The Adventures Of Lonely Boy – Day Six

Posted on January 11, 2008 Updated on November 24, 2016

I finally set out to do abit of cleaning up the aquarium, something which I’ve been putting off for quite a while.

Cleaning two 4-feet (48 inch) fish tanks is no mean feat. I spent almost half a day just washing the filter and siphoning the debris.

Filtration plays an important part in an underwater eco-system. It ‘cycles’ the water by sucking the water into the filtration system whereby any physical impurities (eg. fish waste, uneaten food) are trapped by the cotton and allows clean water to flow back into the aquarium. This, is Mechanical filtration.

Fish waste contains ammonia and if unremoved, will rapidly build up to high concentrations which can be toxic to fishes. Ammonia could be easily removed with the addition of ceramic rings or bio-balls into the filter. Useful bacteria will colonise and multiply on these ceramic rings to help break down the ammonia into harmless nitrite. If there are water plants in the aquarium, it may take the filtration one step further by absorbing nitrate as nutrients. This, is called Biological filtration.

Any other pollutants (eg. pesticides, perfume, smoke) that entered through the water surface which cannot be removed by Mechanical and Biological filtration, can be adsorbed by Activated Carbon which is added to the filter. This process is called Chemical filtration.

An ideal filter should be able to perform the three processes mentioned above and is readily available in the market.

With a good filtration system running in your aquarium, it lowers the frequency of water changes that you have to make. A fish in optimal health displays vibrant colors and are more lively than fishes that live in stagnant water.

If you’re able to replicate a living condition which is similar to their natural habitat, they might even reproduce if they feel very much at home in the aquarium!

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=98379877
Presenting to you, the fish waste.

http://apps.rockyou.com/rockyou.swf?instanceid=98384465
Presenting, the occupants in my aquarium.