Tropical Fish Tanks Filtration

As a beginner, you should be learning everything possible about tropical fish and water chemistry before "diving in" to the hobby. After all, your fish DEPEND on you for their livelihood! I personally dove in, and made a bunch of mistakes that could have been avoided. Not only that, I spent a lot of unnecessary money if I had just known the right things before-hand. I learned a lot from "Katy's Complete Guide to Tropical Fish", and it taught me how to have a much healthier and beautiful aquarium system.

The first part of even contemplating what your new tropical fish tank will consist of is choosing the right filtration method and equipment. Think of "filtration" in the following example:

Many people don't realize that their homes are filled with allergens in the air. They are basically breathing in dust, which consists of microscopic dead skin particles, dirt, and even human excrement ("poo"!). These particles in the air could be trapped in the home because of bad air-filters, or filters not being replaced often enough. This could lead to children or adults in that home to get sick, and even possibly die. This is the exact same situation that happens in an aquarium and the water your fish use to "breathe". You need to think of water filtration for your fish tank in this way.

So what is the solution? Proper water filtration. There is a chemical process that happens in a water filter that allows for good water quality and healthy fish. Same goes for the air we breathe-- it is a chemical transfer cycle that occurs when carbon dioxide gets absorbed into trees and plants, and the end result is clean oxygen is produced into the atmosphere.

The basics of filtration for a tropical fish tank are simple:

Water is constantly travelling through a filter which contains a few substances.

• Activated Carbon-- this substance (a.k.a.-- "media") has a chemical makeup that will remove certain things from the water flowing through it, such as organic molecules, chlorine, lead, etc. These are potentially poisonous to fish, so activated carbon can help remove these substances from the water
• Microbes-- these are actually a type of "bacteria" that accumulates within the filter, or even in the tank. This bacteria is considered "good" bacteria because they consume a lot of the dissolved waste in the water. The most important point to remember is that when y ou start your tropical fish tank, your tank will NOT have any nitrifying bacteria (or microbes) starting off. It does take a good 3-4 weeks before the bacteria starts to do its job in the filtration process.
• Sponge Filter media-- This is basically a type of "sponge" or pad-like material you will be placing within your filter. It basically traps any foreign objects like waste particles, or anything else. These need to be replaced every few weeks or so.

There are other substances you can place within a filter to further "customize" how clean you want your water to be. The three I've listed above seem to be the absolute "basic" you can start out with, but I do suggest to do more research on other types of filter substances you can use to help your tropical fish tank thrive.

One of the most basic things you'll need to learn is the "Biocycle" of a fishes' ecosystem. It applies not only to a fish tank and its inhabitants, but also to the oceans of the world. The same Biocycle happens in the oceans, but on a much grander scale. That's why owning an aquarium is an educational tool, as well!

You can learn about the Biocycle on this article:

Biological Filtration and Aquarium Health Maintenance

Below are three examples of filtration equipment you can use for your tropical fish tank. There are others, but these seem to be most popular as far as effectiveness and ease of maintenance. However, this doesn't mean you can neglect maintenance of the filter! You still need to replace the media substance, and make sure all the mechanical parts are in good working order every so often (best is once a month).

Check out the links below for more detailed information on each type of aquarium filtration.

Take a peek at my other blog, which has more detailed information about "hang-on" power filters:

Hang-on Power Filters

Check out my Hubpage on Canister Filters:

Pros and Cons of Canister Filters

Check out my other Hub, which goes further into Wet Dry Filters, and enjoy the video!

All about Wet-Dry Filtration Systems