Keeping the water clean in an aquarium is a challenging task because being closed it keeps on collecting waste material and is deteriorated. This is not healthy for fish and other creatures living in the aquarium. Therefore you should get your aquarium water filtered regularly with an efficient aquarium water filtration system. Benefits of filtered water for pets are many which we cannot ignore.
As far as aquariums are concerned, water filtration system either removes harmful waste products from the water or converts it to less harmful substances.
There are three types of aquarium water filtration systems:
Each of these methods has a different way of cleaning the aquarium water but all are useful.
Benefits of Mechanical Filtration
Particles of uneaten food and waste products degrade the water quality in an aquarium significantly. Benign initially, these substances become harmful when they decay and so need to be removed which is done by mechanical filtration. In mechanical filtration a coarse device traps big particles of harmful substances. This coarse material should be regularly cleaned or replaced to keep the filter efficient always.
Benefits of Chemical Filtration
Some materials are not trapped in mechanical filtration because either they are too small to get trapped or they keep lying at the bottom while the mechanical filter is working on the water column. These should be removed too for which chemical filtration is necessary. Contaminants like heavy metals and others that are dissolved in water can be removed by chemical filters.
Benefits of Biological Filtration
Biological filtration breaks down organic wastes with the help of bacteria in a series of steps called nitrogen cycle. Ammonia is a main harmful contaminant which is dealt with by these bacteria because they feed on it and produce nitrite which is the food of other bacteria which produce nitrate in turn. While ammonia and nitrites are highly toxic, nitrates are almost harmless and are taken care of by changing the water frequently. If you have invertebrates like octopus or jellyfish in your aquarium you have to be careful about increased nitrate levels because they are more sensitive to nitrates than fish. If you want to use nitrate-consuming bacteria, you have to create an anaerobic environment in the aquarium for which carbonate-based rocks or live rocks are useful.
Thus all types of water filtration are useful for aquarium water. You need to work a little harder for creating a healthy environment if you want to see your pet fish and invertebrates living happily with you.
