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Freshwater Aquarium Filter Care: A Cleaning Guide

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Freshwater Aquarium Filter Care: A Cleaning Guide

By: Robert Hedley
Posted: Apr 15, 2011

You can rightly say that your freshwater aquarium filter is the most important part of your fish tank; it’s the one that will maintain a clean and balanced environment so that fish can live. When cleaning out your tank, it’s most important to clean out the filter, but it’s usually not clear, especially to beginners how to go about this. This article is a guide on what you should do and why, so that you can get your filters clean without harming your fish.

There are different kinds of freshwater aquarium filters and they are usually designed to do different jobs in the fish tank, and according to the kind of fish tank in question. Many filters will do all 3 steps of filtration – mechanical, biological and chemical so you’ll not have to install 3 separate ones.

For beginners, especially with smaller tanks, an under-gravel filter is a good one to start with. It sits under the gravel in the tank and requires little maintenance. You will only need an under-gravel filter vacuum to siphon off bits and pieces that are floating around the gravel, but other than that, there isn’t much to be done. You must ensure though that you do a thorough job; any bits left behind will eventually cause your tank environment to go out of balance.

In larger aquariums though, especially those that are heavily planted, you need more than an under-gravel filter. An under-gravel filter will cause the gravel to be raised and there will be too much water movement meaning that plants never get to root properly. It will also cause air bubbles to trap and these could be toxic when they eventually pop.

Even in a small aquarium, if you have live plants, it’s a good idea to install an internal freshwater aquarium filter to avoid these 2 problems. They are not very expensive and they will save you the trouble of having to worry about your plants or trapped gases.

An internal (even external) freshwater aquarium filter needs to be cleaned once every 4 weeks, or sooner if you notice that they are clogging. This is where most beginners will have a problem, but without any ill intention. They will use hot water and then get surprised when their fish die after all that hard work!

Hot water will make a filter useless, or even dangerous for your fish. To understand why, refer back to your knowledge of the 3 filtration steps, mechanical, biological and chemical. Biological filtration is the most important because it’s the one that’s responsible for putting friendly bacteria that create a favourable environment for your fish. The bacteria are usually caught in the sponge and will be released once again into the tank when the sponge is replaced after cleaning.

What happens when you use hot water on your freshwater aquarium filter? You kill off all the bacteria, and then replace the sponge and your water is flat. There are no micro-organisms in it to provide a balanced environment and soon, you notice that your fish are sluggish and they eventually die. It’s because breakdown of compounds is not happening – there are no bacteria to aid in this. Ammonia (especially toxic) is one of the toxins that won’t break down without these friendly bacteria. Nitrites as well will not convert to nitrates and the eventual high doses will start to affect the fish. The tank will repopulate with the necessary bacteria after some time, but it may be too late by then.

So how should you clean a freshwater aquarium filter? Use cold water every 3-4 weeks. Never use soap – if you have to use anything, salt or bicarbonate of soda will do, and only in small amounts. You must not use soap on any part of your fish tank – it contains acids that will kill of your fish.

If you have many fish, clean a bit more frequently because waste accumulates faster. Disconnect the filter from the socket and take it out of the tank. Remove the cabinet that holds the filter to expose its inside and put it in a bucket. Rinse the inside in room temperature water. You’ll know its clean when the water running off it becomes clear. Don’t get it too clear though – you want to leave some “dirt” behind to repopulate the tank. Wash the rest of the filter (cabinet, piping); put everything back together and freshwater aquarium filter is good to go into the tank again.

Robert Hedley – About the Author:

Robert is an experienced aquarist, who owns and maintains his and other people’s aquariums. For loads of great tips on freshwater aquarium filter, visit http://www.freshwater-aquariumsecrets.com

Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/freshwater-aquarium-filter-care-a-cleaning-guide-4608781.html

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Article Tags:
freshwater aquarium filter, aquarium filter, filter care, aquarium filter care

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