What is the Order of Mechanical Filter Media? In what Order can you Setup Coarse, Medium, & Fine Foam / Sponge?
Mechanical filter media is
responsible for trapping fish poop & other detritus from the aquarium or
pond water. For trapping large particles, coarse foam or sponge is used. For
collecting very tiny particles, fine foam or sponge is used.
If fine sponge can trap every
particle (large or tiny), then why do we use coarse sponge as well for
filtering water? The answer is simple, fine sponge collects even very tiny
particles that can pass through the coarse sponge but it clogs up faster when it
traps large debris. Therefore, we use coarse sponge for collecting large
particles, medium sponge for trapping medium size particles that can pass through
the coarse sponge, & fine sponge is used for collecting very tiny particles
that can pass through both coarse & medium sponges. Therefore, the order of
mechanical filtration media should be Coarse -> Medium -> Fine sponge. If
you change the order, then your mechanical filtration media will clog quickly
as debris will be trapped in its pores. If a fine sponge is not properly
maintained, then detritus will completely block the pores of the fine sponge, &
its filtration efficiency will be highly reduced.
Compared to foams, sponges are
not very efficient in mechanical filtration. The pores of the fine sponge are
larger than fine foam; therefore, fine sponge cannot trap very tiny particles.
However, sponges do not clog quickly like foams, & keep filtering water for
a long time. If you do not want your fine foam to clog up quickly, then it is
recommended to clean your fine foam regularly so that debris stuck in the pores
of the fine foam are washed out, & do not completely block its pores. The
best way to save your fine foam from clogging up is to setup your filtration
media in the following order: Coarse -> Medium -> Fine foam. All large
debris will be trapped by coarse foam, while medium size debris will be trapped
by medium foam, & very tiny debris will be trapped by fine foam.
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