Internal and external aquarium filters
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Both internal and external filters are good solutions to keep clean water and good chemical values, there is not a better one, it depends on different factors connected to the aquarium.
Internal filters
Internal filters usually are rectangular boxes attached with suckers on a side glass of the tank. They may have two or three sections inside, thought to divide filter materials, pump and sometimes also the water heater.
Often you can find in shop really small internal filters meant for 10 gallons aquariums, even if they claim to use special technologies, they are the most of times inadequate for the aquarium cleaning.
Adding plants and reducing the number of fish inside the tank is not a solution with inadequate filters, specially in small aquariums; an undersized filter can not guarantee constant chemical values, even if it can clean water, great sudden changes of nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia due to the small concentration of filtering bacteria, can kill your fish and plants.
A good rule to follow to understand if an internal filter is of the right size for your tank is to choose a filter almost as big as the smaller lateral glass of the aquarium.
Filtering materials are a personal choice anyway is always better to use two different filtrations, a mechanical one and a biological one.
In case the filter is divided into three sections, put in the way in section some foam to block the passage of leafs, food rests, and other big refuses. Fill the middle one with ceramic rings or other biological filtrations, in this part will live the most of the filter bacteria. Add some other foam in the third part before putting the pump, to avoid big refuses left to come inside the pump.
The cleaning of internal filters can be difficult. Some of them have the sections formed by baskets easy to take off, separated without dirtying the water. In case your filter does not have the possibility to be cleaned in separated parts, change every 20 days the foam, in case it still looks good you can also clean under water and then reuse it again. The biological filter must not to be changed often, because the most it stays there the higher is the number of filtering bacteria inside; in case you see it really dirty you can take off and change just a part of it.
External filters
There are a lot of external filters, the most used are two:
- classical external filter
- hang on external filter
The classical external filter is formed by a hermetically closed container connected to the aquarium by a way in and a way out pipe. They can be placed near the tank or under it, and usually are employed for bigger aquariums.
The hang on external filter is a quite new filtering system. It consists of a rectangular box that hangs on the aquarium glass by a curved side. The pump is situated in the way in and gets water with a solid pipe, while the way out water creates small falls passing on the curved hang on side of the filter. These filters are really nice to see and are thought for small aquariums, anyway due the hang on part they need to be placed on open aquariums, or you have to modify the closure of the aquarium top.
External filters usually provide a good water cleaning and chemical values control. Each brand has a different design of the internal structure of the filter, anyway usually both classical and hang on filters are divided into small removable baskets or sections. Surely external filters are easier to clean because during this operation is impossible to dirty the aquarium. Moreover often classical external filters have the possibility to close and leave attached at the aquarium the way in and way out pipes, so you can clean the filter in another room, such garden or bathroom, without pouring out dirty water around.
Some external filters have the pump positioned on the way in, the problem of these models is that big refuses can damage the engine of the pump. Usually they come with a grid to block these refuses, make sure that the grid works fine, in case of doubt you can put a small part of foam before the way in.
How to choose the right filter for your aquarium
As mentioned above, there is not an universal best filtering system, it depends on the characteristics of your aquarium.
- If you are buying your first aquarium, you surely find easily tanks with internal filters, in case they are big enough, as explained before, you can use them without problem.
- In case you have a small aquarium with internal filter and you are experiencing problems related water pollution, be sure to have a working biological filter and that your aquarium is not overpopulated, before changing the internal filter with an external one.
- External filters have usually most powerful pumps, so in case of small tanks, prefer a hang on one, because they have been designed for small amounts of water.
- The use of oversized filters, specially external, can surely solve pollution problems, but the water current is more powerful and can make fish sick and be a cause of algae development.
- If you do not feel to clean the filter often and prefer a easier cleaning solution, prefer a classical external filter.
- If there are small kids or pets that could trip against aquarium accessories, prefer an internal filter.
- Big aquariums with low water level, like paludarium, or tanks dedicated to frogs or turtles prefer classical external filters that work fine even with a low water level.
Copyright note: This article is originally written by Michela Ferretti. Aqua-fish.net owns the full copyright of this article.
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Internal and external aquarium filters
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lim on: March 29, 2009, 10:56 am wrote
Hi, I just bought a 2ft wide fish tank about 1 month ago. However, the water is still in bad condition; pH lever over 8, so I think of using external filter to solve all problems. Well do you it's going to work? If yes, please tell me which filter I should use.
Answer by admin: External or internal filters don't reduce pH. pH is high because there are more minerals in the aquarium than if pH was 6. If you need low pH, consider using some unit that does reverse osmosis. Instead of pH, focus on ammonia which can eventually kill the inhabitants of the aquarium. Only if ammonia level is too high, consider buying new filter which can handle more litres per hour. Also bear in mind that buying new filter shouldn't be invoked by seeing too low values of Carbonate hardness or Overall hardness. Carbonate hardness can be increased by adding Sodium Bicarbonate into the water.
If you're about to use an external filter, consider buying some of the Fluval x05 range.
If you're about to use an external filter, consider buying some of the Fluval x05 range.
victor on: September 19, 2009, 12:28 pm wrote
Ruth on: January 30, 2010, 5:13 pm wrote
I have an internal filter for my 12 gallon tank, but am having serious problems with ammonia levels! Would having an external hang on filter be better? Even just added on. And would it suck in harlequins? My internal sucked in some neons so I had to turn it down a bit, which doesn't exactly help. Also, would it create too much of a current for my bettas? I know they don't like currents.
Answer: An external filter (such as Fluval series) does very good job. In my experience it's a better solution than internal filter. Of course, you have two options; Using only 1 filter, or using two filters together.
Adding another filter to the tank with high ammonia levels is always a good choice. Before you turn off the old filter and before you remove it, try using two filters.
I'm personally using two filters for my 100 gallon aquarium. Fluval 404 and one small internal AquaEl just for aeration purposes. I would like to emphasize the need of aeration as external filters don't aerate the water.
The intake should be protected not to suck any fish even though small species may get sucked into the filter. Use pantyhose if you want to be 100% sure, however this will slow down the filter and if some impurities are about to being sucked into the filter, they will stay outside and will slow down the filtration too.
Regarding current: You can control the speed of filtration and you can also put some obstacle into the aquarium that would slow down the current. Floating plants or other plants are good for this purpose too!
Adding another filter to the tank with high ammonia levels is always a good choice. Before you turn off the old filter and before you remove it, try using two filters.
I'm personally using two filters for my 100 gallon aquarium. Fluval 404 and one small internal AquaEl just for aeration purposes. I would like to emphasize the need of aeration as external filters don't aerate the water.
The intake should be protected not to suck any fish even though small species may get sucked into the filter. Use pantyhose if you want to be 100% sure, however this will slow down the filter and if some impurities are about to being sucked into the filter, they will stay outside and will slow down the filtration too.
Regarding current: You can control the speed of filtration and you can also put some obstacle into the aquarium that would slow down the current. Floating plants or other plants are good for this purpose too!
cheri on: March 6, 2010, 11:38 am wrote
I just bought an internal filter by aquael, my question is, does that electrical cord go under water? I have a little 2 gallon aquarium.
Answer: In my experience AquaEl filters are fully submersible. I have bought a few and all were submersible; in fact it was told exactly that the filter MUST be submersed to work properly. However, to be 100% sure you should ask in the shop where you bought the filter at.
jamie on: March 7, 2010, 8:17 pm wrote
Hi, I have a 10 gallon tank which is an all in one and the water is really cloudy. I'm thinking this is because the filter that came with it (if you can even call it that) is just a water pump that leads up to the top of my tank, then in the top compartment of my tank is a course sponge, so my question is, will an external canister filer clear up my water at all? I know my tank is ob the small side for a canister filter but I'm thinking more liters per hour through the filter is going to clear this up for me, am I right?
Answer: External filter will clean the water perfectly, just make sure it contains all filtration media. However, an internal filter of good power can do it too.
In my experience external filters are better, but just don't use a too powerful one, otherwise your aquarium will look like a washing machine. That's why I'd go for a quality internal filter in your case.
In my experience external filters are better, but just don't use a too powerful one, otherwise your aquarium will look like a washing machine. That's why I'd go for a quality internal filter in your case.
Tanisha on: June 14, 2010, 2:39 pm wrote
I bought an Aqua filter for a ten gallon tank. The openings are small, but my fish keep getting stuck and dying. Why is that happening?
Answer: If you cannot find a solution, try putting pantyhose onto the intake. You can also consider lowering the output, which should also lower the strength of water flow.
Halee on: July 27, 2010, 11:22 pm wrote
Can I turn the flow of my filter down over night?
Answer: Yes, I recommend it. It's also good for fish, so they can have a break.
Immtiaz on: August 31, 2010, 4:22 pm wrote
Hi, I just bought a 2.5*1.2*1.5 fish tank for 14 gallon about 1 month ago. However, the water is still in bad condition; I have been using an internal filter but the results are not satisfactory. My fishes die of fin rot disease... is it due to polluted water? I don't have any live plants in my tank, please tell me which filter I should use. And can any filter clean algae in a fish tank? If not can you please suggest any solution for that?
Answer: What is "bad condition"? Cloudy water? High levels of ammonia or other dangerous substance?
Internal filters can be good, but it is necessary to be patient when you're starting a new fish tank. One month is not enough for a tank to become fully cycled! Firstly you had to add a couple of snails, preferably Mystery snails, into the tank. They'd produce excrements which would then be decomposed and neutralised by nitrification bacteria. As there would be more and more excrements, the population of nitrification bacteria would also grow.
Live plants are very important for an aquarium to be healthy! Start with a few and then let them grow, reproduce.
If your fish are dying of fin rot, cure them. Diseases spread easily in a poor-condition water.
Even though internal filters are good, I found canister filters to be more reliable as they offer more space for filtration media. Consider buying a Fluval. Fluval 105 should be good enough in my opinion.
If you read more articles on this site (which can be a little tricky as there are many articles, I know), you would find information about problems with algae too. Algae grows because of something. Sunlight, overcrowded tank and thus plenty of excrements and ammonia, poor filtration, and so on. Firstly you have to find out what's the primary cause of algae. Filters can help you to get rid of algae. The better filter, the less algae.
So... cure the fish, get an external filter, ensure that aeration is good (by using a good air pump, OR you can use internal filter for the purpose of aeration!!!), get some live plants once all medicaments are extracted from the water.
Internal filters can be good, but it is necessary to be patient when you're starting a new fish tank. One month is not enough for a tank to become fully cycled! Firstly you had to add a couple of snails, preferably Mystery snails, into the tank. They'd produce excrements which would then be decomposed and neutralised by nitrification bacteria. As there would be more and more excrements, the population of nitrification bacteria would also grow.
Live plants are very important for an aquarium to be healthy! Start with a few and then let them grow, reproduce.
If your fish are dying of fin rot, cure them. Diseases spread easily in a poor-condition water.
Even though internal filters are good, I found canister filters to be more reliable as they offer more space for filtration media. Consider buying a Fluval. Fluval 105 should be good enough in my opinion.
If you read more articles on this site (which can be a little tricky as there are many articles, I know), you would find information about problems with algae too. Algae grows because of something. Sunlight, overcrowded tank and thus plenty of excrements and ammonia, poor filtration, and so on. Firstly you have to find out what's the primary cause of algae. Filters can help you to get rid of algae. The better filter, the less algae.
So... cure the fish, get an external filter, ensure that aeration is good (by using a good air pump, OR you can use internal filter for the purpose of aeration!!!), get some live plants once all medicaments are extracted from the water.
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