External Aquarium Filters

Aquariums, just like any other part of the environment, need to be kept considerably clean, for aquatic life to keep thriving in them. Many people dislike the idea of having to manually clean the inside of a freshwater aquarium every now and then, so manufacturers have provided them with freshwater aquarium filters that can be installed to do the initial cleaning of the fish tank for them.

How is the water in a fish tank filtered?

An aquarium produces waste materials for a number of reasons. One reason is the biological reactions that take place in the water; these could simply take form of uneaten food that was left to spoil, or by waste materials of the fish themselves. But whatever these waste sources are, there are usually three general ways to remove and clean off these waste materials out of your fish tank.

When we speak of the natural processes involved in filtering the water inside a fish tank, we talk about biological filtration. Beneficial bacteria is the most common and effective agent of this filtering process, being able to break down dangerous toxic materials into less toxic substances.

Synthetic materials that are used to combine with waste materials are the work of a chemical filtration process. These waste materials react with the synthetic material, dissolving it and transforming it into a form that can be collected and thrown afterwards. One good material used for chemical filtration is activated carbon.

Manually trapping solid waste materials in a filter media is a form of mechanical filtration. Although this method does not involve dissolving substances or breaking down materials, it is an effective means of filtering out solid waste out of the fish tank. One thing though... collected material from the filter must be periodically removed by hand, so that it can continue to clean the water continuously.

What are the filters available out there then?

Fresh water aquarium filters are commonly purchased at your local hobby stores, and there are quite a number of these filters that can provide you with one or more of the filtering processes explained above. Take a look at some of the filters used in aquariums.

Power filters are the most common filters used in fish tanks, mostly because they're affordable, are readily available, and quite efficient. They're quite easy to install and use, and maintenance is relatively simple too. This is one of the filters that can actually use all three filtration methods, depending on how you customize the power filter's settings.

Canister filters are among the most powerful filters that you can use. This is because they force the water through the filter media, not just letting it flow through, making the filtration process far more effective in terms of filtration amount per time interval. One disadvantage, though, is that power filters are somewhat difficult to maintain.

Corner filters were the forerunners of the modern filters that are used today. Their basic function is to pass the water through it, and with a proper filter media installed inside, filter the water appropriately. They are very cheap, and are commonly used for hospital tanks. The advent of more effective ways of filtering made the corner filter a lot less popular than what it was before.

Sponge filters, as the name suggests, make use of a sponge for beneficial bacteria to colonize into, setting the filter for biological filtration. They can also, however, filter larger solid particles using the very same sponge. Other versions of the sponge filter include the use of two sponges at the same time, for convenience purposes.

Tags: local hobby stores, dangerous toxic materials, biological reactions, powerful filters, synthetic materials, initial cleaning, canister filters