Aquarium Filtration Essentials | Fish | petbusiness.com - Pet Business Magazine

Posted: 01 May 2021 03:00 AM PDT

fish in an aquarium — schankz - stock.adobe.com

If an aquarium has a beating heart—it must be the filtration. Without filtration, the live animals in an aquarium will not survive very long. It is the one thing that can restore polluted water to healthy water without a water change. But, no matter how good filtration is, it cannot stem the tide forever. Eventually, the water in an aquarium must be changed.

If you want an aquarium to be healthy, you must perform frequent partial water changes. This technique, coupled with good filtration, is part of the cornerstone of maintaining a biologically stable environment. Once you add two additional building blocks to the equation, you should achieve aquatic nirvana: first, your selection of fish must be compatible with each other and the size of aquarium being used; second, your feeding regime must include the proper foods in the proper quantities. Get these four things right and success should be guaranteed.

Be aware that the best filter in the world is not capable of doing the work on its own. With that said, a customer should always be directed to a product that fits his individual needs. Don't sell a filter recommended for a 75-gallon tank to someone with a 30-gallon aquarium. A little overkill is acceptable, but there are limits. For example, if the product box says "up to 75 gallons," it will be fine for a 50- or 55-gallon tank, but it is too big for a 30-gallon tank.

I have been keeping fish since 1965, first as a hobbyist, then as a fish breeder, then as a retailer, then as a fish farmer and finally back to the retail trade. To be perfectly honest, the innovations I have seen in aquarium filters over the years have been both dramatic and traumatic. Let me explain.

Under-Gravel Filter

Circa 1965, the item of choice was the internal box filter, followed closely by the under-gravel filter. These worked great in moderately stocked tanks up to around 55-gallon capacity. There were no power-driven external filters at that time, but there were air-driven filters of this type. To put it judiciously, these were only adequate for tanks of 30-gallons or less which were thinly stocked.

The great thing about air-driven internal box filters was they provided plenty of water movement from the substrate to the surface. If you filled the clear boxes with activated bone charcoal, filter wool and a fiber pad to sit the charcoal on—you were good to go. Just keep an eye on the filter wool and when it got dirty, it was time to change the filter. Under-gravel filters were all the rage. They were run by air until someone got the bright idea of putting a powerhead on each lift-tube. Then they pulled more water through the substrate, but the aeration feature was lost. Cleansing under-gravel filters required using a siphon hose with a gravel washer on one end. It was simply an underwater vacuum cleaner.

The technique was easy, but it proved too exotic for some people. Sucking on the end of a siphon hose without the proper technique would result in a mouthful of aquarium water. Regardless, the wonderful benefit to the under-gravel filter was that the aquarium hobbyist was doing two things at once: cleaning the filter, which was actually the gravel, and changing water. What could be more efficient?

Hang-on-the-Back Aquarium Filter

Evidently, the companies making filters were not particularly concerned with auxiliary sales of related materials. Instead, they concentrated on making better, more efficient mechanical filters.

The next innovation was the "hang on the back" aquarium filter, powered by a fairly large motor, which stuck up above the tank by several inches. The filter bed was a large flat plate inside a rectangular plastic box. Two (or more) siphon tubes pulled water (courtesy of the motor) up out of the aquarium onto the plate, which was covered with a fiber pad, overlaid with activated bone charcoal and filter wool. These siphon tubes had large slotted openings that allowed large debris to pass through and be deposited and trapped in the filter wool. They virtually never clogged up because the water passing through the motor and back into the aquarium was pulled from under the plastic plate.

Of course, profit incentive knows no bounds, so someone decided the cosmetics of the ugly pump being visible from the front of the tank were too much for the public to deal with.

Canister Filters

Next, companies determined that canister filters were the way to go. They would sit under the tank hidden by a wooden cabinet stand (which few people had at the time) with only umbilical in-and-out hose connections to the water: one tube out and one tube in. The canisters were filled with two or more trays full of things like sponge pads of different densities, bags of activated carbon, ceramic rings cleverly called a variety of names like bio-rings, plastic balls even more cleverly called bio-balls and a variety of bio-matrix products. All of these were sold right along with the canister filters. Of course, these required either cleaning or replacement on a regular basis.

Since the filter itself was out of sight, it was also out of mind. With the intake underwater and the return frequently underwater, people would typically not discover the filter had slowed down to a trickle until the fish were in distress. Then came the fun of disconnecting the canister and taking it to a sink to take apart so it could be cleaned.

Unfortunately, because the hoses were attached to the top of the filter, the tops could not be moved on some models. Then, there was always the problem of restarting the filter. If there was not sufficient water in the canister, the impeller in the motor would frequently fail to start turning.

Now the thing about a canister filter is that it must have a motor strong enough to pump the necessary head (or the height a pump can raise water up). If the tank is really tall or sits on a tall stand, it may significantly reduce the discharge of the pump. This means the filter is not "turning over" the volume of water in the system at an acceptable rate. Poor filtration results in poor water quality. It's a vicious cycle.

Wet/Dry Filtration

The next stage of evolution in aquarium filration was the wet/dry filter or sump. This is basically a plastic or glass box (tank) that sits under the aquarium (usually inside a cabinet that hides it from view). The wet/dry filter has various compartments that perform different functions. These include a water input from the aquarium, micron filter socks through which the water passes, a refugium area where pollutants are removed by a variety of living organisms, a bubble trap to keep air from being returned to the aquarium, and finally, a pump chamber that houses the pump that returns water back up into the aquarium.

Unfortunately, wet/dry sumps and the equipment necessary to run them can cost as much or more than the aquarium itself. Although wet/dry filtration is extremely effective and efficient, it is used almost exclusively in: (1) large living reef aquariums or (2) giant freshwater tanks of 200 gallons or more. Also, in order to use wet/dry sumps to best advantage, a tank should be drilled, which is another expense and creates a number of nightmare scenarios of leaking seals and hoses with pinhole leaks.

Hang-On-The-Back Waterfall Filters

Finally, for tanks of average size (40 gallons to 125 gallons), there are the hang-on-the-back waterfall filters. These have a low profile so they don't ruin the feng shui of the surrounding environment. They come in various sizes, various designs and with a number of clever devices, such as spinning biowheels, spray bars to generate the movement of the wheels, waterfall water return and proprietary filter cartridges through which much of the return water must flow. This water is the only water that is actually subject to filtration.

Since this is a waterfall type of filter, the water is sucked up by a single siphon tube fitted with an endcap with tiny slits. Any large pieces of debris cannot be allowed in the filter, since the water goes straight to an impeller chamber before it is cleaned. Once the impeller is compromised, it will not pump fast enough to pass water through the filter pads or turn the biowheels. In short, the engineering on this type of device needs to be re-calibrated.

If you believe you can make your money on filtration products by selling the proprietary cartridges, be aware that cyber-companies sell them at a fraction of what they go for in brick-and-mortar locations.

Filtration is a difficult category for you to make good money in, unless you study the products and their efficacy very carefully. My recommendations are to only sell filters you have tested and that are made by companies who support local merchants, not the chain, big-box and cyber-sales companies. Good luck, I hope you clean up—literally! PB

Edward C. Taylor has been in the pet industry for more than 40 years as a retailer, live fish importer and wholesaler, and fish-hatchery manager.

Career Reboot: From App Developer to Aquarium Ace - The Wall Street Journal

Posted: 02 May 2021 09:00 AM PDT

When Kenny Lin was a child growing up in southern China, his family didn't have much money. His entertainment came from nature: keeping pet chickens, climbing trees, chasing frogs. "I'd be that weird kid with some insect in my hand, scaring everyone. But to me, that was fun," he says.

Even in New York City, where his family moved when he was young, he tried to tame pigeons and catch cicadas. His mother worked long hours sewing pockets on shirts at a local clothing factory, making 6 cents apiece. The family struggled financially, but nature was a familiar refuge.

He never knew what he wanted to do professionally. At Stony Brook University he experimented with electrical engineering, computer science and business administration, but none of them stuck. He got a degree in economics. "I just needed to pick something," he says.

In college, he'd started teaching himself to code, and after graduating in 2003 he worked to build his portfolio, finding website-building work on Craigslist and searching for technical advice online when he needed help. It was a lesson in resourcefulness. "I attribute a lot of my business-building [instincts] to that period of time," he says.

He landed his first full-time job in 2006 at a digital-advertising company, building ad banners. The hours were punishing: He recalls leaving the company's Manhattan office once at 7 a.m. His girlfriend, Sid May Chan, bought him a small tank for his desk with neon tetra fish, so he'd at least have some nature to look at.

"That was the fuse," Mr. Lin says.

A tank area where Mr. Lin grows corals in his store. Prior to opening the... — A tank area where Mr. Lin grows corals in his store. Prior to opening the shop, he'd been growing coral in his parents' basement.
Photo: Sasha Maslov for the Wall Street Journal

He installed a bigger tank at home and filled it with cichlids and a Bala shark. "After looking at a computer 12 hours a day, it was very soothing to go home and look at a fish tank," he says. A friend was giving away a 90-gallon tank, which Mr. Lin populated with saltwater fish and corals. While in natural sunlight, coral usually appears brown—or white, when dead—he discovered that when illuminated with special lights, living coral would light up in brilliant color, turning his aquariums into fluorescent wonderlands.

He got a job at a digital agency, AKQA, in 2008 that offered more regular hours, taking a demotion to make the move. In his eight years there, he worked his way up to become a senior creative developer, making six figures.

At the same time, his passion for saltwater life had taken off, too. He turned his dining room into an aquarium, including a 6-foot-long fish tank. He began growing his own coral and swapping specimens with other hobbyists. He was spending serious money: In one year alone, he estimates he spent at least $35,000 on coral and fish, including a rare wrasse that cost $1,000.

That gave him an idea. "I'm thinking, I'm spending all this money. Who's making this money?" he wondered. Maybe there was an opportunity for him there, too.

A selection of cultured stony corals in photographs taken by Kenny Lin at Pieces of... — A selection of cultured stony corals in photographs taken by Kenny Lin at Pieces of the Ocean.
Photo: Kenny Lin

A selection of soft corals and anemones in photographs taken by Mr. Lin.
Photo: Kenny Lin

Mr. Lin liked the work at AKQA, where he built digital mobile and web experiences for big-name clients. But his projects operated on short deadlines: a one-week project here, a two-week project there. Technology was constantly changing, and pressure to keep up was intense. "I was like, do I see myself as a 50-year-old still sitting in front of a computer still trying to figure this coding thing out?" he says.

Mr. Lin started small, selling the coral he'd grown here and there online. In 2016, he quit his job. By then, he and Ms. Chan had married and had their first of two children. They had moved back in with his parents, who took care of their daughter while he tried to build out the business, growing corals in his parents' 400-square-foot basement.

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In 2018, with $80,000 in investment from family members, he and a business partner opened a store selling saltwater fish and coral in Staten Island, N.Y., called Pieces of the Ocean. It was a difficult first two years: Mr. Lin had underbudgeted and had to take out more loans, and the store lost money. "Accounting was not my strong suit," he says.

They grew more disciplined and learned which suppliers they could trust, how to manage their cash and price their wares. In 2020, as more homebound customers stepped up their purchases amid the pandemic, business boomed. Last year, the store grossed $650,000 in sales; this year it is on track to exceed that.

Mr. Lin says that when he steps out onto the floor and sees the rows of glowing tanks, he has the same sense of delight nature kindled in him as a child. "I love it," he says. "It doesn't feel like it's a job."

Though Mr. Lin's hobby began with fish, he grew more fascinated by corals. Their fluorescent... — Though Mr. Lin's hobby began with fish, he grew more fascinated by corals. Their fluorescent range of colors can be brought out with the help of special lights.
Photo: Sasha Maslov for the Wall Street Journal

Career Update

Name: Kenny Lin

Age: 40

Location: Staten Island, New York

Education: B.A. in economics, Stony Brook University

Former job: Digital application developer

New job: CEO of Pieces of the Ocean, which sells coral and fish

Aha moment: In his 30s, he asked himself if, at the end of his life, he'd regret not trying to turn his passion for saltwater aquariums into a career. The answer was yes.

Write to Te-Ping Chen at te-ping.chen@wsj.com

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