Aquarium Ceramic Rings Pros and Cons:
Bio media is compulsory for all
aquariums as they wipe out every chemical impurity released from fish waste,
leftover food, dead plant leaves & other decaying matter. Biological media
provides room for beneficial bacteria to grow in abundance. If there is no bio
media, then tank water will have heaps of ammonia, which can be deadly for
fish. Good bacteria also known as nitrifying bacteria is used for breaking down
ammonia into nitrites & nitrates. Nitrates are not as toxic as nitrites
& ammonia. Fish can tolerate up to certain levels of nitrates in the water.
Higher levels of nitrates are dangerous. For removal of nitrates, denitrifying
bacteria is required. Every bio media offers room for nitrifying bacteria. Not
all bio media house both nitrifying & denitrifying bacteria. Denitrifying
bacteria grows in oxygen less places especially inside the tiny little pores
where oxygen cannot enter.
In the market, you will find many
different kinds of bio media. One of the best bio media is Ceramic rings that
look like noodles. The best advantage of Ceramic rings over common biological
media is that it can even wipe out nitrates from the water by housing
denitrifying bacteria.
Nitrifying bacteria grows in
abundance over the filter media when you cycle your aquarium. All bio media
will develop colonies of nitrifying bacteria after the tank cycle completes.
However, some of them including Ceramic rings grow denitrifying bacteria inside
its tiny little pores where air is not present.
Ceramic rings are developed by
firing ceramic at extremely high temperatures. Fire is responsible for making
numerous tiny little holes in the ceramic surface.
Aquarium Ceramic Rings Pros:
The outer surface of Ceramic
Rings contains many little pores. Inside these tiny little pores, anaerobic or
denitrifying bacteria lives that are responsible for wiping out nitrates thus
cleaning water 100%.
The complex porous structure of
Ceramic noodle will make sure unclean water is completely cleaned when it flows
through the ring. The outer surface of Ceramic noodles consists of many little
pores, and there is a large hole in its centre. Water passes over the outer
surface, and through the middle of the ring that increases the interaction b/w
toxins and beneficial bacteria for optimum cleaning.
The large surface area of the
ring allows beneficial bacteria to build colonies for efficiently cleaning
ammonia and nitrites. Also, anaerobic bacteria grow inside the holes that are
responsible for cleaning nitrates.
Add ceramic noodles to the filter
after mechanical filtration media otherwise debris will clog the pores of the
rings & decrease its cleaning effectiveness. Mechanical filtration media
cleans every solid impurity and just allows toxic chemicals to pass through the
media. Dangerous substances will interact with the beneficial bacteria and just
let clean water flow back to the aquarium.
Ceramic rings are available at a cheap
price, which make them one of the best choices for hobbyists.
Ceramic rings require low
maintenance.
Ceramic rings are inert so they
do not have an effect on the water characteristics.
Aquarium Ceramic Rings Cons:
So far, you have read the pros of
Ceramic Rings, now have a look at a few cons of Ceramic Rings:
The tiny little holes of the
Ceramic rings will get simply clogged if bio media is not added after foam or
sponge. Therefore, it is recommended to add bio media after fine foam / sponge
that will even trap very tiny solid impurity particles that would otherwise
block the pores of Ceramic rings. The main problem of bio media having tiny
pores (where anaerobic bacteria can thrive) is that the pores are blocked
overtime & require high maintenance (cleaning) or overtime replacement. If
the pores of the bio media are clogged, then its efficiency will be
significantly reduced. Maintenance is required to open the pores of the Ceramic
rings. However, if pores are completely blocked, then it is recommended to
replace the bio media.
When you replace bio media, then
it affects water stability as sometimes nitrogen cycle crashes. The reason for
the crash is that new bio media does not hold beneficial bacteria. Without
beneficial bacteria, toxic chemicals cannot be cleaned from the water & you
may notice ammonia spike, which is extremely toxic for fish. After adding new
Ceramic rings, it is important to cycle your fish tank once again to
re-establish colonies of beneficial bacteria.
Though Ceramic rings can wipe out
all toxins from the water, still your aquarium water needs partial changes
after every two weeks. Aquarists replace partial water from the aquarium when
they use ordinary bio media that can only remove ammonia & nitrites. For
lowering the number of nitrates, they replace partial aquarium water with fresh
water. Special bio media like Ceramic rings can wipe out all toxins including
nitrates from the water. Still, it is recommended to replace partial water at
least once a month. Hence, you cannot skip regular water changes even if you
use Ceramic rings.
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