What Do You Know About Canister Filters?
Aquarium canister filters are best for fish tanks that can hold between 20 to 50 gallons of water. Canister filters work by sucking dirty water out of the aquarium through some tubes and into a series of filter media until it is clean. When all the dirt and other impurities are taken out, the water flows via another set of tubes back into the aquarium.Advantages and disadvantagesBefore you buy, be sure to know the pros and cons of using aquarium canister filters. The advantages of canister filters are mainly derived from their external location. First of all, the filter won’t take up aquarium space. It also won’t affect the aesthetics of the tank. The environment inside the aquarium will look as close as possible to underwater marine life. Lastly, cleaning and maintenance work on the filter will be less stressful and disruptive on the tank’s occupants.Since canister filters are located outside of the aquarium, its outside location gives you a lot of advantages. The first thing you’d notice is that they won’t take up aquarium space. The underwater environment in the tank will also look as close as possible to actual marine underwater life. Best of all, cleaning and maintenance of these types of filters will be hassle-free. Since cleaning will be done outside, it won’t be stressful to the fish and other aquarium occupants.However, there are some disadvantages to using canister filters as well. For one, they are among the most expensive types of filters. They are also prone to leaks. And if you have very small fish or if your fish are spawning, you may want to know that with canister filters, there is a tendency that newborn fish will be sucked out together with the water.Quality aquarium canister filters support all types of filtration methods – mechanical, chemical, and biological.How to prolong the life of your filterCleaning and maintenance tipsFor thorough cleaning of the whole filtration system, you should also include the pump and tubes and not just the main filter body. Refrain from cleaning the biological media. If you do, the bacteria, which are the heart of your biological filtration, will be wiped out.A few things to watch out forWhen you buy aquarium canister filters, make sure to choose one that has flexible media trays. This will enable you to select the type of filtration media to use. Otherwise, you will get stuck with manufacturer-dictated media. For your future cleaning convenience, these media trays or baskets should be easy to remove and put back in.As the parts that carry out mechanical and chemical filtration require regular cleaning, these should be easy to reach. The filter should also easily start up after being turned off when cleaning. It should be quiet the whole time it is in operation and should have no water spills. To be sure, request for a demo when shopping.
