Why the Filter in Your Tank Is Killing Your Fish (What Expert Hobbyists Actually Use)
Aqua Tank Tony
9,462 views
⭐ Save $1,200 A Year with My Complete Aquarium-Saving Methods. Get the book: https://www.aquatanktony.com/
The monthly filter cartridge replacement instruction printed on the packaging of almost every filter sold in pet stores is the most consistently followed and most consistently damaging piece of aquarium advice given to beginners. This video explains exactly what happens to the bacterial colony that runs the nitrogen cycle when that cartridge is discarded, why the consequences appear ten to fourteen days after the replacement rather than immediately, and what expert hobbyists actually run in their filters instead.
We cover why biological filtration is the only filter function that determines fish survival and why mechanical filtration only determines visual water clarity, why discarding the monthly filter cartridge destroys the nitrifying bacterial colony and triggers a partial cycling event that produces ammonia and nitrite at fish-harming concentrations for four to six weeks, why the ten to fourteen day delay between cartridge replacement and visible fish stress makes the connection invisible to beginners who attribute the consequences to disease rather than filter maintenance, why the monthly replacement instruction exists to generate cartridge sales rather than to provide correct aquarium maintenance advice, how to convert any hang-on-back filter to permanent foam and ceramic media that never requires replacement and improves in biological performance over years, why rinsing any biological media under tap water kills the bacterial colony on contact and why old tank water is the only acceptable rinsing medium, why sponge filters outperform cartridge-based filters on biological filtration metrics and why every serious fish breeder and shrimp keeper uses them, why canister filters configured with permanent ceramic and foam media provide the highest biological capacity for heavily stocked tanks, and what the brown biological film coating filter media actually is and why it must never be scrubbed clean.
8 Comments
When I buy hang on back filter who usually have this, I always remove the filter floss and activated carbon, then ill use the cartrige as divider and make this:
Coarse sponge > Fine sponge > Mini ceramic rings/balls (mini if you are using hang on back due to smaller comapatments and normal size for sump overhead) and lastly use any type of purigen (don't use it along with activated carbon only choose one). Purigen is very safe, can stay long and you can refresh its function by bleaching it or salt bathing. I always do this to all my filter and my water are always crystal clear and in good condition 😊
I hope this helps. If you can have live plants then it is much better. You can use beginner's plant if it's your first time such as water sprite, guppy grass, hornwort (floating) and vallisneria. These plants are very hardy and can purify your water like there is no tomorrow 😂
Why the Filter in Your Tank Is Killing Your Fish (What Expert Hobbyists Actually Use)
Aqua Tank Tony
9,462 views
⭐ Save $1,200 A Year with My Complete Aquarium-Saving Methods. Get the book: https://www.aquatanktony.com/
The monthly filter cartridge replacement instruction printed on the packaging of almost every filter sold in pet stores is the most consistently followed and most consistently damaging piece of aquarium advice given to beginners. This video explains exactly what happens to the bacterial colony that runs the nitrogen cycle when that cartridge is discarded, why the consequences appear ten to fourteen days after the replacement rather than immediately, and what expert hobbyists actually run in their filters instead.
We cover why biological filtration is the only filter function that determines fish survival and why mechanical filtration only determines visual water clarity, why discarding the monthly filter cartridge destroys the nitrifying bacterial colony and triggers a partial cycling event that produces ammonia and nitrite at fish-harming concentrations for four to six weeks, why the ten to fourteen day delay between cartridge replacement and visible fish stress makes the connection invisible to beginners who attribute the consequences to disease rather than filter maintenance, why the monthly replacement instruction exists to generate cartridge sales rather than to provide correct aquarium maintenance advice, how to convert any hang-on-back filter to permanent foam and ceramic media that never requires replacement and improves in biological performance over years, why rinsing any biological media under tap water kills the bacterial colony on contact and why old tank water is the only acceptable rinsing medium, why sponge filters outperform cartridge-based filters on biological filtration metrics and why every serious fish breeder and shrimp keeper uses them, why canister filters configured with permanent ceramic and foam media provide the highest biological capacity for heavily stocked tanks, and what the brown biological film coating filter media actually is and why it must never be scrubbed clean.