One of the Best Guides Online for Aquarium Filtration

You got your fish tank but just can’t seem to keep the water clean? Well, you probably need to look for a fish tank filter that can purify the water of your tank. However, your trip to the store will reveal the most common question you would ask – What type of fish tank filter do I need? The answer lies in the tank.

Well, not inside the tank, but in the tank itself. There are many factors that determine the type of filter you need to employ to keep your tank clean. While the two most commonly known factors are the size of the tank and its type, the size of the fishes is also important to the filtration system. Another, lesser known principle that affects filtration in the fish tank, one that is not commonly known, is the time that filtration system takes to be maintained.

Confused? Well, actually it’s quite simple. The time that it takes to clean the filtration system will determine how willing you will be to maintain it regularly. The lesser the maintenance, the worse the system functions.

There are quite a few types of fish tank filters available today and the most common tend to be the under-gravel filter (UGF), the canister filter or the hang-on-tank power filter. Normally, people tend to buy their aquarium filters and forget to find out how to maintain it. Similarly, pet store owners sell off fish tank filters without bothering to inform the customer on how to maintain it. As a result, most aquarium owners have little or no idea on what to do once they install a filtration system in their tank.

Let’s take a look at the common varieties and try and understand their maintenance process:

1. Under-gravel Filters: technically, UGFs are not really complete as a filtration system. Also, they take the longest to maintain. The cleaning process begins by removing gravel of the top of the filter plate. The nitrifying bacteria, in the filtration system, needs to come into contact with the water to filter it. Unfortunately, the gravel grains tend to form clusters on the filter plate, preventing smooth water flow.

The cleaning process begins with the removal of any light fixtures as well as the lid of the fish tank. Then begin replacing the airstones, the air pump diaphragm and clean the insides of the lift tubes. Then the brittle airline tubing needs to be replaced. Tired already? Well, that is usually the cause of laziness which leaves your tank dirtier than it should be.

2. Power Filters: Hang-on-tank power filters are simply brilliant and convenient. They can run 24-hours a day and almost through the year without many glitches. They are cheap to buy & run and can be serviced within a matter of minutes. In most aquariums, it doesn’t take more than a hang-on-tank power filter to maintain adequate filtration.

The power filter is ideal for someone who is in search of a simple filtration system that is as effective as it is easy to use. Changing the pad of the filter is probably the most effort servicing takes and even so, it can be done inside 5 minutes. The old pad needs to be lifted out of the filter, the new one has to be slid in and voila!

Depending on the amount of food given to the fish, the frequency of the service interval is determined. It goes without saying that every now and then, the filter requires a thorough cleaning session, which involves cleaning the intake tube, the impeller, the filter box and the place on the tank where it is placed.

3. Canister Filters: A slightly more complex version of power filters, canister filters are still quite easy to maintain and take about 15 - 20 minutes, not more.

Canister filters contain around 12 - 15 oz of carbon in them as compared to 1 - 2 oz in power filters. This means that their service intervals are much longer than that of a power filter.

However, as time goes on, between two successive cleanings, the fish tank filters tends to clog up and trap less dirt. The water flow also reduces over time and that means that less water flows back into the tank as well. Unlike a power filter, canister filters will completely cut off their water supply to the tank if they have gone for long without servicing.

Cleaning it begins with the necessity of taking it apart. While it is a bit more complicated and has a few hoses, valves and pipes involved, it isn’t necessarily rocket science.

Depending on the type of tank you are looking to create, the filter will vary. For those looking for the simplest solution, the power filter works best - change pad once a month and thorough cleaning on alternate months. This will work just fine as long as you don’t over-populate your tank or over-feed your fish.

A canister filter will allow you a little more gap in the service interval and can take more heat than a power filter. So, more than the size of the tank, the type of tank or the fish, it is eventually the amount of time you are willing to spend in servicing the filtration system that determines which one you should end up with.