im looking for an aquarium fish tank filter pump and some say they dont come with media what is this is this all the filters and sponges sorry bit of a thicko lol
Answers:
No problem! Every hobby comes with a ton of new words to learn. :)
Media is just a fancy way to say "how you get something done." Like, radio/TV/print media is actually communications media -- how you communicate with people.
In an aquarium, filtration media is how you filter the water.
The filter itself is generally just a pump in an empty box. It pulls dirty water up into the box, runs it through the various filtration media inside, and pushes it back out and into the tank, clean. It's a lot easier and more effective to buy a filter that lets you handle the media individually, like an AquaClear for example, rather than forcing you to buy cartridges with everything prepackaged together.
Sponges are, in my opinion, the only truly necessary part of the filtration media group. They are primarly meant to be used to trap large solids in the water as it runs through, like poop and excess food. In truth they're also very valuable because they give good bacteria a place to grow. (The bacteria "eat" the ammonia in the water produced when your fish poop and pee. The bacteria "poop" less toxic nitrates.) That's why you shouldn't completely replace them unless you HAVE to -- throwing away your sponge is throwing away most of your cycle. Just rinse the sponge briefly in dechlorinated water once a month or so.
You could also use ceramic pellets, labled "biological filtration," which are basically just more surface area for the bacteria to grow.
Activated carbon is only necessary when you need to filter out chemicals, like after you've medicated or if your water has gotten discolored from a new piece of driftwood.
Ammonia absorbers are only for when there's ammonia in your tank, and you and your fish are a lot better off reducing that naturally, with water changes, rather than chemically.
Let's see. I think that's it! If there are any more specific questions, please feel free to ask. I hope that helped.
media is the stuff inside the filter, the stuff that actully catches the junk. like filter pads, bio balls, stuff like that
Media is all the stuff in the filter, such as foam, carbon, and something for bacteria to grow on. These are relatively cheap, and the foam and carbon should be replaced monthly.
~ZTM
