How to customize aquarium canister filter media / What is the best media for my canister filter:

Working principle of Canister filters is very simple. The pump of the filter will suck water from the fish tank through an intake hose. Water will flow towards the base of the filter using an internal tube & then it will rise upward & flow through filter baskets that contain filter media & clean water will be pumped back to the fish tank via an outtake hose. A spray bar is connected to the outtake hose that offers smoother water flow & creates a waterfall like effect in your aquarium. 

Canister filters are better than other filters in multiple ways. It cleans water efficiently because it is highly customizable & can store large quantities of filter media. Also, it cleans water quickly because it is working with large volumes of water. Canister filters can be simply customized with filter media, & they can circulate & oxygenate water.

So, what is the best mechanical & biological filter media for my canister filter? Answer is available in the video below & for explanation, please read the complete article.


How to customize a canister filter media


Customization of filter media in a canister filter:

Canister filters have multiple baskets for storing filter media. The order of filter media in the baskets is very important. It is important to add mechanical filter media first before biological media because water free of physical particles will enter bio media & it will not clog the tiny little pores of the porous media that are used for housing colonies of good bacteria.


How to setup filter media in a canister filter
How to setup filter media in a canister filter

A canister filter comes with its own filter media. Always wash the filter media to remove the dirt. Also wash your canister filter & its baskets too to clean impurities. Fresh filtration media of the canister filter is not cycled so it won’t have good bacteria that is required for treating impure water. It is easy to colonize good bacteria on the filter media quickly using Aquapro booster balls. Or add filter media from a cycled aquarium that already have heaps of beneficial bacteria on its surface.

Make sure you soak the media in aquarium water after washing it with tap water. If you expose filter media to tap water then soak it in tank water before adding it to the aquarium. It is very important to add only dechlorinated water to your aquarium. Chlorine is toxic to fish & it kills good bacteria present inside the aquarium or filter media.


Bottom of Canister filter:


Add ceramic rings to the bottom of canister filter
Add ceramic rings to the bottom of canister filter

Add ceramic rings to the bottom of the canister filter to settle waste & prevent it from swirling & clogging your mechanical filter media.

 

First Basket:


Add foams to the first basket of canister filter
Add foams to the first basket of canister filter

Use 3 different types of mechanical filter media in the first basket such as coarse, medium & fine foams. Coarse foam will remove all big particles that enter the canister foam while smaller particles will be trapped by medium & very tiny particles that escape the medium foam will be collected by fine foam. Hence water should hit the mechanical filtration media in the following order:

  • Coarse Foam
  • Medium Foam
  • Fine Foam

If fine foam can collect both big & small particles then why do aquarists use coarse & medium foams?

Answer of this question is very simple. Fine foam will clog faster than both coarse & medium foams if it traps large particles because the pores of the fine foam is very tiny. So, coarse & medium foams will collect large & medium debris & tiny debris will be trapped by fine foam so it will not clog the fine foam quickly.

Water free of physical particles will be allowed to flow through the biological filtration media.

 

Second Basket:


Add bio bakki balls to the second basket of canister filter
Add bio bakki balls to the second basket of canister filter

Add biological media such as bio bakki balls to the second basket of the canister filter. When ceramic is heated at extremely high temperatures for a long time then the internal bonds of the ceramic are broken & heaps of little pores will form on the media that will house beneficial bacteria.

Bakki balls can only house nitrifying bacteria that consume ammonia & nitrites. 

 

Third Basket:


Add ceramic rings to the third basket of canister filter
Add ceramic rings to the third basket of canister filter

Add ceramic rings to the third basket of the canister filter. It offers a large surface for beneficial bacteria growth. It has many tiny little pores that offer a space for good bacteria.

Ceramic rings can house both nitrifying & denitrifying bacteria that consume ammonia, nitrites & nitrates.

Ceramic rings can wipe out nitrates too. Bacteria that remove nitrates from water live in a region where oxygen is not present. Porous material is ideal for the growth of denitrifying bacteria because air can’t enter these tiny holes.

I have added cycled ceramic rings to the third basket of the canister filter.

 

Fourth Basket:


Add Aqua One Premium Sub to the fourth basket
Add Aqua One Premium Sub to the fourth basket

Add Aqua One Premium Sub to the fourth basket of canister filter. It is a highly porous sintered glass media that provides the best place for growing denitrifying bacteria that wipes out nitrates from the aquarium water. It is extremely important to keep aquarium inhabitants healthy.

Aqua One Premium Sub offers the best place for the growth of denitrifying bacteria due to its extremely porous nature. Denitrifying bacteria consume nitrates.

 

Add Aquapro booster balls to each basket:


Add Aquapro booster balls to each basket
Add Aquapro booster balls to each basket

Aquapro booster balls are used to add beneficial bacteria. Use a few booster balls in each basket. Booster balls will release good bacteria that will quickly cling to the bio media. Each booster ball is made of heaps of beneficial bacteria added to a very high nutrient liquid gel. When you add this liquid ball to the filter media basket, then its coating will be removed quickly & beneficial bacteria will spread.


Close the filter basket tray:


Close the filter basket tray
Close the filter basket tray

Add a fine foam to the top of the filter basket before closing the tray. It is time to close the lid of the canister filter & lock the filter to avoid water from leaking.

Close the canister filter lid & insert intake / outtake valves. Lock the filter to prevent water from leaking.

 

Close the filter lid & insert valve connectors:


Close the lid & insert valve connectors
Close the lid & insert valve connectors

Close the filter lid & Insert inlet / outlet valve connectors. Lock the filter to stop water from leaking through the filter.

Canister filter will draw water from the fish tank using an inlet hose. Water will be pushed to the bottom of the filter using an internal tube inside the filter. Dirty water will rise upward through the filtration media where it will be efficiently cleaned & forced back to the tank using a pump.

 

Assembling Canister Filter Hose:

Connect one hose to the inlet valve & second to the outlet valve of the canister filter. Fill water in the filter from the fish tank.

If you want to circulate water & keep the same temperature throughout the aquarium then setup the inlet hose near the aquarium heater & outlet hose to the opposite side of the aquarium. The positioning tip of the intake strainer & outtake spray bar will make sure that the aquarium water keeps circulating & water temperature remains the same throughout the aquarium.

 

Setup Filter Outtake Hose:


Setup Filter Outtake Hose
Setup Filter Outlet Hose

Connect the canister filter outlet hose to the return connector & for tightening connection use a hose locking clamp. Connect a spray bar to the return connector to allow water to safely enter the fish tank. Use suction cups for attachment of the spray bar to the tank wall.

 

Setup Filter Intake Hose:


Setup Filter Intake Hose
Setup Filter Intake Hose

Connect the canister filter inlet hose to the intake bar & use a hose locking clamp for securing attachment. Cover the strainer with sponge to avoid sucking fish babies. Suctions cups can be used for attaching the intake bar to the tank wall.

 

Maintenance of Filter Media:

Never use tap water for washing dirty filter media because it will wipe out all beneficial bacteria growing on the media. Gently wash the media in a bucket filled with aquarium water. The best way to wash sponge or foam is to gently squeeze it in the water to remove the physical particles that are trapped by the mechanical media. This way your mechanical filter media will not lose all good bacteria.

 

Conclusion:

Canister filters are used for efficient cleaning of aquarium water. It draws large volumes of water from the aquarium & cleans it quickly. Canister filters clean water efficiently because they are highly customizable & big so lots of filter media can be added to the filter baskets. Use different types of foams & bio media for efficient results.

I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial & if you have any question related to this topic or any other fish / aquarium related topics then please drop a comment. We will try our best to answer your question ASAP. Thank You!

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