Mechanical Aquarium Filtration - Underwater Eco Systems

Mechanical Aquarium Filtration

Remember that ammonia comes directly from the gills of your fish, but also from decaying fish poop and food scraps. If you can mechanically filter out the poop and the waste food before it gets a chance to decay, you can be a step ahead in the game. Not to mention that these wastes are ugly and can detract from the beauty and enjoyment of your aquarium.

Simply stated, mechanical filtration is the straining of solid particles from the aquarium water. Mechanical filtration does not directly remove dissolved ammonia. Most common mechanical filter media do not remove microscopic bacteria and algae from the water. Neither will mechanical filtration remove any solids trapped by gravel, plants, or decorations.

You will need another method to remove the solid wastes from the nooks and crannies of your aquarium. One of the easiest methods is to ``vacuum'' the gravel, etc., as part of your regular water change routine and everybody should do this. (Note that those marine aquariums which use ``live substrates'' are an exception.) Some people install circulation pumps, known as wave makers, to improve the chance of catching solid wastes in the mechanical filter.

The four most popular mechanical filtration media are sponges, paper cartridges, loose and bonded floss media which are reusable to different degrees. Clean paper cartridges have the smallest openings and clean bonded floss has the largest openings. Clean sponges and clean loose floss fall somewhere between.

A filter media with small openings catches finer particles, but clogs faster. Also, as a rule, a physically large filter area will clog more slowly than a small filter. As the filter media gets dirty it will trap smaller and smaller particles. At some point the media is so clogged that it will not pass water.

A good mechanical filter is one that traps enough solids to keep the water clear without plugging too often.