* Million-Air Professionally Proven Reliable Aquarium Air PumpsĪs per 'Live Rock', the use of power heads, especially the newer propeller pumps (such as the Koralia or better yet Seio line propeller pumps) that direct water around and through this live rock is essentially a primary bio filter for this marine aquarium! Non Stop air pumps are a better yet compliment to filter redundancy since these pumps have a self contained battery pack that allows the pump to continue operation even after a power failure.īack to an air pump/air stone combination, this can still perform some bio filtration simply by moving current and adding dissolved oxygen (at the surface via gas exchange, not by virtue of the column of bubbles) this current will move water by nitrifying aerobic bacteria clinging to the surface of rocks, décor and in the case of marine aquariums, live rock which, by itself is a very efficient bio filter provided ample water current is provided around the live rock. In fact a simple air stone creates good vertical circulation which is often a compliment to a filter that creates “cross circulation”. I would also like to point out that I am a big believer in filter redundancy, meaning having more than one filter or at least more than one water circulation device which even an air pump driven air stone counts as.

I have found over the years that most filters work best when used in combination to compliment each other, this redundancy is also important for peace of mind in case one filter fails, another will keep your aquarium filtering. There are several different types of aquarium filters, each aquarium filter with advantages and disadvantages. The purpose of this article is to help the reader choose the right filter or filters for their aquarium filtering needs and also help with troubleshooting of existing filters (or even bring back to life a 'dead' filter as in the case of canister filters with failed motors).Ī lot of this article is simply subjective based on my experience, however the troubleshooting sections are much more objective and useful regardless of whether one agrees with my reviews and experience.

By Carl Strohmeyer-PAMR 40+ years experience

Fluval 403 filter manual