Finding The Right Saltwater Aquarium Filter
Choosing the right saltwater filter is important, but is also confusing. There are numerous types of saltwater aquarium biological filters on the market.The factors to consider when determining the right saltwater aquarium filter are cost, adaptability, efficiency and the ease with which it can be maintained. The volume of material used in a particular system will be determined by the filter design.
It stands to reason that the smaller the filter channels in the saltwater aquarium, the more food, detritus and other solid material will be blocked from blocking the flow of water. The more efficient the filter material, the easier it will clog. Carbon and sand are the usual culprits. Of course, the good news is that any bio material used in an aquarium filter can be cleaned.
Saltwater aquarium experts recommend running the tank water through a quality mechanic filter before it goes through the biological filter. The reason behind this is reduction of material maintenance. Sooner or later, though, the filter material is going to have to be cleaned. This cleaning will dislodge a great deal of the bacteria in the tank and the foreign material that can clog it. This will not only remove bacteria temporarily but will also increase the saltwater aquarium filter’s ability to change ammonia to beneficial nitrates.
Bacteria should never be completed removed from a saltwater aquarium by its filter. To prevent this filter cleaning should be a two step process. When choosing filter material and creating the filtration system for the saltwater aquarium the owner should keep in mind the ease of removing part of the bio material for cleaning, while keeping the rest of it intact. Beads, balls, sand, bales, gravel, barrels and carbon that are all loose can be installed in the aquarium in individual porous packs that can be easily removed to clean the filter. Nylon pot scrubbers are one of the easiest maintenance types. They are stackable either horizontally or vertically because they come in sheets.
The aquarium owner should also consider the velocity of the water as it passes through the filter. The best filtration for an aquarium is for the water to turn over in the tank at least six times and as many as ten times each hour. What this does is optimize the ammonia molecules’ opportunities to convert to nitrates. While sand is a good biological medium, it doesn’t work well at this speed.
One of the varieties of saltwater aquarium filter is a protein skimmer. Its purpose is to remove dissolved organic compounds from the aquarium’s saltwater, which improves the water quality.
A protein skimmer is either a tower or tubular design with a cup at the top for collection and sometimes a tube for water return. The way this skimmer filter works is the injection of fine and massive air bubbles into the filter tube with the help of a high pressure air valve and water pump or air stones. The air bubble rise and provide a lift in the tube, which allows the DOC’s chemical compounds to attach to the air bubbles. These ride the air bubbles to the surface of the filter where the collection cup captures them and disposed of them.