Pet Habitat South Africa

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28 Jun 2014

Filter Media Maintenance

Posted By : Guest

The filter is widely considered the most important part of any fish aquarium. This fantastic piece of kit will keep your fish happy by removing toxic waste products and chemicals from the aquarium. Some filters also work to ensure that air is introduced into the water.

Without filter media inside the filter however, it will be pretty much pointless. Filter media is used to collect all of the particles and dirt that is removed from the aquarium, so that it doesn’t flow straight back into the fish tank.

There are three types of filter media, mechanical, biological, and chemical. All three types can work together to ensure the smooth running of your fish tank.

Over time, beneficial bacteria will grow inside your tank and inside the filtration media, helping the fish tank to stay healthy naturally.

How to clean your filter media

Never wash your filter media in tap water. This will strip the filter media of bacteria by polluting it with chlorine and other harmful properties which can be found in water straight out of the tap.

Instead, a much safer option would be to soak your filter media in old water out of the tank. This doesn’t mean placing the filter media inside the tank, of course, as this will just allow all of the removed dirt and harmful chemicals that had collected in the filter media over time to flow back into the aquarium. The best time to clean your filter media is when doing a water change. Use a gravel cleaner to remove water and dirt that has collected on the substrate and then once this water has been collected in a bucket, turn off your filter, remove the filter media and place it inside the bucket. Remember not to use any cleaning products during this process, and use a bucket that has been used only for water changes. Any traces of washing up liquid or bleach can devastate your fish tank.

Replacing filtration media

It can be difficult to determine how often you should change the filter media that is inside your fish tank filter. As a guide, we recommend changing your carbon filter media every 4-6 weeks and we advise that you change the sponge when it shrinks or becomes very discoloured. The ceramic filtration media can last anything between 6 months to 2 years.

When it comes to removing the old filter media and replacing it with new media, don’t worry about losing bacteria. If your fish tank is already established, then the beneficial bacteria will already by floating around in the fish tank, and so the new media will soon be covered in bacteria. You could also replace 50% of the media over a 2 month period. It is better to replace the media bit by bit rather than all at once, to prevent a sudden and drastic loss of bacteria.

How to keep your fish tank healthy

While fish tank filters are important, there are other factors which can affect your tank, occasionally leading to problems such as ammonia, cloudy water, algae or fish loss.

To prevent these problems from plaguing your fish tank, it can be beneficial to regularly test the quality of your aquarium water using test kits.

If you find that your water is not up to scratch, regular water changes and appropriate treatments and additives can help to tackle these issues. Overfeeding is probably one of the most common mistakes that aquarium keepers make. Feeding too much can really affect the quality of the water in your fish tank as any leftover food sat at the bottom of the tank can rot and pollute the water with ammonia. For more information about overfeeding we’ve written the following guide explaining how much you should feed your fish.

Biological filter media

Biological filtration media is any material that houses beneficial bacteria colonies to break down ammonia. This type of filter media can include porous rock-like material, ceramic cylinders and plastic balls. Biological media can be placed inside the filter where it naturally breaks down dangerous compounds so that they become less toxic and less harmful to the tank inhabitants. The process, the Nitrogen Cycle, converts ammonia into nitrite and then into nitrate. To help beneficial bacteria to thrive they need to be kept in conditions where a steady food source is available along with plenty of oxygen. While fish waste and left over food can lead to ammonia and harm the fish, it also encourages this helpful bacteria to grow. Biological filter media is mostly maintenance free. It’s best to regularly inspect the media to ensure that it is not clogged up with dirt. Soaking it in old fish tank water that you have removed from your aquarium can also help.

Chemical filter media

Chemical filter media can work alongside biological and mechanical filter media to maintain superior water quality. Most chemical filter media comes in a carbon granule or carbon impregnated sponge form. This chemical media removes unwanted materials using chemical reactions. Carbon is a type of chemical filter media, covered in microscopic pores it allows organic and inorganic materials to stick to each surface. It can help to remove many harmful elements such as chlorine, proteins and copper. As the carbon begins to get worn, and the pores start to get filled with more and more particles from the aquarium, it gradually becomes less effective, meaning that the carbon in you filter is best replaced every 4-6 weeks.

Mechanical filter media

Mechanical filtration also helps to improve the health of your aquarium. It strains solid debris such as fish waste, leftover food, dust and grime from the water in your fish tank. It’s best to place your mechanical filter media at the top of your filter, followed by the chemical and then the biological. Mechanical media can help to prevent dirt and sludge from even reaching the biological media. You can choose from a variety of different types of mechanical media, as it can vary in porosity which determines the size of the particles that are withdrawn from the water. Mechanical filter media such as filter floss should be replaced regularly.

Filter Tips