Biological Aquarium Filtration - Underwater Eco Systems

Biological Aquarium Filtration

Biological aquarium filtration is the term for fostering ammonia-neutralizing bacteria growth. It is so important to the health of your aquarium that we should look at how this process works more closely. There are other types of wastes that can cause problems, but the regular partial water changes needed to control nitrates are typically enough to control other forms of waste as well.

Mother Nature provides several types of bacteria that break down ammonia into progressively less toxic compounds, nitrite and nitrate. These bacteria are not harmful and are quite abundant in nature. They are so common that we do not need to add them to our aquariums; nature does it for us.

In the presence of ammonia and oxygen these bacteria will naturally multiply. The bacteria attach to the tank, rocks, gravel, and even tank decorations. Note that we have not yet said anything about a physical filter. This is because biofiltration bacteria require only:

• A surface upon which to attach
• Ammonia for food
• Oxygen-rich water

This sounds so simple; why do we need a physical filter?
Actually, if you limit the amount of fish to what the natural biofiltration can handle, you do not need a physical filter. Unfortunately, you cannot support very many fish with only the natural biofiltration.

In the last few decades, the hobby has seen many new types of biological filters invented which can vastly increase the capacity of the bacteria colony to provide biological filtration to your aquarium. In essence, all of these types of filters provide additional surface area for bacteria attachment and increase the available oxygen dissolved in the water.