Home » Filter System for Your Home Freshwater Aquarium

Keeping a home freshwater aquarium-tank requires some equipment to be able to sustain the live s of the fish that you plan to raise. A very important piece of equipment is your filtration system. The size and type of filter system could determine the amount of maintenance your aquarium will require. There are various types of filtration processes. Mechanical and chemical filtration relate to what is actually being filtered out. Mechanical filtration takes out visible particles out of the water, while chemical filtration, as the name implies, removes the chemicals. Biological filtration relates to biological organisms filtering out various compounds in your aquarium. One of the more common biological filtration processes would be micro-organisms converting ammonia from fish waste into nitrate and nitrite which then can be utilized by micro-organisms or aquatic plants. Build up of these compounds containing nitrogen can increase your chances of having algal problems in your freshwater aquarium. Ammonia can be especially dangerous to fish, which is why biological filtration is very important and should be given priority when setting up your home freshwater aquarium. Setting up your aquarium for a few days before adding fish may give micro-organisms a chance to grow so that some level biological filtration is already taking place once fish are placed in the aquarium.

The most common filter that can be used with your home freshwater aquarium are Hang on Back (HOB) filters. They utilize the three types of filtration, are space savers, and will suffice for the beginning freshwater aquarium enthusiast. Other types of filters include canister filters, fluidized sand filters, and gravel filters. One tip for decreasing maintenance time for your fish tank is to use a filter system that is more than adequate for the size of your tank while also keeping less fish in your tank. I do this with a canister filter for my 55 gallon tank and it has significantly reduced the amount of maintenance (i.e. cleaning) my fish tank needs. An aquarium filter is just one piece of equipment vital for keeping a successful home freshwater aquarium, but is probably one of the most important pieces of equipment.