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What are the best filter media types for your fish tank?

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If you have extra room in your filter compartments, then you should consider adding more filter media.

This guide at Aquarium Blueprints will help you determine the best medias to get based on what you are trying to accomplish when it comes to keeping your water clean.

Three types of filtration

Before we start looking at filter medias, let’s first talk a little bit about water filtration in the aquarium hobby.

The most important filtration is biological as it grows beneficial bacteria in order to remove the extremely toxic ammonia and nitrite compounds.

Mechanical filtration is designed to remove visible particles from your water column.

Last but not least, chemical filtration can remove ammonia, discolorations, medicines and odors.

Biological Filtration

When it comes to biological filtration, it is important to know that the aforementioned beneficial bacteria that oxidizes ammonia and nitrites grow on all surfaces on your tank. The surfaces include your substrate, live or fake plants as well as any decorations you have.

As long as you are getting readings of 0 ppm ammonia and nitrites, it is likely that you don’t need to add any more surface area through filter media as they won’t do anything to your tank water.

With that said, if you would still want to add more biological filtration, the two most common types are bio balls and ceramic rings. Both types are designed to provide a lot of surface areas even though they only take up a small amount of space. They work because the beneficial bacteria will live on every crater in addition to the nooks and crannies of these oddly shaped materials.

We find that Bio Balls work best in larger filters while the ceramic rings are better fit for smaller filters. Furthermore, we generally prefer bio balls as detritus can get stuck on the craters of the ceramic rings, which could result in the reduction of oxygen needed to grow the beneficial bacteria.

If you are interested, we recommend checking out Marineland’s Bio-Filter Balls and Ceramic Filter Rings with the following links on Amazon:

Mechanical Filtration

For mechanical filtration, filter floss is best at removing even the smallest of particles in your aquarium filter. Keep in mind that floss, as well as a polishing pad, need to be replaced periodically due to the amount of detritus that will build up over time. If you don’t clean them, then your filter will suffer from reduce water flow due to blockage.

If you are looking for the best media type when it comes to making your water look clean, we recommend taking a look at the Aqua-Flo Pond & Aquarium Filter Media with this link on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned). The pad can easily be cut down to fit the space in your filter. You can then save the rest of the product for future use.

A good alternative to filter floss is a regular sponge. Although a sponge won’t be nearly as effective when it comes to removing the smallest debris from your waters, you don’t have to replace them as you would a filter floss. Since the detritus come off easily, you can simply do a light rinse to your sponge and reuse it in your filter.

Keep in mind that the beneficial bacteria grow on all surfaces. If you use a filter floss that needs to be replaced, then you are removing a good amount of bacteria every time. By re-using sponges, you get to keep your beneficial bacteria (as long as you rinse the sponges using tank water instead of tap water, which will have anti-bacterial chlorine and chloramine).

If you are looking for a sponge, we recommend take a look at the LTWHOME Fish Pong Foam Filter Sponge Set to start with. This product offers three different types of sponges. The fine sponge is better at filtering out debris although it will clog more easily. The coarse sponge is less likely to clog but will pick up less of the smaller debris. The medium sponge is a middle ground between the other two.

We recommend giving all three types in the set a try to see which works best for your water as well as your convenience when it comes to cleaning your filter media. You can purchase the LTWHOME Fish Pong Foam Filter Sponge Set on Amazon. (#CommissionsEarned).

Chemical Filtration

We viewed chemical filtration as something that is temporary and completely optional. This is because this type is used to remove ammonia, discolorations, medicines and odors. Once you remove the discolorations, medicines and/or odors from your water, then it is likely that you won’t have to do it again. If you do have to use chemical filtration again, you are better off looking at the underlying source of the issues instead of having to constantly remove the unwanted elements in your tank.

To remove discolorations, medicines and/or odors, the most common method is by using activated carbon. The carbon, with its microscopic pores, will remove all three from your water column. Eventually, you will need to replace the carbon in your filter if you want to keep removing of the aforementioned undesirables from your tank.

To remove ammonia, you should use zeolite in your filter media. When it comes to ammonia, however, we recommend tackling the source of the issue. If you have a spike, it usually means that you don’t have enough beneficial bacteria to consume all the organic wastes. Instead of using zeolite as a filter media, which will removed the nitrogen compound from your tank, we recommend dosing Seachem Prime in your water, which will convert the ammonia into a less toxic form that the bacteria will still consume. Over time, your bacteria will grow big enough to handle the ammonia. On the other hand, if you use zeolite instead, your beneficial bacteria colonies will stagnate.

If you would still like to use activated carbon and/or zeolite as filter medias, we recommend taking a look at Marineland as the brand offers both as standalone products in addition to a mixture of the two. You can find the products with the following links:

pH Altering Media

Last but not least, you can also put pH altering media in your filter. Crushed corals are commonly used to increase the hardness of your water while peat moss is utilized for making your tank more acidic. When it comes to changing the pH, we recommend not decreasing or increasing by more than 0.2 over a 24 hour period or you should risk stressing out and shocking your fish.

To increase alkalinity, we recommend getting the CaribSea Aragonite. To make your waters more acidic, you should look at the Fluval Peat Granules. Keep in mind that you have to replace both occasionally as they will lose their effectiveness over time and will eventually stop work. You can check out both with the following links:

Recap

If you want more biological filtration, we recommend getting either of MarineLand’s Bio-Filter Balls or Filter Rings.

For mechanical filtration, you should get either Aqua-Flo Pond & Aquarium Filter Media or LTWHOME Fish Pong Foam Filter Sponge Set.

When it comes to chemical filtration, you can take a look at MarineLand’s Carbon and Zeolite.