How To Change Aquarium Filter Without Losing Bacteria?

How To Change Aquarium Filter Without Losing Bacteria? The best way to avoid losing your biological filtration is by ensuring that you change your filter cartridge regularly, every 3 months or so and also ensure that the material you re-use is clean and free from dirt and dust particles. This way you can leave behind a healthy colony of bacteria capable of maintaining good water quality in your aquarium! Note: The following information applies only for mechanical filtration whereby old filter media needs to be replaced with new ones. If it’s simply a replacement of biofilters (carbon) then there is no need to worry about loss of bacteria.

How To Change Aquarium Filter Without Losing Bacteria?

Three Ways of Changing Aquarium Filter Cartridge without Bacteria Loss

The major cause of fish death after a tank maintenance is that bacterial bacteria (bacteriological filter) are removed from aquarium water. Therefore, Asian Tropica promotes three ways to change aquarium filter cartridge without losing bacterial bacteria.

By maintaining a healthy balance between different types of bacteria and other microorganisms it becomes easy for aquarists to maintain good water quality and healthy fish in their tanks. It also helps prevent diseases such as ammonia poisoning, nitrite poisoning or nitrate poisoning and keeps fish stress-free. Since filtration is therefore the most important and time consuming part of aquarium maintenance, Asian Tropica recommends three ways to change filter cartridge without losing bacterial bacteria.

Through this article we would like to share some tips with you regarding how to keep your water healthy while changing the filtration medium in your tank. Regardless of whether your tank is a freshwater or salt water one, it is very important to prevent loss of valuable bacteria when changing out filters because these little guys do such an amazing job keeping everything clean!. The key is not really getting rid of all the bio-growth but rather reestablishing equilibrium after a major change so that stability can be maintained in a new way.

1. Leaving the Old Filter in the Tank:

By leaving your old filter, the bacteria remain in your tank. This is actually a simple method that works for many fish keepers. If doing it this way, you should change 80% of the water every week to avoid debris buildup on the bottom of your tank. Another option is to remove all of the old substrate and then put half of it in a bag for three days and bring fresh stuff back in when you buy new media from store.

2. Reusing the Media of the Old Filter:

Take out all bioballs from an old filter cartridge and wash them with tap water or by soaking in aquarium water for about two hours (change water periodically). Put them into a plastic vase or bucket with some saltwater water (5%-10%) and let them sit in that water for a couple of days. By doing this, the bacteria will start to grow again but you have to be careful not to keep it too long because if algae starts growing on bioballs then they are useless. You should also avoid using tap water for re-use since chlorine may affect bacteria activity.

3. Colonizing the New Filter:

This is actually a very simple method, but one that can go wrong if you don’t follow instructions properly. All you need is a small container filled with aquarium water (about half full) and place your new filter media inside it for about 24 hours before placing it into your tank to colonize it. It is vital to change some of the water in this container every few hours to remove harmful substances that could affect your bacteria.

Asian Tropica recommends doing these steps before starting up a new aquarium or changing old filter medium to help reestablish equilibrium after major changes so that stability can be maintained in a new way. Following these tips will help you maintain good water quality and healthy fish in your tanks, providing them with relaxed and stress free environment in which they can thrive! For other useful tips on aquarium maintenance please visit our website at asiantropicaonline.com . Thank you for reading!

See more: Best Aquarium Bacteria Supplement For Fish Tank

Understanding Biological Filtration and Importance of Bacteria Loss Prevention

Biological filtration is an important part of the entire mechanical, chemical and biological filtration process in the aquarium. The term “bio-filtration” refers to a wide variety of bacteria which are used for breaking down toxic ammonia into nitrite and then into harmless nitrate.

The most essential role bacterial play in water cycling is nitrogen cycle or more especially ammonia cycle. Fish waste products such as uneaten food and dead skin cells contain amino acids that turn into toxic ammonia (NH3). This NH3 will be absorbed by water where it will be converted to ammonium (NH4+). Ammonium in small numbers can be tolerated by fish but when they reach dangerous levels, effects may include lethargy, no appetite, clamped fins and can lead to death.

Nitrosomonas bacteria then convert ammonia to nitrite (NO2-) which is just as toxic. Nitrobacter bacteria in turn converts the NO2- into nitrate (NO3-). The advantage of using an aquarium filter containing activated carbon is that it will absorb any residual odors from fish waste, thereby preventing unwanted smells form being released into aquarium water. It also helps to remove discoloration and makes looking after your tank much easier! Your biofilter therefore has two roles – one is to break down toxic waste products from the fish and second is to reduce odor.

Does The Aquarium Filter Cartridge Really Need Changing?

The short answer here is no, the filter cartridge does not need to be replaced on a regular basis and this is largely down to the presence of biofilms. All filter cartridges have pores that allow beneficial bacteria living inside them to colonize onto it’s media surface. As long as these bacteria remain alive they will continue to remove harmful compounds from your aquarium water and over time build-up of waste products in your tank will be removed before they reach dangerous levels!

In some cases however, you may find that your biological filtration has broken down due to too much nitrates being present for example or because you are using tap water. The best way around this problem is by ensuring that you use only well-decanted water or RO/DI water and also replace your filter media regularly.

Common Misconceptions about Aquarium Filters

There are many false beliefs regarding the necessity to replace aquarium filters on a regular basis, fuelled by advice given by pet shops where they are known to push for sales of new products as opposed to maintaining stock in older ones. Biological filtration is clean and efficient when it comes to removing toxins and harmful compounds from our swimming water but not all filtration systems need replacing on an annual basis! The only instance where you will have to change your filter cartridge regularly is if it has deteriorated badly – flaking or falling apart because of mechanical wear and tear or even being left out in direct sunlight all day long, etc. Asian Tropica recommend using quality products like Eheim which are robust and will last for many years if taken care of properly.

source https://memfish.net/how-to-change-aquarium-filter-without-losing-bacteria/