Best Aquarium Filter 2017

Filters provide filtration to clean your fish tank water. Aquarium Filters utilize up to three filtration stages: mechanical filtration, biological filtration, and chemical filtration. The main filter systems include internal, hang on back, and canister filters. Filters help to fix cloudy aquarium water, prevent detritus build up and remove impurities from the water. See the below articles to learn about the current best aquarium filtration systems of each filter type, and the products used within them.

Learn in detail about the three stages of filtration inside a filter: mechanical, biological, and chemical, by reading below:

Mechanical Filtration

The purpose of mechanical filtration is to physically strain fish excrement, uneaten foods, plant matter, and other large debris from your tank. Mechanical filtration is usually the first step in multiple-step filtration processes because large debris are trapped in them before it can reach and clog finer mechanical filters filter media, and as well as biological and chemical media, rendering them ineffective. It is common to have a foam or ceramic pre-filter to catches large debris, followed by finer polishing pads or floss which catch smaller debris particles. Any desired filter media will work as long as it can be cut to size. Mechanical filtration prepares your tank water for biological and chemical filtration by ensuring those processes will not become clogged by tank debris. Great products for mechanical filtration include Blue Ribbon Pet Products Floss, Marineland Bonded Filter Pad, EHEIM filter wool, and Fluval Foam Filter Block. To use, simply stick in your filter system, and it will begin catching debris.

Biological Filtration

Biological media is second in sequence to a filtration cycle. This area is meant to contain and promote healthy bacteria as means to remove toxins such as ammonia and nitrite from tank water. Bacteria command a warm temperature, much oxygen, and ammonia or nitrite as a food source to thrive. With bacteria colonies in your filter and tank, your nitrogen cycle will be stable and harmless to your tank's inhabitants. Mechanical filtration must come before biological filtration because if biological media is clogged, bacteria will no longer get sufficient oxygen, and die. To utilize your healthy bacteria which alleviates fish stress and tank toxins, we build them a comfy home full of oxygen, warmth and surface area. Bio-balls, porous rock, bioglass, matrix, and biomax ceramic rings provide great surface area for good bacteria to colonize and bloom.

Chemical Filtration

Chemical reactions are meant to change the composition of your tank water for the better. Chemical filtration usually occurs as the final stage of a filtration process because reactions are highly successful when low debris is present. Chemical filtration products reduce toxins that are harmful to your aquarium ecosystem, and cleanse your water of impurities as a final step in filtration processes. Activated carbon or charcoal reacts and removes pollutants including excess proteins, chlorine, organic and inorganic substances, and copper. Activated carbon also cures water discoloration and odor. Carbon media works in three processes. First, static forces attract toxins to the surface of the carbon. Second, bacteria settle on the carbon and eat toxins. Lastly, chemisorption occurs, which is when particles are bound to the carbon by bonds. The use of activated carbon may decrease oxygen levels in your tank if not soaked for an hour, so beware and make sure to have plenty of water disturbance or aeration devices. Carbon media must be replaced occasionally; an indicator of replacing time is when water obtains a yellow-tint. Zeolite absorbs and eliminates ammonia, nitrites, and other nitrogenous compounds from your tank water. Resins use ion exchange to attract harmful toxins such as ammonia, and replace ions with harmless compounds like salt.
Learn more about water chemistry and its importance in your fish tank here.


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