to live.
These beneficial bacteria
do not cause diseases in fish, instead the beneficial
bacteria digest waste materials from the water and
greatly reduce the amount of waste in the water.
Using
bacteria to filter the water is called biological
filtration, and is the most important factor in
keeping fish healthy. A BIO-Wheel is the best place
for beneficial bacteria to live.
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We recommend
the following power filters: the Penguin Filters,
the Emperor Filters, the AquaTech 20-40, and the
AquaTech 30-60.
The AquaTech filters are both sold
without a BIO-Wheel, but an accessory BIO-Wheel
can be bought separately from many pet stores and
added to the AquaTech filters.
The AquaTech 30-60
filter holds two BIO-Wheels.
Click
here
for more information about BIO-Wheels.
The
Eclipse 1, 2, and 3 are Aquarium Hoods that contain
both lighting and a built in power filter with a
BIO-Wheel.
The BIO-Wheel in the Eclipse Hoods is
the best we've seen and receives our highest recommendation.
The Eclipse is also a very good hood with no holes,
so fish can't jump out of an aquarium with a properly
fitted Eclipse Hood.
The
Galaxy Aquariums come with a hood that is very similar
to the Eclipse's.
Power filters with BIO-Wheels require regular maintenance
that is explained in the directions that come with
the filters. You'll need to change the power filter's
pad at least once a month.
You'll also need to clean
the inside of the siphon tube with a test tube brush
and the outside of the filter with a Scrubbing Pad.
Click on
here for more about Cleaning Warm Water Aquariums,
or click
here for more about Cleaning Cool Water Aquariums.
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5. Sponge
Filters
are good for aquariums with baby fish. The sponge
prevents the babies from being sucked into the filter,
and baby fish can often be seen biting on the surface
of the sponge, where tiny bits of food may grow.
Important Tip:
Baby fish can get trapped under a Sponge Filters,
so it's best to be sure the sponge does not sit
on the bottom of the aquarium.
You can do this by
using a cloths pin attached to the edge of
the aquarium to lift the sponge filter by its airline.
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Links to more
information about Aquarium Equipment on other pages
in this web site.
●
Aquariums, Aquarium Stands, and Hoods
●
Aquarium
Heaters and Thermometers
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Aquarium
Gravel and Cultured Gravel
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Gravel
Washers and Cleaning Gravel
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Aquarium
Decorations and Ornaments
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Aquarium
Air Pumps and Accessories
●
Aquarium
Lights and Lighting Fixtures
●
Where
to Buy Aquarium supplies |
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Most of the Aquarium Supplies listed on the pages in this web site can be
purchased from our advertisers.
Please click on their links and
investigate the products that they offer for sale on their web sites.
Click
here to see the
list
of the Bailey Brothers' favorite aquarium equipment. |
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Click
here to go
on to another page in this web site with Customer
Comments and our Replies about Aquarium Filters.
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Books about
Aquarium Filters and Filtration
The books shown below are listed on Amazon.com. You can click on the title or on the image of a book to go to the page at Amazon.com, where that book
is listed and discussed. In some cases you can preview several of the pages in that book. |
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Click
here to go
on to another page in this web site with Customer
Comments and our Replies about Aquarium Filters.
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to see more links.
