Freshwater Aquarium Aeration and Filtration

A Great Combination for a Healthy Fish Tank

Nov 20, 2007 Douglas DuHamel

Power filters, mechanical filters and biological filters do a good job at keeping the water clean but they don't create sufficient water movement in the aquarium.

In an aquarium, aeration stimulates the flow of oxygen by releasing air bubbles into the water, thus creating water movement. Filtration is the use of different devices to draw debris out of the water, thus keeping the aquarium clean and stimulating water movement to a lesser degree.

Types of Aquarium Filters

• Corner filters are placed inside the tank and are usually filled with activated charcoal and aquarium floss. Air is created by a small external pump and fed through a hose to an air stone inside the filter. They are good for 5 to 10 gallon aquariums but they can’t clean and purify the water in a larger aquarium.
• Under gravel filters use the gravel as substrate for filtering debris. Air hoses from a small external pump are connected to upright tubes attached to the filter bed. Sometimes there are charcoal cartridges placed at the top of the tubes and the air hoses are attached to them. They are only good for small tanks because the pumps don’t have sufficient power to draw all the debris through the gravel.
• Mechanical or biological filters hang on the back of the aquarium wall and draw the water into the filter through a tube placed inside the tank. A small motor inside the filter propels the water and forces it back into the tank again through a spout at the top of the filter. The filter chamber usually contains a sponge, activated charcoal and sometimes small stones. They all help clean the water. The action of the water gathering air as it falls back into the tank creates water movement.

Types of Aeration Devices for Aquariums

• Aquarium decorations such as skin divers, ship wrecks, or underwater cities are powered by air hoses connected to small external pumps. They only create minimal aeration.
• Air stones or air bars hooked up to external pumps through air hoses work well in small to medium tanks. They give good bubble action but don’t have much force for circulating water.
• Power heads sit on the side of the aquarium and draw in water through the action of a built in electric pump. An air hose is connected to the top of the power head and mixes with the incoming water then expelled back into the tank with sufficient force to aerate large tanks. .

Best Combination of Aquarium Filters and Aeration Devices

• For small tanks: Corner filters or under gravel filters mixed with air stones or air bars or decorations.
• For medium or large tanks: Mechanical or biological filters which hang on the back of the tank combined with power heads. There are various sizes of filters and power heads so they should be matched according to the size of tank.

Benefits of Combining Aquarium Filtration and Aeration

Approximately 50% of all common aquarium diseases are caused by stress and dirty water. Better water movement will force the debris into the filter, thus making the tank water cleaner. Oxygen combined with clean water will create healthier living conditions for fish.

There is no such thing as too much filtration or aeration. By combining the two, you are increasing the odds of having active fish and a disease free aquarium.

Related Articles:

Filtration for Aquariums

Freshwater Aquarium Filtration

The copyright of the article Freshwater Aquarium Aeration and Filtration in Freshwater Fish is owned by Douglas DuHamel. Permission to republish Freshwater Aquarium Aeration and Filtration in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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