Aquarium and Pond Care with EcoBio-Block

Aquarium bio-filters

If you are new to the hobby of aquariums, you may have run across the term “biological filtration” quite a few times while you read about and researched your leisure pursuit choice. If that is so, you have probably wondered why biological filtration is important to the health of your freshwater fish. You may already have a biological filter on your freshwater tank. If you have chosen an under-gravel filter or a wet-dry filter, then guess what is filtering your aquarium water? That is right – a biological filter!

Aquarium filters all do the same thing. They have the job of removing any sort of decaying organic matter from the water. This could be leftover fish food, chemicals, live plants that have died, or waste products that are passed by the fish. There are two other types of filters that can be used along with a biological filter. These are mechanical filtration and chemical filtration. Mechanical filtration can be used to keep the water crystal clear. Chemical filtration can help to remove toxins that may be in your tap water, or any form of medication you may have placed in the tank.

Biological filtration can definitely help the aquarium lover keep a well-maintained tank without a lot of effort. With biological filtration, you are introducing bacteria into the tank water. These are friendly bacteria that help to change the waste products produced by the fish into substances that are not as toxic to the fish. Without this type of filtration, no one would be able to keep fish without very frequent water changes, which would be quite time consuming. The toxins would build up in the water otherwise, and your fish would die off, one by one.

One biological filtration product that is effective and easy-to-use is the EcoBio-Block. Simply place a block in your tank, sit back, and watch as your tank water clears up and stays clear. Marvel as you check your tank’s ammonia and nitrate/nitrite levels, and find the amounts are so low that that they are practically non-existent. You will find that the need to vacuum the gravel in the bottom of your tank has lessened considerably.

Your test results will reassure you that those frequent partial water changes are no longer needed for your aquarium. Cycling a new freshwater tank is a breeze with an EcoBio-Block product! This is possibly one of the easiest aquarium products you will ever use. There is no measuring, no mixing of chemicals. All you do is place an EcoBio-Block in your aquarium. They are made to be unobtrusive, and look like actual rocks while they are working for you. One EcoBio-Block can last up to two years before it needs to be replaced.

Instead of buying all sorts of things to clear the water and normalize the water chemistry of your tank, let biological filtration do its thing in your tank! Seeing is believing and once you see the difference in how your aquarium looks, you will understand why biological filtration is important.

HOB filter

HOB aquarium filter

If you’re new to fish, you may have wondered what kind of filter you should use in your aquarium care.  Many brands of filter have a printed number on them that is supposed to indicate what size of aquarium it’s good for, but this number is only correct some of the time as each type of fish and various stocking levels have different filtration needs. The general rule of thumb is that the filtration should allow for the entire water volume of the aquarium to cycle through the filter four times every hour (the turnover rate); however, a number of factors can affect this number.

First, take into account the number of fish you have and the size of the aquarium. For fish under 6″ you will want approximately one gallon per inch of the adult size of the fish, over 6″ the fish need a tank that is at least four times as long and twice as wide as the fish. It is possible to keep more than the recommended stocking level in the aquarium, though it will require a lot more work to keep the water in excellent condition and to ensure that no issues arise due to the restricted space. If you have a higher-than-recommended stocking level, additional filtration will be needed to compensate, often upping it to a turnover rate of 6-8 times every hour. In some cases, water maintenance products such as EcoBio-Block can aid in keeping the water within acceptable parameters if the fish are overstocked, though this should be avoided as the fish also need individual swim space and sufficient oxygen for all inhabitants.

Special space and filtration requirements apply to goldfish, cichlids and many large carnivorous fish. These fish still need the same kind of space recommended for their size, but in general need a turnover rate of ten times every hour to provide sufficient oxygen exchange and mechanical removal of waste and uneaten food. These fish have larger stomachs than the average tropical community fish and so produce much more waste. Bear in mind that goldfish and fish such as oscars and piranhas reach an adult size of a foot or more so be sure to plan accordingly; it’s a particularly nasty myth that these fish grow to the size of their containment and no larger. While growth hormones will stop them from growing when there is no more room to do so, the fish will generally have shorter life spans and can have many other health issues; oscars and gouramis, amongst others, will only experience a cessation in the growth of their head while the body still grows — eventually, their mouths will morph too much for them to be able to eat.

In many cases, the type of filtration must also be considered. My favorite filters are HOB filters that hang on the back of the tank and remove waste while facilitating oxygen exchange by keeping the surface of the water moving; however, HOB filters do not work for all fish. Because of the current produced by the workings of the filter it is not the ideal choice for weak swimmers such as bettas and smaller angelfish, while its open intake makes it dangerous for tiny creatures such as fry and shrimp. For these fish, sponge filters or undergravel filters coupled with good aeration may be the best option.

There are some measures that can be taken to lighten the filtration burden in your aquarium. The best thing for any aquarium is to have healthy inhabitants and for that you need the best possible water quality, meaning timely partial water changes as well as a strong biological filter. Biological fitration is achieved by having healthy amounts of bacteria in the aquarium and can be helped along by commercial water maintenance products such as EcoBio-Block. EcoBio-Block not only helps by adding good bacteria to the water, it also provides the essential minerals that are used up by fish and would otherwise have to be replenished through partial water changes alone.