Filtration in the Planted Aquarium

Planted Aquariums are ones that rely on a lush assortment of live aquarium plants for aesthetic appeal. Tropical fish populations in such aquariums tend to be smaller than in regular freshwater fish tanks. In planted aquariums, these fish provide a focal point for the overarching scene, for the diverse array of greenery.

Despite the low fish population, efficient filtration in the planted aquarium is an absolute must. As with regular freshwater fish tanks, I strongly recommend the use of canister filters (packed with biological filtration media) in planted aquariums.

In this Aquarium Filtration article, therefore, I’ll discuss the proper use of canister filters in the planted aquarium.

Defeating Algae: Make Planted Aquarium Care Easy

The use of efficient filtration methods in the planted fish tank is vital to for the well-being of your plants!

In a regular freshwater aquarium, algae growth is not a big problem because you can easily wipe the clingy green buildup off of tank walls and aquarium decorations.

Algae growth on plant leaves, however, not only looks unattractive, but it also may cause irreparable damage to your live aquarium plants. Algae will obstruct the penetration of life-sustaining light into the plant leaves, and it’ll significantly limit gas and nutrient exchange between the plants and the surrounding water. Unfortunately, wiping and/or scraping algae off of leaves is not good solution, for doing so will damage the plants.

For the above reasons it is critical that you maintain optimum water conditions. You can do so by using clean RO water, keeping from overstocking your tank with fish, and not overfeeding the fish you have. In addition to keeping the water clean, you should also consider the benefits of promoting strong water circulation. Doing so will prevent many problem algae species from growing on your plant leaves.

Water Flow in the Planted Aquarium

Unlike tropical fish, aquarium plants cannot move about the fish tank to find nutrition. Live plants can only utilize the fertilizers and CO2 (for those of you who use CO2 reactors) when these substances make physical contact with the plant leaves (common sense, right?).

That’s why sufficient water flow is essential for success with live aquarium plants. At the same time, you don’t want to create excessively turbulent tank conditions. Strong currents will rip aquarium plants right out of the substrate!

So, what is the right amount of water flow?

Well, if you’re like most freshwater aquarists, you probably rely on your filter to provide most, if not all, of the water movement in your fish tank. Since the filter’s water pump is the mechanism that actually moves the water, you can choose the right filter for your planted aquarium by taking a look at the flow-rate of the filter pump.

World renowned aquarist, Takashi Amano, suggests the following filter pump flow-rates for planted fish tanks: “6 liters (11/2 gallons) per minute flow for 60- to 180-liter (15- to 45-gallon) aquariums, 20 liters (5 gallons) per minute for 300- to 6000liter (45- to 75-gallon) aquariums, and 30 liters (8 gallons) per minute for 300- to 600-liter (75- to 150-gallon) aquariums” (Amano 95).

Although the above flow-rates may seem high, keep in mind that the force of the water leaving the filter is quickly defused as the out-flowing water encounters resistance as it makes its way into the aquarium. To put it more simply, water movement, while strong at the base of the filter out-take, is subtle in the rest of the aquarium.

Nevertheless, the water flowing out of the filter may damage plants located directly in front of the filter out-take. In fact, Amano suggests positioning the filter out-take tube towards the front of the aquarium where shorter foreground plants grow (96). These low-growing plants are not affected by strong currents, and they don’t obstruct water movement.

As you can see, filtration in the planted aquarium takes some consideration. Still, five minutes of planning beats five years of looking at a mediocre aquarium! It’s well worth the extra bit of effort.

Bibliography:

Amano, Takashi. “Filtration in the Nature Aquarium.” Tropical Fish Hobbyist, January 2007, 94-96.

Aquarium Care 101: Part 3

There are many different types of aquarium filtration. Mechanical, chemical, and biological filtration come to mind, and you can read about them at length in The Kick-Ass Aquarium.

In this Aquarium Care 101 post, however, I’ll go over the most important of the three primary filtration methods: biological filtration.

Aquarium Care principle 4: Understanding Ammonia

No filtration form is more efficient than biological filtration!

Biological filtration depends on the work done by a group of beneficial bacteria. These bacteria occur naturally in almost all bodies of water, and, most importantly, they consume fish waste.

What makes fish-waste harmful anyway?

Well, the fish poop itself is not the thing that causes potential problems in the home aquarium. Instead, it is the toxic compounds released by fish poop (and by other forms of decaying organic matter) that can make Aquarium Care a nightmare.

In particular, Ammonia, a substance that is highly toxic to all tropical fish, is readily released by fish poop. This toxic substance is also released by your tropical fish through the gills.

Ammonia is made up of one nitrogen and three hydrogen atoms. That’s why scientists abbreviate it as NH₃. In other words, NH₃ describes the chemical makeup of Ammonia.

In the home aquarium, Ammonia may also be released in the form NH₄ (called Ammonium), which is not toxic to tropical fish.

Nevertheless, whether your fish release Ammonia or Ammonium depends on several factors, many of which (such as pH and temperature) are beyond the range of what most tropical fish will tolerate.

Aquarium Care Principle 5: Biological filtration makes Aquarium Care easy

Ammonia can be removed by means other than biological filtration, but that’s doing things the expensive and hard way!

Those beneficial bacteria will do a lot of the work for you if you provide them with aquarium conditions that will allow them to thrive.

But, before I get ahead of myself, let me briefly describe how the beneficial bacteria remove Ammonia from your aquarium water.

There are two groups of beneficial bacteria, and they detoxify your aquarium in a two step process.

1) The first group of beneficial bacteria absorbs Ammonia and produces Nitrite as waste. Nitrite is also toxic to tropical fish, but, fortunately, the process does not end here.

2) The next group of beneficial bacteria absorbs Nitrite and produces Nitrate as waste. Nitrate is the relatively harmless end-product of biological filtration.

And, that’s it. That’s all there is to it!

Aquarium Care Principle 6: Encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria in your aquarium

So, how can you encourage these beneficial bacteria to grow in your aquarium?

The beneficial bacteria are not free swimming. That means that they need places in your aquarium to cling to. In other words, they must have a surface area on which they can grow and multiply.

These clingy bacteria homes most often include 1) filter material and 2) the sand or gravel at the bottom of your aquarium.

1) Canister filters are great at providing biological filtration. I pack my canister filters with bio-filtration media. This media looks like a bunch of highly porous blocks which provide the beneficial bacteria a lot of surface area.

My canister filters are, essentially, massive beneficial bacteria colonies!

2) The bottom material of your aquarium constitutes the largest surface area in your aquarium! The sand or gravel in your aquarium, therefore, houses the most abundant population of beneficial bacteria.

The subject of gravel type and biological filtration is a complex one, and you can refer to Chapters 4 and 8 of the book to learn about the ins and outs of proper substrate choice and care.

Basically, though, the larger the aquarium is, the more gravel or sand it will house. More gravel or sand, in turn, translates both to a larger surface area and to more beneficial poop-eating bacteria!

This is just one more reason why large aquariums are easier to care for than are their smaller counterparts.

The Congo Tetra: A Touch of Africa in Your Aquarium

The Congo Tetra is an attractive African tetra.

Yes; not all tetras originate from South America! The Congo Tetra, in fact, comes from the Zaire River Basin. Nevertheless, this African tetra does very well in aquariums that house its South American relatives, and thus deserves a spot on the Tropical Fish of the Month post!

This tropical fish is a hardy species, but, as with all fish, you have to provide it with the right aquarium environment (see Aquarium Care below) for it to thrive.

Although the Congo Tetra is a beautifully colored tropical fish, many people overlook it when searching for new additions to their home aquarium. That’s partly because this tropical fish shows conspicuous signs of stress. In particular, new arrivals to aquarium shops often don’t show their brilliant colors!

This lack of color, in most cases, does not signify the presence of disease! Instead, this tropical fish just needs some time to get used to its new aquarium environment; and, until it does so, it won’t display full coloration!

When the Congo Tetra settles into an aquarium (this usually takes 1 to 3 weeks) not only does the color come in, but the fins also elongate at the tips and thus produce an attractive streamer-like effect! These white streamers nicely compliment the blue and gold stripes located at the top of the fish’s body! Indeed, the Congo Tetra is a unique and highly attractive tropical fish!

As an added benefit, the Congo Tetra is easy to care for in the aquarium environment. As long as you provide it with the conditions outlined below, this tropical fish will do well under the care of most aquarists, beginners included!

*Note: A new species of the Congo Tetra was recently discovered and, as of four months ago, is now being imported to North America. This newly discovered species, the Red Congo Tetra, should not be confused with the common Congo Tetra. In my experience (at work) the Red Congo Tetra is not as hardy as its common relative and should, therefore, be obtained only by experienced aquarists.

Aquarium Care:

Scientific Name: Phenacogrammus (Micralestes) interruptus

Origin: Zaire River Basin

Water Temperature Range: 74-79 °F (23-26 °C)

Water pH Range: 6.0-7.5

Temperament: peaceful

Maximum Size: 2.5 to 3.5 inches (6.3 to 9 cm)

Minimum Tank Size: 20 U.S. gallons (190 liters), though, as I indicate in The Kick-Ass Aquarium, a larger aquarium size is advisable.

Diet: flake food, frozen mysis shrimp, frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms (not recommended)