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 and Cons
Aquarium Ceramic Rings Pros and Cons


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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