Page 11 - TBAS-October-2020

TBAS October 2020 .................... -11-
peat moss.
But I don’t use them on a continuous basis, opting rather to utilize them
intermittently. That’s because I’ve experienced drops in dissolved oxygen in the
water leaving canister filters.
This phenomenon may depend on the organic load in the aquarium: The
higher the organic load, the sooner your filter will need servicing.
I strongly recommend using canister filters with diatomaceous earth (DE)
capabilities on a weekly basis. You can add to this some powdered carbon.
Powdered activated carbon, also known as PAC, is a granular activated
carbon that has been ground down to a very fine powder with a consistency akin
to baby powder. Treating aquarium water with a canister filter that can use
diatomaceous earth and adding a teaspoon of PAC to the DE powder (try a ratio
& robbing bubbles: A foam fractionator. of one tablespoon to every cup of DE powder)
will give you the best water quality you could possibly achieve short of doing a
full water change.
This process will also remove freeswimming parasites, which will become
trapped in the filter.

Submerged Filters

The submerged filter has played an important role in the aquarium business for
a very long time. Also known as box filters, they are quite efficient and can move
a good deal of water.
These filters are submerged in the aquarium and use air to push water out
through the central stem. Water flows through the filtration media inside the box
before it is expelled.
There are numerous types of filter media that can be used in a box filter,
thus allowing for versatility. Also, all three filtration operations (biological, mechanical
and chemical) can take place within the box filter.
I have discovered a way to use the filter for mechanical filtration so that it
will polish your water while also providing biological filtration.
Place a very fine layer of filter floss on the bottom perforated plate in the
box filter, and then place about one cup of No. 32 sand on top of that. Finally
place a fine layer of No. 30 gravel on top of the sand before replacing the cover.
The sand provides the water polishing, and if the floss is tightly packed
down on top of it and the cover replaced, there should be no fear of young fry
getting sucked in. But if you leave the cover off, this filter can still be used in
aquariums with very small fry without any danger to them.
By lengthening the airlift tube, you can get a stronger draw through the
filter.

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