Power Filters

Powerfilters are the easiest and least complicated of all the saltwater aquarium filter systems available on the market right now.

The mechanism is simple the power filter pulls the water into the filter media and is pumped back to the aquarium.

External Power Filters

The filter hangs on the outside of the aquarium and is powered by a motor. The filter is made of filter floss or sponges and activated carbon filter media. The water enters the filter by a U-shaped intake tube and flows to the media and reenters the saltwater aquarium by another tube or a spillway.

The external Power Filter provides both mechanical and chemical filtration. The biological filtration is only established when the filter matures and bacteria colonize it.

The filter provides all three kinds of filtration. It also circulates water, which provides aeration and water circulation in the aquarium.

These kinds of filters are easy to maintain. You can simply replace it. Most comes in simple cartridges.

They are ideal for aquariums that also have an undergravel filter system or a live rock.

Biowheels Power filters

Some of the external powerfilters come with a smart option called biowheel. Biowheel comes in contact with air and water in the filter. Water moves through the filter, the wheel spins and expose the bacteria that live on the wheel to air and the water.

This system provides enhanced biological filtration when bacteria get sexposed to air making it efficient for the conversion of ammonia.

Biowheel also help keep the bacteria even if you have to replace the internal filter media. It is available as an external powerfilter or as a separate unit that hang on the back of your aquarium. It is powered by a powerhead or a canister filter.

Internal Power Filters

These are basically similar to external powerfilters but are placed on the inside the aquarium.

The benefit of this kind of filter is that they provide an excellent water movement since they are usually placed near the bottom of the aquarium which is where dead spots that may occur in your salt water aquarium.

But a disadvantage is that it takes up valuable space inside and blocks the view. But newer versions are now available as decoration inside your aquarium which you can use for aquascaping.

See Filters for Saltwater Aquariums.

Wet/Dry or “Trickle Filters”

Trickle filters are also known as wet/dry filters, and was a very popular type of salt water filters with hobbyists who built there own filters. Nowadays there are many manufacturers who build mant styles and sizes for your home saltwater aquarium.

Wet/dry filters maximize the exposure of the aquarium water to bacteria and air at the same time.

This way the bacterial conversion of ammonia is more efficient.

An overflow box on the back of the aquarium brings the water from the aquarium to a trickle filter box.

It is usually divided into two sections.

One contains layers of filter media for mechanical, biological and chemical filtration. This area is dry except for the lower part.

The other section has a pump and other optional equipments.

The water from the aquarium is trickled evenly over the first section though the filter media where it collects at the bottom. It then moves to the other section and return to the aquarium.

It is called wet/dry because of their division. The dry part involves the layers of filter media above the wet part. The water is exposed to air and bacteria for a good conversion of ammonia to nitrate.

The wet part in the bottom section involves the further conversion of nitrogen compounds (nitrate) to less harmful nitrogen gas. The bacteria that do this don’t need oxygen. The wet part makes this happen.

They offer greater advantages over other filter systems in terms of effectiveness.

See Aquarium Filters.

Undergravel Filters

Here we look at saltwater aqaurium filter systems in more detail, first we will discuss Undergravel filters. Undergravel filters have been the most efficient saltwater aquariums filters for many years and most successful saltwater aquariums use them.

But since there are a lot of improvements in the efficiency of filters, less and less aquarist use it because more and more new technology is available.

The Original under gravel filters

The basic undergravel filters have a perforated plastic plate that goes on the bottom of the aquarium under the gravel.

Each rear corner of the plate is a lift tube that extends up into the aquarium. Air is pump to the bottom of each lift tube and bubbles that come right back up the tube creating a water vacuum.

The water in your aquarium gets pulled down through the gravel and the filter plate and out the lift tube. Water circulation is then formed from the aquarium down to the gravel.

Your gravel acts as a media when you use this kind of filters. Debris and other particles gets trapped into the gravel and provides mechanical filtration. As bacteria that breaks down harmful ammonia from in your gravel, it provides an excellent biological filtration system and we have use certain kinds of gravel for this type of filtration system.

The only problem when you use this kind of filters is that it will usually get clogged from the debris that were trapped in the gravel. Therefore we need to routinely siphone the tank.

Cleaning can be difucult if your aquarium has lots of corals and live rocks sitting on the gravel. This is the reason why this kind of filter is not really suited for a reef aquarium. Other problems can be the noise generated and can be not strong enough for the water circulation in your salt water aquarium specially when the gravel clogs.

Reverse flow

Reverse flow of water in the gravel means that water is pumped though the gravel and will prevent clogging and the efficiency of the media will also be maintained.

How do you reverse the flow?

The common way is by adding another filter. Pump the water from the output of a canister filter down the lift tube of the undergravel filter. This can easily reverse the flow of water. Canister filter will also take care of the mechanical filtration for you.

The reverse flow gravel filter provides an excellent biological filtration without the dilemma connected with the original system.

Powerheads

This is one of the major improvements to the undergravel filters in the market as it replaces the less efficient air-driven system. The powerhead is a small pump that is sitting on top of the lift tube and it pulls the water through the gravel.

It improves filter efficiency and water circulation in your saltwater aquarium.

What about aeration? It comes now with a ventura aerator , which introduces air into the outflow.

Reverse flow powerheads are readily available and you can have a reverse flow undergravel filter without adding a canister filter.

The downside - they don’t really provide filtration. They just move the water efficiently.

Saltwater aquariums with fish only are the ones that will benefit this type of filter the most. It is not that expensive and provides good biological filtration.

If you are going to use undergravel filters, I would say that the reverse flow is the most efficient. You can use it with powerheads if you’d like or with a canister filter for added filtration.

See Saltwater Aquarium Filters.

Saltwater Aquarium Filtration Systems

By now you have researched and ready to looking in more details about Saltwater aquariums, so we will discus the basics of saltwater aquarium filtration and its process.

My aim in this article is to make it clear the different types of saltwater aquarium filtration and there processes. Saltwater filters work much lke a home filter for drining water and other home appliances, these filters help create a healthy environment.

Selecting the right saltwater aquarium filtration system for your aquarium is a very important task as once set up it can be very diffeucult and time consuming to remove and set up your salt water aquarium again.

In the market there is a wide range of options to keep your saltwater aquarium clean and healthy and at times you may need to use more than one type of filter to achieve the best possible water condition for your saltwater fish and other inhabitants.

So, which one or which ones best suits your use? Here are the most common types of filter you may come across and may want to use:

Undergravel Filters

They go on the bottom of your aquarium, underneath your gravel or sand. They are inexpensive and rely on either an air pump or powerhead to function. They are best suited for aquariums with a light fish load.

Wet/Dry or Trickle Filters

Water is pumped from the aquarium, then by means of a drip/trickle plate or rotating spray arm the water is dispensed or "trickled" down over and through a biological material source contained in the wet/dry filter chamber.

There are many designs, but they all work on the same concept. The filter media is exposed to both aquarium water (wet) and air (dry). Many aquarists believe that they are great for saltwater fish-only aquariums.

Power Filters

They are the most common way to keep your aquarium condition healthy. They are designed to work on the majority of aquarium set-ups and provide quality results and very easy to use. They hang off the back of your aquarium. You can conveniently replace the filter cartridge which makes maintenance very simple.

Canister Filters

They are very versatile as they are able to serve many purposes within your tank. They can act as stand alone filter or be used in combination with other types of filtration as well.

The canister are generally larger than most power filters. They are able to hold different filter media types that are layered on top of each other. They serve as a biological, chemical, and mechanical filter in an aquarium with plenty of fish.

So there are the basic types of saltwater aquarium filters and are key to any successful saltwater aquarium.

See Aquarium Filters

Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide

Saltwater Aquarium Beginner Guide

Welcome to my beginners guide to saltwater aquariums, this is where you will learn the basic information that you will need to understand before you buy your first Aquarium.

Keeping a salt water aquarium is an fascinating hobby, no longer do you need to go to ocean to see these amazing fish, coral and other wonderful creatures, we can bring the ocean to our homes with a saltwater aquarium.The first thing on our list when we begin with our salt water aquarium is RESEARCH, without this we will fail and another factor that you must ask yourself right now is are you willing to invest not just money but time into this hobby?

Once you have decided that the money and time required is acceptable then we can start looking at what type of saltwater fish you like.

Probably the most popular type of fish would be the "Clownfish" or its more common name "Nemo" this fish is a popular starting fish for all aquarist's.

There is an unlimited amounts of fish and other inhabitants that you can look into, once you have chosen your favorite look into whether they can be together in one aquarium as every single species has it's own requirements.

Now you have a basic idea on what type of inhabitants you want, look into what type of aquarium tank will suit these, there is tonnes of designs , shapes and sizes to choice from, so make sure you select the correct one for yourself.

Lastly what type of equipments do you need for your saltwater fish to survive and how do you keep them healthy?

Now we have looked into the basics next we will look into the basic details of saltwater aquarium filtration systems, Aquarium lighting, and Aquarium temperature.

Text and Photo Source: Saltwater Aquarium Online Guide