I got excited or something discussing cheap and powerful canister filters made in China. So I jolted down some words of wisdom. Could be an eye opener for someone.
A few details have been ommited. Like what kind of glue is best to keep your fish in one place after you hook up a crazy powerful pump to your filter and have 0 algae issues.
Here it is:
It really annoys me to see filters labeled "for XXX gal. size tank". That's the dumbest claim ever.
Virtually all canister filters on the market are equipped with motors that are completely inadequate. Or rather - the motors belong to filters that are at least 1/2 the size of the housing.
Here's how it works:
There is a publication, a scientific one, about the water turnover through a filter that will provide 100% filtration. Running 1 tank volume an hour through the filter does not mean you have filtered all the water in the tank once. That's because the water being sucked by the filter is a mix of filtered and unfiltered water.
So, to make this simple - the water in an aquarium needs to pass through the filter 9.2 times in order to be filtered 100%.
Ok, so for my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that pumps 900 gph? No. I actually need more. I need about 40% more flow because of the resistance of the filter media, hoses etc. So to filter 100% of the water in a 100 gal. tank once every hour I need a filter pump that runs 1200 gph.
Wow!
And there is something else. There is an optimal volume of the filter media in relation to the tank volume. It is 8-10% of the tank volume. So for my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that holds 10 gals. of media.
Another "wow"!
And of course there is more. The filter media area is important. Meaning that I cannot get the smallest cheapest canister filter, hook up a 1200 gph pump to it and cover all bases. Simply put the volume of the filter and the pump output need to match. For my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that holds 10 gals of media and 1200 gph pump. But these 10 gals of media better not be stacked high. They better be spread as wide as possible. The thickness should not be more than 6.5 inches.
Wow...
No, that's not the end. There is a scary part to it all too. The same bacteria that happily eats your fishes' waste and makes Nitrate from stinky and toxic Ammonia will actually do the opposite if the flow through the filter media is too slow. So on Monday my bacteria eats Ammonia and produces Nitrate. On Tuesday my filter is slightly clogged and some of the bacteria now makes Ammonia from the Nitrate that their buddies produce. On Wednesday... you get it - most of the bacteria could be making Ammonia.
More... The bacteria in the biofilter is not just bacteria. It's all sorts of animals that gradually evolve and establish themselves. Think of it as the History of the World. Civilizations rose and fell. It's never the same. Now imagine what would happen if someone swept the place clean every 100 years or so. Started anew. There will be no real history. No humans. No internet!!! My point is - when you diligently rinse your filter every week or every month you are doing exactly that - resetting the development of your biofilter. Harming it. What is right to do is to choose the proper media that does not clog easily and does not need frequent rinsing.
Yes there is more... but enough said.
All of that makes my head hurt. Because when I see filters labeled "for up to 290 gal. tank" it's as if we all understand the conditions. And we don't. I bet this is the first post that explains filtration somewhat clearly to you. I've been in this hobby since 1981 and only the last year heard about all these things.
Basically if the filtration is properly setup you do not need mechanical filtration. You will seldom fight algae. There will be wars and fails and victories that you will never see - your bacteria and Co. will take care of it all for you.
Or one can just enjoy this hobby. It is not said we all must do things "the right way". It's about having fun, right.
--Nikolay
A few details have been ommited. Like what kind of glue is best to keep your fish in one place after you hook up a crazy powerful pump to your filter and have 0 algae issues.
Here it is:
It really annoys me to see filters labeled "for XXX gal. size tank". That's the dumbest claim ever.
Virtually all canister filters on the market are equipped with motors that are completely inadequate. Or rather - the motors belong to filters that are at least 1/2 the size of the housing.
Here's how it works:
There is a publication, a scientific one, about the water turnover through a filter that will provide 100% filtration. Running 1 tank volume an hour through the filter does not mean you have filtered all the water in the tank once. That's because the water being sucked by the filter is a mix of filtered and unfiltered water.
So, to make this simple - the water in an aquarium needs to pass through the filter 9.2 times in order to be filtered 100%.
Ok, so for my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that pumps 900 gph? No. I actually need more. I need about 40% more flow because of the resistance of the filter media, hoses etc. So to filter 100% of the water in a 100 gal. tank once every hour I need a filter pump that runs 1200 gph.
Wow!
And there is something else. There is an optimal volume of the filter media in relation to the tank volume. It is 8-10% of the tank volume. So for my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that holds 10 gals. of media.
Another "wow"!
And of course there is more. The filter media area is important. Meaning that I cannot get the smallest cheapest canister filter, hook up a 1200 gph pump to it and cover all bases. Simply put the volume of the filter and the pump output need to match. For my 100 gal. tank I need a filter that holds 10 gals of media and 1200 gph pump. But these 10 gals of media better not be stacked high. They better be spread as wide as possible. The thickness should not be more than 6.5 inches.
Wow...
No, that's not the end. There is a scary part to it all too. The same bacteria that happily eats your fishes' waste and makes Nitrate from stinky and toxic Ammonia will actually do the opposite if the flow through the filter media is too slow. So on Monday my bacteria eats Ammonia and produces Nitrate. On Tuesday my filter is slightly clogged and some of the bacteria now makes Ammonia from the Nitrate that their buddies produce. On Wednesday... you get it - most of the bacteria could be making Ammonia.
More... The bacteria in the biofilter is not just bacteria. It's all sorts of animals that gradually evolve and establish themselves. Think of it as the History of the World. Civilizations rose and fell. It's never the same. Now imagine what would happen if someone swept the place clean every 100 years or so. Started anew. There will be no real history. No humans. No internet!!! My point is - when you diligently rinse your filter every week or every month you are doing exactly that - resetting the development of your biofilter. Harming it. What is right to do is to choose the proper media that does not clog easily and does not need frequent rinsing.
Yes there is more... but enough said.
All of that makes my head hurt. Because when I see filters labeled "for up to 290 gal. tank" it's as if we all understand the conditions. And we don't. I bet this is the first post that explains filtration somewhat clearly to you. I've been in this hobby since 1981 and only the last year heard about all these things.
Basically if the filtration is properly setup you do not need mechanical filtration. You will seldom fight algae. There will be wars and fails and victories that you will never see - your bacteria and Co. will take care of it all for you.
Or one can just enjoy this hobby. It is not said we all must do things "the right way". It's about having fun, right.
--Nikolay