#BEST GOLDFISH AQUARIUM WITH FILTER UPDATE#

In reality, a filter cartridge is really just some activated carbon sandwiched in between two pieces of filter floss.Īnd usually, when a filter relies on cartridges, the space inside the filter housing is very limited, there’s no room to add extra biomedia. Why I Don’t Recommend Filter Cartridgesįilter manufacturers try to make it seem like their cartridges are some innovative invention that will magically destroy all impurities in your water. The more your tank has, the more easily the bacteria can process the waste produced by fish. It’s important to maximize biomedia in your filter. It’s special filter media made out of a porous material (unglazed ceramic, sintered glass, etc) that water can flow through.īiomedia increases the surface area inside your filter so there’s a lot more space for beneficial bacteria to set up shop. The walls of the filter housing just do not have enough surface area for the huge population of bacteria you need to run your tank. They need a surface to cling to so they can pull waste out of the water column. The beneficial bacteria that carry out the nitrogen cycle don’t just float around in the water. So a filter is vital because it helps process waste and make the water safe for fish. The beneficial bacteria that carry out the nitrogen cycle primarily live in an aquarium’s filter. Nitrate is much less toxic and can be allowed to build up in the water column in between water changes. Luckily, another kind of bacteria eats it almost instantly and turns it into a compound called nitrate (NO 3-). One kind eats ammonia and turns it into something called nitrite (NO 2 -1), which is just as toxic as ammonia. In an established tank, there are millions of beneficial bacteria living in the filter. This is where the nitrogen cycle comes in.

The fish would keep putting off waste which would make more and more ammonia until the water became completely toxic and all the fish died. Left on its own, the tank would quickly become unlivable. This is bad news because ammonia is highly toxic. Without this process, keeping fish in an aquarium would be impossible, so let me explain for anyone who’s not familiar with it.įish constantly put off waste, both urine and feces.Īll that waste sinks to the bottom of the tank and starts to decompose.Īs it breaks down, it puts off ammonia (NH 3). The aquarium nitrogen cycle is the natural process that breaks down toxic waste products in the water and transforms them into safe compounds.

#BEST GOLDFISH AQUARIUM WITH FILTER UPDATE#

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Best goldfish aquarium with filter