Kaix
05-03-2006, 09:53 AM
Aquarium Filters
Aquarium filters are used in tanks in order to remove the excretion of waste by-products which can potentially become toxic if not kept in balance. Aquarium filter essentially keep the water clean and work by trapping any solid material. The efficiency of an aquarium filter is correlated to it's ability to pass water through a filtration surface.
There are 2 ways aquarium filters can do this:
• By use of an electric pump, or
• Using an airlift system.
Although the electric pump variety are more effective they are also more costly. Aside from this technical difference there is also one other difference in pumps, they can be internal or external to the tank itself.
An external aquarium filter as already stated is generally speaking more effective than an internal aquarium filter and includes the following types: electric power filters; gravity-fed rapid sand filter; and wet/dry filter.
Internal filters: sponge filter; box filter; under-gravel filter and internal power filter.
For smaller to medium sized tanks box or corner aquarium filters are not only cheap but appropriate. Power filters generally are noisier.
One of the most commonly spoken of types of aquarium filters is the under-gravel filter and pump. People are mixed on their usefulness. While they are relatively low maintenance for the first year of use they can quickly become problematic. Under-gravel filters works by filtering water as it is sucked through the gravel at the bottom of the tank. However, this is where problems can arise. Often the gravel, unless properly cleaned and regularly will itself become dirty. The under-gravel filter will clog after approximately 12 to 18 months of operation. You will have to literally start again, taking out the entire contents of the aquarium in order to clean under the filter.
All power filters use some form of carbon or charcoal-filled pad which typically needs replacing every month. This is merely the process of removing the old pad and exchanging it for a new one. If you'd like to look at how aquarists rate different filters.
Despite popular belief, the stream of bubbles often a by-product does little to nothing by way of increasing the amount of oxygen contained within the water, oxygenation. The bubbles pass through the water much too fast for them to be absorbed. Where the actual oxygenation occurs is that the surface of the water. The ripples that are created from the rising bubbles in effect increase the surface area of the water thus allowing more opportunity for oxygen exchange to take place.
Aquarium filters are used in tanks in order to remove the excretion of waste by-products which can potentially become toxic if not kept in balance. Aquarium filter essentially keep the water clean and work by trapping any solid material. The efficiency of an aquarium filter is correlated to it's ability to pass water through a filtration surface.
There are 2 ways aquarium filters can do this:
• By use of an electric pump, or
• Using an airlift system.
Although the electric pump variety are more effective they are also more costly. Aside from this technical difference there is also one other difference in pumps, they can be internal or external to the tank itself.
An external aquarium filter as already stated is generally speaking more effective than an internal aquarium filter and includes the following types: electric power filters; gravity-fed rapid sand filter; and wet/dry filter.
Internal filters: sponge filter; box filter; under-gravel filter and internal power filter.
For smaller to medium sized tanks box or corner aquarium filters are not only cheap but appropriate. Power filters generally are noisier.
One of the most commonly spoken of types of aquarium filters is the under-gravel filter and pump. People are mixed on their usefulness. While they are relatively low maintenance for the first year of use they can quickly become problematic. Under-gravel filters works by filtering water as it is sucked through the gravel at the bottom of the tank. However, this is where problems can arise. Often the gravel, unless properly cleaned and regularly will itself become dirty. The under-gravel filter will clog after approximately 12 to 18 months of operation. You will have to literally start again, taking out the entire contents of the aquarium in order to clean under the filter.
All power filters use some form of carbon or charcoal-filled pad which typically needs replacing every month. This is merely the process of removing the old pad and exchanging it for a new one. If you'd like to look at how aquarists rate different filters.
Despite popular belief, the stream of bubbles often a by-product does little to nothing by way of increasing the amount of oxygen contained within the water, oxygenation. The bubbles pass through the water much too fast for them to be absorbed. Where the actual oxygenation occurs is that the surface of the water. The ripples that are created from the rising bubbles in effect increase the surface area of the water thus allowing more opportunity for oxygen exchange to take place.