Fluidized Bed Filters – Types of Planted Aquarium Filters

by Apr 27, 20216 comments

Now that you know the different and critical types of filtration in a planted aquarium, how it relates to Mother Nature’s natural water filtration systems, and how aquatic plants aid in the water’s filtration in our aquariums, it is now time to discuss the Fluidized Bed Filters, one of the types of planted aquarium filters.

Planted aquarium filtration is the lifeline of all the inhabitants in the tank. Aquarium filters remove physical, dissolved chemical wastes and other contaminants from the tank. Without it, you would have to change the water more frequently, and this hobby becomes a chore (you will not be able to enjoy your planted aquarium that way). It simplifies our maintenance and widens the days between water changes.

Furthermore, it affects the health and well-being not only of your faunas but also your plants. Aquarium filters are critical to support life in your tank. As I said before, our planted aquariums are a relatively small and enclosed ecosystem compared to our faunas’ natural environment. We have no running water here, and at the very least, we should replicate their natural environment by using an appropriately sized filter.

Table of Contents

Functions of a Planted Aquarium Filter
Types of Planted Aquarium Filters
Fluidized Bed Filters
How does a Fluidized Bed filter work?
How do I maintain a Fluidized Bed filter?
What should I be aware of when using a Fluidized Bed filter?
Pros and Cons
Below the Tank
Pros
Cons
Overhead
Pros
Cons
Fluidized Bed Filter Myths
Stressing This Out Again!
Conclusion
Closing Remarks
HOB Filter Close Up Aquascaped by Omar Krishnan Afuang Philippines

Hang on Back/HOB/Power Filters

They are also called hang-on-back filters (HOB), and are designed to hang on the back of your aquarium, eing! Power filters are the most commonly used planted aquarium filter because they provide good to excellent mechanical and biological filtration simultaneously. They can also provide the needed water surface agitation for aerating your water.

Internal Filters

An internal filter is placed inside the tank and is totally submerged in water from the name itself. They were the first aquarium filters available for home aquariums. But with the dawn of aquascaping, these filters have lost their acclaim, but they still have their uses in planted aquariums.

Canister Filters by Billie Jay Basilio Philippines

Canister Filters

Canister filters are more powerful and larger than most other filters, and they are suitable for medium to large planted aquariums. This means you can stuff more media due to its larger capacity/volume, which in turn allows for better filtration and more beneficial bacteria colonization. The simple fact is the more volume your filter has, and the more media you can stuff into it, the more effective and efficient your filtration is and the clearer/cleaner your water is.

Using a Trickle Filter Aquascaped by Jei Joaquin Philippines

Trickle Filters

The trickle filter concept is to expose the water to as much air as possible, providing more dissolved oxygen. This will make your biological filtration very efficient and far better than other filters. If you can remember, your biological filtration’s efficiency in converting harmful substances (Ammonia and Nitrites) in your water into a less harmful form (Nitrate) depends on the amount of their food and oxygen in the water.

Sump Filters

Think about a trickle filter as vertical filtration stages and a sump filter as a horizontal one by utilizing chambers separated by baffles to route the water horizontally. The main takeaway here is that the filter media are always wet/submerged in water as opposed to a trickle filter. A sump filter can be positioned below your main tank, overhead, or integrated.

Fluidized Bed Filters - You Are Here

In its most common implementation, a Fluidized Bed filter is actually a 3 chambered sump separated by baffles. The big difference is that the biological media is held in suspension by a pumped water flow or bubbles from an air pump so that every particle of the media will have a large part of its surface area exposed to water flow and well aerated at any given time to home the beneficial bacteria that will filter the water off of Ammonia and Nitrites, as opposed to static media sump filters.

The function of an aquarium filter for our planted aquarium is not limited only to provide filtration.

  • A suitably sized aquarium filter can provide the needed water flow or turbulence to distribute the nutrients and CO2 (if you are injecting CO2, prolonging the CO2 bubbles contact with water so it can be dissolved before it reaches the surface).
  • Not just distributing nutrients and CO2, it provides the water current that some fish loves to swim against. Plants swaying with the gentle water current is a sight to behold.
  • A breeding ground for beneficial bacteria to break down harmful Nitrogenous compounds (Ammonia, Nitrites) into less harmful ones (Nitrate).
  • An aquarium filter can also provide the water surface agitation, aerating the water for our faunas and beneficial bacteria’s nitrification activities.
  • It can also prevent the accumulation of wastes, sludge, mulm in the substrate, keeping them suspended/floating so they can be taken in by the filter’s intake.
River Surrounded with Forest - Thuringia Germany

There are numerous things to consider when buying your planted aquarium filter by providing each filter’s pros and cons. Still, before we get to that and find you the right one (you can even DIY your own filter), you need to familiarize yourself with the different types of filters available in the market. Also, we are on a planted aquarium website. Obviously, we will discuss those popular filters applicable to a planted aquarium.

So Undergravel filters, you are out! Nobody wants to rescape their planted aquariums every 2 to 3 months to clean the detritus that’s been pinned down by this filter. With the advent of aquascaping, that’s the nail in its coffin.

Types of Planted Aquarium Filters

Fluidized Bed Filters

In its most common implementation, a Fluidized Bed filter is actually a 3 chambered sump separated by baffles. The big difference is that the biological media is held in suspension by a pumped water flow or bubbles from an air pump so that every particle of the media will have a large part of its surface area exposed to water flow and well aerated at any given time to home the beneficial bacteria that will filter the water off of Ammonia and Nitrites, as opposed to static media sump filters.

Numerous kinds of media can be used with this type of filter. The most common is the K1 media. Once the media are in suspension in the chamber, their surface area is increased drastically. Every piece of the media is being utilized in its entirety as a colonization ground for the good bacteria. A surface area of about 6000 square feet can be realized in as little as 1 cubic foot of media.

As you can see in the example implementation below of a fluidized bed filter, the owner used K1 media. Wondering why named it as K1? It comes from Kaldness in Europe originally, thus the name. But many copies can be found on the internet and they are cheaper.

Using Fluidized Bed Filter Designed by Nigel Sia Philippines

Using Fluidized Bed Filter Designed by Nigel Sia Philippines

A fluidized bed filter can never act as a standalone filter (since it can only provide biological filtration). It can be used in conjunction with an existing sump filter, where it can serve as the main biological filtration stage in its dedicated chamber, preceded by a mechanical filtration stage. Or it can be used/inserted as a secondary biological filtration stage to supplement your present system.

How does a Fluidized Bed filter work?

We will discuss how a fluidized bed filter works in conjunction with a 3 chambered sump here in this article. Like the bottom trickle and sump filters we discussed previously, it starts with some overflow system letting the water overspill from your main tank, and then will drain into your sump with the help of gravity. If you don’t want to drill holes into your main tank or don’t want to modify it, you can use a commercially available overflow box that is self-siphoning or you can DIY your own one. Or you can use two submersible water pumps: one from the main tank to pump water out and two, from the last chamber of the sump to pump filtered water back into your main tank.

Here is a great video example of DIYing your own overflow system by Joey Mullen also known as the King of DIY, on Youtube.

If your sump filter is below the main tank, the pump that will force filtered water back into your main tank should be more powerful as it needs to overcome gravity. If your sump is overhead, you will only use one pump to force the water into your sump and just let the filtered water trickle/rain down into your main tank. Two diagrams below are provided to show you the two most common implementations of a fluidized bed filter in conjunction with a sump and showing you the water flow and the suspended media flow for you to visualize.

3 Chambered Sump with Fluidized Bed Filter Stage and Water Flow Diagram

3 Chambered Sump with Fluidized Bed Filter Stage and Water Flow Diagram

Different Implementation of Baffles - 3 Chambered Sump with Fluidized Bed Filter Stage and Water Flow Diagram

Different Implementation of Baffles – 3 Chambered Sump with Fluidized Bed Filter Stage and Water Flow Diagram

It is important that you conduct multiple tests and staged the air bars or wavemakers in such a way that the media is moving in a circular direction. There should be no dead spots where the media can be frozen in place which can slow down the biofiltration due to lack of aeration in those media that are not moving.

As the fluidized bed filter is a part of a sump, the media are always submerged in water. The water is routed horizontally (since it is a part of a sump filter). This is done by chambers separated by baffles to route the water. The first chamber is usually where you will put all your mechanical media. The second chamber will be home to your fluidized bed filter. This chamber will also contain your air pumps or wavemakers to be able to fluidize your media. The last chamber will be the holding area, which holds the filtered water before it gets pumped back into your main tank.

Like the sump filter we previously discussed, a sump filter with a fluidized bed filter can be positioned under, overhead, or integral to your main tank. Here is a great video example of designing your Fluidized Bed Sump filter by Joey Mullen, also known as the King of DIY, on Youtube.

The critical part of the fluidized-bed filter lies inside of the K1 media, which is the most common media that can be suspended. Over time, a film of brown gunk develops inside the media and its surface. This brown film or gunk contains several different types of good bacteria in a biofloc.

K1 media

K1 media

Biofloc is a heterogeneous collection of particles and a variety of microorganisms related to extracellular polymeric substances. It is composed of microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, very small invertebrates, and detritus, etc. Heterogeneous means diverse in content. Polymeric substances are either organic/natural or synthetic substances composed of very large molecules. Organic polymers play a crucial role in living things, providing basic structural materials, and partake in vital life processes. For example, all the solid parts of plants are made up of polymers. These include cellulose, lignin, and various resins. Another familiar polymer is rubber.

Due to the swift movement of the K1 media, the brown gunk receives the ideal brisk flow rate and oxygenation for the most efficient biological filtration. The movement also makes the media continually collide with each other, thus knocking off excess gunk/detritus preventing your media from clogging. The design is self-cleaning. The K1 media and all its many variations should be purchased in bulk, though, as it’s expensive in small quantities. About 60 % of the volume of the chamber where your fluidized bed is will be filled with this plastic K1 media.

How do I maintain a Fluidized Bed filter?

Depending on your filter’s design and how you integrate easy access to an effective mechanical filtration, you will not be required to maintain your sump filter with a fluidized bed filter for a very long time and reducing the need for water changes. This means you only have to clean or replace your mechanical media and lets you leave your biological media alone for a long, long time.

As the media are in total suspension, they will continually collide with each other, thus knocking off any excess debris/gunk preventing your media from clogging. It is self-cleaning as I mentioned above, therefore, eliminating the need for frequent maintenance.

To add to that, do not maintain/clean your filter/media with chlorinated tap water! Always see to it that you clean your filter media using old extracted water from a water change. Tap/chlorinated water can instantly kill the beneficial bacteria you have long-established. Your tank cycling reverts to zero. You will have the agony to repeat it (Hello cloudy water/bacterial bloom!!!).

Squeeze and rinse whatever mechanical media you have with old tank water only from a water change to release all the detritus, muck, organic matters trapped by it. Keep your biological media wet by submerging them, also in collected old tank water. Do not use foams, sponges, brushes, even your fingers, or any abrasive products to scrub them (your biological media). Just rinse them with old tank water.

Alligator Gar

Alligator Gar

What should I be aware of when using a Fluidized Bed filter?

Everything that applies to a sump filter applies to the Fluidized bed filter since it is not a standalone filter. You can choose to use the regular biological filter media in your sump filter such as lava rocks, ceramic rings, Seachem Matrix, pumice rocks, K1 (not in suspension), Bakki rolls, etc. or you can choose to use a fluidized bed filter biological filter media that can be suspended like the K1 media.

A sump filter with a fluidized bed biological stage is suitable for large to huge aquariums (100 gallons and up) (most often utilized with monster fish – planted or non-planted tanks or overstock tanks). Using a sump filter with a fluidized bed filter biological stage effectively adds more gallons of water to your system. More water means a more stable system. Any Ammonia spikes will likely go unnoticed, and you don’t have to follow the “1 inch per gallon” rule when it comes to stocking faunas. 

They are usually 1/3 the size of your main tank, but I know hobbyist friends that designed their sump filters equal or even larger than their main tanks. You can not put a larger sump filter than your main tank in terms of volume at the top for obvious reasons. Plus, you have a lot more room for your mechanical and biological media, but this means you have to spend more on media. You can buy a customized or commercially available sump filter design and use one of the chambers as a fluidized bed filter.

Heros Efasciatus Cichlid

Heros Efasciatus Cichlid

Also, with all the water surface area exposed into the air and all those water movements, and splashing, the fluidized bed filter in conjunction with a sump provides excellent biological filtration due to a lot of aeration your water is being subjected to. Remember, nitrification activities depend on how much-dissolved oxygen is present in your tank and available food for your good bacteria. However, you will waste a lot of your CO2 if you are injecting causing you to raise your bubbles per second (bps) just to reach equilibrium and just to measure a 1 pH drop.

This filter cannot develop the denitrifying bacteria that will convert Nitrates into harmless N2 gas. If you can remember, Denitrifying bacteria colonies develop in an anaerobic environment – an environment void of oxygen or very little oxygen exist, in which this filter is not capable. Quite the opposite, it is so efficient in oxygenating the water and providing lots of flow to distribute that oxygen into the K1 media that it creates the perfect environment for the nitrifying bacteria to convert Ammonia into Nitrites, then convert Nitrites into Nitrates.

One consideration with filtration is the noise level. To be effective, fluidized beds need a lot of flow, aeration, and bubbles. The amount of bubbles needed and flow will force you to use large and powerful air pumps that can be very noisy in their own right. Use wavemakers instead if the excessive noise level is an issue. 6 small wattage wavemakers (2 to 3 watts) are cheaper than a large multiple output air pump and a couple of air bars. Aim 3 of your wavemakers diagonally down and aim 3 on the opposite side of the chamber diagonally up towards the water surface. This implementation will give you low noise, excellent circular flow, and great oxygenation of the water.

Wavemakers for Aquarium

Wavemakers for Aquarium

Setting up a sump with a fluidized bed filter for a beginner hobbyist might be restrictive due to the higher startup cost (available commercial models or customized ones plus the media and air pump). Not to mention you have to design the system well (DIY). However, considering a DIY sump filter requires careful planning and design in the event of a power outage to prevent overflow of your bottom sump (if you are using some sort of an overflow system). Please refer here for some of the scenarios that you must watch out for.

You can also set up your very own Aquaponics system with this filter (do not implement it on the chamber where your fluidized bed filter is for obvious reasons). Aquaponics is a fusion of aquaculture, in which you grow fish and other aquatic animals, then Hydroponics, which is growing plants without soil. Aquaponics combines this symbiotic relationship in which plants get their nutrients from the aquatic animals’ wastes while plants serve as a natural filtration for the water for the aquatic animals’ benefits.

Depending on the size of your main tank, sump filters with a fluidized bed filter take up a lot of space, even though you can keep them hidden under your aquarium cabinet. There is little to no room anymore for your other equipment. A sump filter above your tank may rob you of some room/space to maneuver while working with your planted tank or doing maintenance. Did I not say that it causes distractions on an otherwise pleasant scape?

A Sump with a Fluidized Bed Filter Designed by Nigel Sia Philippines

A Sump with a Fluidized Bed Filter and a Static Biological Filter Designed by Nigel Sia Philippines

A sump with a fluidized bed as its biological filtration stage is seldomly used for small-medium planted tanks, or never at all, not that I’ve heard of. But if you are transitioning from small-medium planted tanks to large-huge planted ones for monster fish, Cichlids, or Piranhas, and you want a sparsely planted tank and only using tough plants that are undemanding to CO2, then it is still possible to use a carefully designed sump with a fluidized bed biofiltration stage. Since the plants such as Anubias (big leaf varieties), Jungle Val, Amazon Swords, Bucephalandra (big leaf varities), Java Ferns, etc. can get big and can survive without injecting CO2 and can grow enormous and strong root systems, then combining with the most efficient biological filtration provided by a fluidized bed for your monster fish/es’ bioloads, the design is still feasible.

To summarize, here are the pros and cons of a Fluidized Bed filter in a Sump:

Below the Tank

Pros

  • provides excellent mechanical and the most efficient and effective biological filtration for a home hobbyist – plus you have a lot of room for your media
  • Depending on your filter’s design and how you integrate easy access to an effective mechanical filtration, you will not be required to maintain your sump filter for a very long time and reducing the need for water changes. This means you only have to clean or replace your mechanical media and lets you leave your biological media alone for a long, long time. A fluidized bed filter is a self-cleaning design.
  • can be completely hidden from view – you can also hide some of your equipment such as your heater from your main tank
  • ideal for heavy loads – you can get away with overstocking without affecting your water parameters
  • adds more water volume to your system – more gallons of water make for a more stable enclosed ecosystem for your faunas and plants.
  • Completely customizable – you can design or buy customized ones according to your requirements.
  • It can be home to your very own Aquaponics system or a refugium (you need another light though, but daylight LED bulbs will work). A refugium can allow you to home delicate fish/shrimp species or allow you to grow plants that can assist in nitrates reduction, such as Pothos plants (Epipremnum Aureum). You can only implement this on a static biological filtration part of a multiple stage sump, not on the fluidized bed compartment.
Arowana in a Planted Tank

Arowana in a Planted Tank

Cons

  • requires considerable planning and design to prevent flooding as a result of a power outage (if DIY) – if you are using some sort of an overflow system. A couple of scenarios are discussed in depth in the Trickle filters article, which uses the same overflow systems. Please refer here.
  • could be too overwhelming for a beginner in terms of cost (commercial models or customized ones plus the K1 media) or when planning and designing (DIY)
  • can waste a lot of CO2 (if you are injecting) due to the surface area of the water exposed to air and all that water movement, splashing, etc. This means you can only use this filter in a large sparsely planted tank or only using plants that are undemanding to CO2 for monster fish or overstock tanks.
  • takes up a lot of space even though you can keep it hidden under your aquarium cabinet
  • Unless you have an overflow box or DIY-ed your own overflow system, you have to drill the main tank, which may not be appealing to some. Also, it isn’t easy to sell your drilled tanks in the second-hand market.
  • K1 media is expensive in small quantities.
  • Air pumps are inherently noisy due to their ability to push air but you can use wavemakers instead to fluidized the media and create circular flow.
Asian Arowana

Asian Arowana

Overhead

Pros

  • provides excellent mechanical and the most efficient and effective biological filtration for a home hobbyist – plus you have a lot of room for your media
  • the suspended media can be another attraction to your planted aquarium, but see cons below.
  • Depending on your filter’s design and how you integrate easy access to an effective mechanical filtration, you will not be required to maintain your sump filter and your fluidized bed filter for a very long time and reducing the need for water changes. This means you only have to clean or replace your mechanical media and lets you leave your biological media alone for a long, long time. A Fluidized bed filter is a self-cleaning design
  • Can return highly oxygenated filtered water – the draining of filtered water from an overhead sump into your main tank will create water surface agitation, which will further oxygenate your water.
  • Ideal for heavy loads – you can get away with overstocking without affecting your water parameters
  • no need to plan for a power outage to prevent flooding since there is no overflow system and the pump will stop as well – sump filters positioned over your tank are designed that, in the case of a power outage, the water will not drain completely due to the baffles design, keeping your filter media wet and submerged until the power comes back on.
  • can be home for your very own Aquaponics system – can grow terrestrial plants. You can only implement this on a static biological filtration part of a multiple stage sump, not on the fluidized bed compartment.
Overstock Cichlid Planted Tank

Lots of Cichlids – Planted Tank

Cons

  • it causes distractions on an otherwise pleasant aquascape of the main tank
  • could be too overwhelming for a beginner in terms of cost (commercial models or customized) or when planning and designing (DIY)
  • may rob you of some room/space to maneuver while working with your planted tank from the top or doing maintenance
  • You must put a pump inside the main tank (another eyesore and equipment in the tank) to pump water into the overhead sump filter. The pump’s power and height of the sump filter is another concern making sure that the pump of your choosing can overcome the force of gravity.
  • can waste a lot of CO2 (if you are injecting) due to the surface area of the water exposed to air and all that water movement, splashing, etc. This means you can only possibly use this filter in a large sparsely planted tank or only using undemanding plants to CO2 or overstock tanks.
  • Adds to the weight from the top of your main tank – limiting you only to use light-weight filter media – imagine the weight of a sump filter stuffed with filter media, full of water, adding more stress to your main tank’s structure.
  • K1 media is expensive in small quantities
  • Air pumps are inherently noisy due to their ability to push air but you can use wavemakers instead to fluidized the media and create circular flow.
Discus in a Large Planted Tank

Discus in a Large Planted Tank

Fluidized Bed Filter Myths

There are myths about fluidized bed biological filters. The popular one is that “old bacteria” due to the continuous collision of the media can get knocked off and be replaced by new and young robust bacteria. But bacteria reproduce by way of binary fission. One bacterium splits into two bacteria, which is a form of asexual reproduction. So there is no such thing as “old bacteria”. Each bacterium receives the exact copy of the original bacterium DNA.

But the excess brown gunk I explained above can get really knocked off if it clogs a K1 media. That brown gunk contains a colony of good bacteria. It may land and stick to another K1 media that is not clogged yet due to the flow and lots of oxygenation happening or it can fall at the bottom of the chamber and the bacteria colony can reproduce from there. The whole system can’t slow down and stop the flow within the K1 media. This results in the most efficient and effective biological filtration for a home hobbyist.

When you first put the K1 media in its chamber, some of it refuse to circulate and remain floating due to bubbles within the K1 media. The bubbles will dissolve eventually in the span of 2-4 weeks depending on how much circular flow you implemented. It is not caused by the K1 media being new and no brown gunk or bacterial colony hasn’t developed yet that could weigh it down.

Some will say that it takes longer for a K1 media or the whole system to develop the beneficial bacteria due to all the water flow and the media being constantly suspended but as long as there is food (Ammonia and Nitrite) and oxygen for the good bacteria, they will develop and colonize as fast or even faster than any static submerged media from other types of filters.

Stressing This Out Again!

Whichever filter you had chosen from the list above, do not maintain/clean your filter/media with chlorinated tap water! Always see to it that you clean your filter media using old extracted water from a water change or a water source known to have no chlorine. Tap/chlorinated water can instantly kill the beneficial bacteria you have long-established. Your tank cycling reverts to zero. You will have the agony to repeat it (Hello cloudy water/bacterial bloom!!!).

Squeeze and rinse whatever mechanical media you have with old tank water only from a water change to release all the detritus, muck, organic matters trapped by it. Keep your biological media wet by submerging them, also in collected old tank water. Do not use foams, sponges, brushes, even your fingers, or any abrasive products to scrub them (your biological media). Just rinse them with old tank water.

Conclusion

Last but not least, of the filters, you can use in a planted aquarium is the Fluidized Bed Filter. It is not a standalone filter since it can only provide biological filtration. It can be used in conjunction with a sump filter, where it can serve as the main biological filtration stage preceded by a mechanical filtration stage.

In its most common implementation, it is actually a 3 chambered sump divided by baffles. The biological media is always submerged and is held in suspension by air pumps or wavemakers.

We also discussed how it works and what applies to a sump filter, is also applicable to the fluidized bed filter, and its pros and cons. The only difference is the media that can be held suspended: the most common is the K1 media.

The main takeaway here is that the continuous circular flow, suspended and colliding media, and oxygenation of the water create the perfect breeding ground for the beneficial bacteria to do their nitrification activities.

It still has its pros and cons. It is seldomly used in a planted aquarium, or not at all. But if you are transitioning to a large monster fish tank that is sparsely planted (100 gallons and up) and you will only use tough and undemanding plants to CO2, then this filter design is still feasible.

Want to Explore More?

Dwarf Pufferfish

Modified Traditional Method – How to Cycle a Planted Aquarium

The fastest method of cycling our planted aquarium works if you have an old established tank or a friend’s tank, but what if you don’t have any and are starting from scratch? The traditional method of cycling our tank, fish-in cycling, involves adding a few hardy fish to jumpstart the Nitrogen Cycle.

Nutrients – Planted Aquarium Water Parameters

Our aquarium is very much like a septic tank for our faunas (fish/es, snails, and shrimps). Whenever they excrete, or you are overfeeding, and those organics started to decay, or when dead plant matter decays, Ammonia is produced. When faunas die and decay, they will also produce Ammonia, lots of it actually, until they are removed. This causes ammonia levels in our tank to spike.

Nature Style Concave Layout 60x30x36 cm High Tech Aquascaped by Michael Yap Philippines

Nature Style Aquarium

It is mostly considered to be one of the most popular aquascape designs today. And for an excellent reason, this style is simply breathtaking and very natural looking. We are replicating nature, after all.

Minerals – The Planted Aquarium Water Parameters

Hardness/softness is the measure of dissolved minerals in the water. But although pH and hardness are different water parameter measurements, they are closely linked to each other.

Rimless or Braced Tanks

Have you heard of Rimless or Braced tanks before? This article will help you with your decision if you want a Rimless Tank or a Braced Tank for your planted aquarium.

Closing Remarks

I hope you enjoyed this article. If you have additional questions or want to share your experiences with the Fluidized Bed Filters you used, please leave a comment below.

Next, we will be discussing the “What to Consider when Buying a Planted Aquarium Filter.”

6 Comments

  1. Mick

    Thank you, Lemuel, for this in-depth review of filtration systems.

    Who would have thought there was so much involved in installing a fish tank.

    Obviously, the bigger the tank the more planning is involved and I guess it also depends on which fish you are going to be keeping because some fish are hardy and need less looking after I guess.

    We have a fish pond in the garden which we don’t really do much with and whilst we did have fish over the years they have been picked of by Herons and Cats.

    Thank you for sharing your knowledge and I certainly know where to come when I need advice.

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Hello Mick,

      Thank you for sharing your experiences with your fish pond. You were right, the bigger the tank is, the more planning involved and the more costs. If you can check the menu on my website, you will find my articles that will cover a lot about planning and setting up your planted aquarium. Were there marginal plants in your fish pond?

      Reply
  2. SAM

    This is a very detailed article on fish tank filtration systems. There is a lot of science behind it and I know my brother will love your page. Many benefits of fluidised bed filters!

    I think it’s a worthy investment for better oxygenated aquarium and lesser water changing time.

    Thanks for sharing once more!

    Cheers.
    SAM

    Reply
    • Lemuel Sacop

      Hello Sam,

      Thank you for visiting my website, and sharing my article with your brother. I hope in some ways or two, I was able to help you in your decisions to keep a slice of nature at your very own home.

      Reply
  3. Gary

    I never knew that there was so much involved in selecting an aquarium filter. How does the size of a tank affect what filtration system you use? Is it a matter of getting a larger version of a filtration system to scale with tank size or do you need to use multiple filtration systems? I imagine a smaller system could end up getting clogged and overwhelmed if used in a fairly sizeable tank.

    Reply
  4. Lemuel Sacop

    Hello Gary,

    Good day! It is the turnover rate of the filter that goes in with the size of your tank to consider. It is measured in gallons per hour (gph) or liters per hour (lph). Turnover rate is the measure of how many times a filter turns over your tank’s water volume into its filtration media in an hour. For example, if you have a 20 gallons tank, you should look for a filter that has a turnover rate of at least x5 to x10 times that (100 gph to 200 gph). We recommended a range of x5 to x10 as x10 turnover rate might be too strong of a flow for smaller aquariums.

    I have a 35 gallons tank so I normally would look for a turnover rate of x10 of that, 350 gph filter.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

AAPA Logo Final 512x512

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from AAPA.

By clicking this checkbox:

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Pin It on Pinterest

Shares
Share This