Filtration Part 1

Filtration system in our tank is the engine, this is my favorite part of the aquarium. I've spend the last 20 years toying with my filter system. I've had multiple setup with different types of media and configurations. I'll share what I've came out from all these years tinkering under neat the tank.

First, allow me to introduce you what is a filter system. It means filter lol. Ok you've the most basic part just add a sponge which it'll do 2 things at once. Remove floating debris (mechanical filter) and later on when the bacteria matures it'll also act as a biological filter.

Biological filter is the goal in your filtration, failed this and you failed everything. Please bear in mind this important fact.

Beneficial bacteria - Nitrogen Cycle

Understand that no matter how many thousands you pay for your filter system be it the latest Eheim or those fancy media like siporex, it all has only 1 job function that is a place for the bacteria to thrive.

Means before we keep fish we need to keep bacteria.

What we're doing is setting up a place for the bacteria to live and multiply and that'll be your biological filter. The starter food for your bacteria is ammonia NH3/ammonium NH4+. This will culture your first batch of beneficial bacteria (bb) that turns NH3/4 into Nitrite NO2. And your second batch of bb culture will convert NO2 to the final product in most of our system that is Nitrate NO3.

NH3/4  Ammonia
NO2 Nitrite
NO3 Nitrate

NH3/4, NO2 & NO3 are poisonous to your fish, NH3/4 being the most poisonous followed by NO2 and then NO3. Normally a matured tank should not have NH3/4 & NO2 present, but in a heavy bio-load tank these 2 culprit may not be fully cycled in time. Meaning you just have too much shit in your tank and its time to reduce your fishes or you need to have a bigger and faster filter to convert them.

Filter media (Biological)

They are many fancy filter media on the market, some will cost you few hundreds to filled up the sump tank, some offering moving media (seems to be the thingy now). Remember part 1, all media's do is provide a place for your bacteria to thrive. In short, they're all the same, from simple sponge to the most sophisticate media like Sera Siporax.

Now don't jump to any conclusion yet, media's like Siporax DO offer extra living spaces as compared to sponge, but for a sump tank, space is what we have. Complex media's like siporax performs best in small confine spaces like canister filtration where you don't have much space and you need to maximize what you have.

So do not think that you spend RM 1,000 for the most sophisticated media in your sump tank and you can fly, lets say e.g you and me both have a 3'L x 1.5'W x 1.5'H sump tank and you filled it up with siporax which will cost you a bomb and I filled mine with simple plastic mat that'll cost less than RM100.

Both the sump will only do 1 function and that is transform ammonia into Nitrate and it ends there. Same for both except one will cost you RM1,000 and the another one will only cost you RM100.

The biological filter is only but a nitrate factory, they produce Nitrate NO3 for your tank.

Should you save the money and buy better fish food? well that's entirely up to you, but for me...I'll stick to the cheaper option and spend the extra money on my fishes instead.

Oxygen O2

Your beneficial Bacteria needs oxygen to survive, no oxygen no Beneficial bacteria, no bb means no biological filter. Means you failed.

So all those media be it expensive or cheap needs O2 supply in order for bacteria to thrive. I've notice most ppl loves stacking bioring or whatever media, packed them full and felt relieved that they've had over supply and got a good feeling. This is a waste of space and money. Bacteria will not flourish in the center of those tight stacking media because there are no O2 in there.

Infact the center area where bb don't lives will give rise to bad bacteria. Bad bacteria in most case loves dwelling in low O2 places. Then your filtration will be a time bomb.

 This is part of the nitrogen cycle typical in an aquarium

Unhealthy system, most part of the media in center is not cultivating beneficial bacteria

This is my mini bakki shower with hi oxygen flow will maximize bacteria culture same goes to those trickle filtration. Make full use of your IOF.