Canister filtration systems refer to powerful and large aquarium filters that make use of biological, mechanical and chemical filtration. You will find a canister filter system sitting under the tank, generally within an aquarium stand. Canister filters are closed cylinders, which have a height of around 15 inches or 38 cm, with a locking lid. There are intake as well as outtake valves on the lids connecting to the tubing that feeds up inside the tank. The role of the intake tube is to draw water inside the filter and the water passes through the different filter mediums prior to getting expelled through the outtake valve for returning into the tank.
Inner Workings of a Canister Filter
The inside of the filtration system differs according to the design of various manufacturers and their models. However, the functional aspects of this device remain the same. The lid holds the magnetic impeller motor and is often the path through which water gets into the filter. The water is made to pass through huge foam pads that catch the particulate matter and then it travels through several chambers full of different filtering agents helping take water purification to a higher degree at every step. At the final stage, the water travels across the media created to harbor the bacterial colonies forming the biological filtration and the filtered water returns into the tank. The surface of the tank contains the outflow valve or tube and here a projection is present for directing the current.
Advantages
• You do not need to spend a great deal of time and energy on the maintenance of the canister filters. These can usually go for several months devoid of any form of maintenance, quite unlike the hang-on tank filters. The overall maintenance process does not take more than 15 minutes and can be performed 1-3 times annually. This is the reason why you will often see chemical filtration being relegated to the hang-on tank filter, where the specialty resins or the carbon may be changed conveniently more often without having to disturb the canister.
• A canister is mostly silent and consumes a very small amount of electricity.
• The reliability of the magnetic impeller motors is unquestionable. This can last for more than a decade.
Canister filtration systems are available in a variety of sizes and different flow rates. Tanks of 40 gallons or higher can have canisters. Some of these filters come equipped with diatomic sleeves for achieving certain unique levels of filtering. Eheim is reputed to be the most silent canister available in the market. Magnum canisters has convertible filtration systems and other unique features. Some of the other big names producing high quality canisters are Fluval, Proquatics, and ViaAqua. If you have a large sized aquarium, having a canister filtration system is definitely a must.