Type of broadleaf plants such as Echinodorus Ozelot requires strong water flow. The aquarium water movements can be obtained from the filter pump. Your aquarium filter helps increase the quality of the water in your aquarium garden. There are three types of filtration that every aquarium needs...

Mechanical Filtration, Biological Filtration and Chemical Filtration. So, you have not only thought of mechanical filtration when it comes to aquarium filters. But as you will soon see, beside the aquarium filter types there are some other important things of aquarium filter that you need to know about before choosing it for your garden aquarium.

Aquarium Filter Size
Filter size is too small compared with the volume of water aquarium, in addition would inhibit the process of water purification, also will slow the nitrogen cycle works. The recommended size of the aquarium filter at least 5% of the volume of aquarium water.

Aquarium Filter Pump
The filter pump capacity written on the packaging generally a sense in a flat conditions without a filter media barrier. If water derived from the pump has to flow upward, or through the filter media or the bend pipe then the water flow will be hampered and resulted the reduced of pump power. The filter pump capacity may be assumed 60-70% of that is written on the packaging, depending on height, type of filter media used and the number of the bend pipes.

Aquarium Water Movements
Water flow in the rivers perform functions to carrying mineral elements or nutrients which are beneficial to plant life in water and sweep or clean the remaining dirt. Same with the rivers, the power flow in aquarium must be strong enough -- about three times of the aquarium water volume per hour -- in order to sweep the dirt into the aquarium filter. In addition, the ornamental fish species reared in aquarium mostly coming from a flowing river habitat. Hence, we often see ornamental fish swim upstream, against the water coming out of the filter pump.

In nature water is not always clear and the fish do not care, but we want a crystal-clear aquarium water. Some benefits by the water movements in aquarium are:

- Contribute to the oxygen needed for the life of degrading bacteria in filter media.
- The rotation cycle of aquarium water more evenly. It's affected to the aquarium water temperature, so that no part of the warmer or colder in the aquarium.
- Nutrition which inserted into the aquarium would be spread more evenly, so that no part of the excess or shortage of plant nutrients.
- The aquarium water movements will make the plant leaves are always shaking and this will make the plants grow stronger and sturdy.

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Without regular maintenance, aquarium filters will not function efficiently. This can lead to decline in water quality and cause problems to the fish and plants that live in it.

Almost all types of water filters are used to function as a mechanical filter and the mechanical filter media is usually made from synthetic fibers of various coarseness, meant to catch debris and particulate matter as water passes through your filter. Mechanical filter media commonly comes in sponge or floss form. Sponges have the added ability of biological filtration as bacteria will live on their surface.

Mechanical filter media is the first stage (called pre-filtering) in a filtration system; its larger pores will prevent debris from clogging your more delicate chemical and biological filter media further along. The more "tightly" filter media, such as filter wool, the more debris and particulate matter that can be filtered, including smooth-shaped dirt. But consequently, filter media quickly clogging (characterized by increasingly slow in the flow of water). Of course this means you'll have to clean it regularly, but the materials are very easy to rinse out.

When cleaning the filter media, avoid actions that "super clean" so that on the contrary killing of the bacteria of decomposition that have been formed. For example, do not wash the filter media with hot water or detergent.

Especially in the new aquarium installed, the biological filters does not need to cleaned for a period of two months. This is to give opportunity of bacteria (Nitrobacter) to grow, but do not forget to replace the water.

The picture above shows a healthy aquarium environment. Basically, the aquascape aquarium does not need to be drained forever. This can be achieved with a good filtration system and the aquarium filters always cleaned regularly.

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