Aquarium filter is perhaps one of the most important and must have aquarium accessories. It is especially important because it will cut down the amount of time needed to perform aquarium maintenance and works in many ways to establish stable and manageable water environment.
Below are some of the benefits:
Below are some of the benefits:
- It removes solid waste from the water by means of mechanical filtration
- The filter media provides a place whereby colony of beneficial bacteria lives which help to convert chemical waste from ammonia (which is harmful to fish) to nitrite and nitrate. This acting effect is called biological filtration
- Creates surface agitation to facilitates exchange of gas with the environment and therefore allows higher fish stocking level
- Aesthetically pleasing when bubbles are introduced through the external air tube
A guide to selecting your best aquarium filter can be done by following these simple rules.
- The filter must match the size of your aquarium fish so that they don’t get sucked in.
- Test the filter over at the aquarium store and monitor the water turbulence with fish in it. Watch the movement of the fish and whether they have difficulty swimming and maintaining balance
- Size it and buy according to your aquarium size and check with the salesperson the “filtering capacity” measured usually in cubic meters of water in an hour. I won’t be able to tell you specifically which kilowatt or pump capacity to match with aquarium size, but as I mentioned, use the above method by testing it at aquarium stores. I’m sure the salesperson will be willingly to assist you accordingly.
- Another important thing to ask is check on the safety feature. After all, what’s the use of having a powerful filter but lack the safety feature. Be wise and check with the seller and find out information whether the company manufacturing the filter is reliable. Find out the warranty period and also whether there is an accompanying maintenance instruction manual. Sometimes the salesperson would not readily provide you the info, so what you can do is to go online and search based on other users comments (ie. Bad experiences, occasional failure or maybe good recommendations)
