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Biological Filtration Media |
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Sunday, 28 August 2005 |
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Biological filtration media
Instead of filtering solid particles(that is the job of mechanical
filtration), biological filtration works by providing places for
beneficial bacteria to colonize and breakdown wastes into less toxic
substances. Your gravel, your driftwoods, your decorations, or in fact
any surface in your fish tank, can be a place for bacteria to grow.
But what we want are dedicated biological filtration media. Stuffs
that are optimized for housing millions of bacteria, which sits inside
your filter and keep your fish tank clean.
The efficiency of biological filtration media is determined by its
porosity. The more porous it is, the larger its surface area for
housing bacteria. Thus the general rule of thumb to compare media is
by its surface area. But of course, there are other differences among
the media, which we'll now discuss.
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