If you are planning to have an aquarium, you have made a fantastic choice. An aquarium enhances the beauty of a room by multiple times, displaying the swift shining movements of the fish, swaying green aquatic plants, pearly bubbles emerging from the air pump, and more. But this beautiful addition to your home décor also brings in many requirements the main of which is a best canister filter.
What is a Canister Filter?
A canister filter is a filter for the aquarium which removes water from the fish tank with the help of an intake tube, valve or sieve, passes it over the filter media in a pressured canister, and then returns the filtered water back to the tank through spray bar or spill way.
Action of a Canister Filter
A canister filter sucks the water up a lift tube out of the tank into an exterior filter chamber or canister where it is passed through an array of filter media. The direction of water differs from brand to brand, and can be back-to-front, top-to-bottom, bottom-to-top or outside-in. The filtration may be biological, mechanical or chemical, based on which type of filter media you use.
After the water passes through the filter media, it is pumped back to the aquarium. A canister filter always makes use of water pumps to move water, since their structure is sealed. Most of the filters have built-in water pumps, normally into the cover or in the base; however some models need a separate external pump.
Maintenance
Maintenance needs of canister filters change according to the brand and model. Usually these filters enable you to use various filter media. Several of them have baskets, isolated chambers, media bags or cartridges where you can place your favorite media to offer you the proper filtration for your specific setup of aquarium. Some media are required to be regularly rinsed out, while others need to be replaced. You need to check the manufacturer’s instructions for this to understand the maintenance needs of your canister filter.
Besides the filter media, you should also regularly clean the tubes and pump of your canister filter. You can easily do this by using aquarium tube-cleaning kits available at almost all pet stores.
What Should You Know about Canister Filters?
A canister filter is a very efficient tool, if used and maintained properly. A good canister filter offers you the benefit of choosing the sort of filtration suitable to your tank by customizing the filter media, instead of being stuck to the pre-made media cartridges of the manufacturer. Canister filters normally have lower maintenance needs than a power filter, because the water is propelled through the filter media, and not flown over or around it. In addition, most canister filters pump water back to the aquarium though a spray bar, decreasing current and evaporation.
At CanisterFilterExpert.com you will get a lot of information about how to find the best canister filter for you aquarium. You will get the information about how to examine different points to find the best one, and also reviews of top brands available in the market.