The internal filter for an aquarium is a pump that pumps water through a special container filled with filter material. The designs gained their popularity due to their low cost, ease of installation and operation.
Internal filter advantages
The main functions that are assigned to the internal filter are mechanical, biological, chemical filtration, aeration and water circulation. However, during operation, in rare cases, the filter has to perform a full list of functions. For example, in a cichlid aquarium, an internal filter is used for mechanical cleaning and aeration. Along with this, they are used in various temporary aquariums with a small volume (otzadnik, quarantine).
Internal filter structures are distinguished by ease of maintenance, aesthetic appearance, and, which is important for a small indoor aquarium, by a relatively low noise level. The pumps that go into the internal filters can be used to pump water.
With such a system, it solves the issue of additional aeration of water. Air drawn in from the surface of the water is fed through a tube to the filter bell or to the turbine of the device and is sprayed inside the aquarium.
Disadvantages of the internal filter
Internal filters are used in aquariums up to 180 liters. They cannot be recommended as full-fledged biological or chemical ones, but they cope with their physical function perfectly well.
The disadvantages include a small filter volume, as well as the fact that there is a foreign object in the aquarium that needs to be masked.
The choice in favor of an internal filter should be made if the aquarium has enough pump capacity up to 1200 l / h and a volume of filtering material up to 700 sq. see Systems that are powered by an air compressor have a relatively low power. They are unable to purify highly turbid water. If necessary, the filter can be equipped with special cartridges, for example, carbon or zeolite, with the help of which complex filtration of the aquarium is realized.
Despite the fact that internal mechanical filters have a low potential, they are in demand and are in demand very reasonably. For small aquariums, it makes perfect sense to use a small internal filter. And in picture aquariums, the placement of other filters is not possible. When keeping small fish or rearing juveniles, the use of such a filter is sufficient. It is worth considering that bacteria settle on the filter sponge, which are able to purify water from metabolic products, acting as a weak and small, but, nevertheless, biofilter.
