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Written by Leon Huang
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Tuesday, 26 July 2005 |
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Page 7 of 9
Overhead filter(OHF)
Another commonly used filter, which sits on top of your fish tank. There are stackable and non-stackable types.
How it works
Water is pumped up into the filter tray by a powerhead in the fish
tank, which passes through your filtration media and back into the
tank.
"Being “open”, instead of being sealed like a canister filter, allows for good air exchange at the filtration media."
Pros
As we know, beneficial bacteria requires oxygen to thrive. And having
oxygen-enriched water at your filtration media allows for maximum
amount of beneficial bacteria to colonize(This is also dependent on
the amount of wastes you have for the bacteria to feed on). Being
“open”, instead of being sealed like a canister filter, allows for good
air exchange at the filtration media. And its lengthy shape only serve
to further increase its air exchange capabilities.
Another good thing about this filter is the ease of changing and
cleaning media. Just a simple matter of opening up the lid! And
finally, its sizes are usually enough to pack a decent amount of
filtration media in it.
Cons
It is unsightly! If you hate big things hanging around your tank, then
this filter is not for you. The tray sits there on top of your tank
like an eyesore. The powerhead in the tank takes up valuable tank
space, and pipes for drawing water up to the tray is unsightly. There
are some types of overhead filters that comes with pumps that are above
the water, thus freeing tank space. But do take note that there are
cases where they overheat and caused fire break outs.
Despite being visually unappealing, it is still a great filter at very affordable prices.
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