Osmosis filter for aquarium, everything you need to know

Fish swimming in osmotic water

One of the big questions for any neophyte in aquariums has to do with the most fundamental element in which fish move, water. That's why aquarium osmosis filters are a big topic of debate and a great way to keep your fish healthy.

Next we will talk about all kinds of topics related to osmosis filter for aquariumFor example, what is osmosis water, what are the differences with reverse osmosis or the advantages of having a filter like this in our aquarium. In addition, if you are interested in this topic, we also recommend that you read this other article about the Eheim filter.

The best osmosis filters for aquariums

What is osmosis water for aquariums?

A yellow fish

To understand what is osmosis water for the aquarium, we must first understand what the water that comes to our home is like. Thus, water can be classified as weak or hard, depending on the concentration of mineral salts it contains. The harder it is, the more detrimental to the health of your fish… and your pipes. For example, in my hometown there is such a concentration of lime in the water that it is almost necessary to install a water softener if you don't want to run out of pipes every two or three. Even the bulb in the shower was filled with pebbles of lime!

How can you imagine Such water is not recommended, even less for your fish. This is when osmotic water comes into the picture.

Planted aquariums need to combine osmosis and tap water

Osmosis water, or osmotized water, is that water from which all mineral salts and impurities have been removed so that the result is a totally "clean" water, of a superior quality, which is highly recommended for your fish to live happy and healthy, something vital especially in this type of animals, since the water of It is about its natural habitat, so it is important that we make it as pure as possible. In addition, these animals are very sensitive to the pH of the water and, as minerals and other impurities can alter it, it is much better to have top quality water.

Usually this process is achieved through an osmosis filter (which we will talk about below) and it is not necessary to add any chemicals to the water.

What is an osmosis filter for in an aquarium?

Osmosis water is the purest

An osmosis filter in an aquarium allows just that, to achieve exceptionally pure water. As we said above, this is not achieved by adding any chemical substance, but by filtering the water with, obviously, an osmosis filter.

How does an osmosis filter work?

Basically, its name already indicates how the osmosis filter works, since it consists precisely of that, a kind of membrane that allows water to pass but that retains the impurities of which we spoke above with a volume greater than five microns. The device also exerts pressure on both sides of the membrane to obtain two types of water: the osmotic, free of all impurities, and the contaminated, in which these are concentrated.

An orange fish in osmosis water

In addition, depending on the manufacturer there can be up to five different filters to capture all possible impurities. For example, the most common way to filter water includes:

  • Un first filter with which the fattest residues are eliminated, such as earth or other solid residues present in the water.
  • El carbon filter It allows you to eliminate smaller residues, such as chlorine, toxins or heavy metals, in addition, it also absorbs odors.
  • Un third filter, also made of carbon, called carbon block, is responsible for continuing to eliminate the waste from step two (chlorine, toxins, heavy metals ...) and to finish absorbing the odors.
  • Some filters include a reverse osmosis membrane (which we will also talk more in detail in another section) that retains any particles that remain in the water.
  • And still some filters include passing water through coconut fiber to provide a balanced PH and suitable for fish.

Finally, as it is a rather slow process, most filters include a reservoir to accumulate the osmosis water.

How long does the osmosis water filter last?

Fish adapt very well to osmosis water

It depends on each manufacturer. There are They recommend changing it every ten years, while there are others who recommend a tune-up every year..

Advantages of having an osmosis filter for aquarium

As you have seen throughout the article, having an osmosis filter in an aquarium is a great idea. But, in case you still have doubts, we have prepared a list with the most obvious advantages:

  • As we said, osmotic water is ideal to have in an aquarium, since you make sure that it is totally pure water, that is, without metals or minerals that can negatively affect the health of your fish.
  • In fact, these can be considered to be a kind of osmosis filter, since they separate the oxygen they need to live from the water and leave the impurities. That is why it is so important to make their work easier!
  • Another advantage of having an osmosis filter is that, by leaving the water as a kind of blank canvas, we can add the supplements we need for our fish.
  • In addition, osmosis water allows the growth of algae and marine plants both in freshwater and saltwater aquariums.
  • Finally, osmosis water can even save you money when buying resins or chemicals for your aquarium.

In which cases should I use an aquarium osmosis filter?

Black and orange fish swimming

Needless to say, it is highly recommended. if you have an aquarium and want to improve the life of your fish. However, it is especially important if:

  • The water in your area is especially low quality. In addition to Google, we have other ways to find out, for example, asking at the town hall, getting a water quality assessment kit or even at home (for example, looking at it against the light and looking for traces of impurities or letting a glass with a tablespoon of sugar for 24 hours. If after that time the water is whitish, it is not of very good quality).
  • Your fish start to have symptoms that show that the water is not doing them well., such as nervousness, gill irritation, or rapid breathing.

Is an osmosis filter the same as a reverse osmosis filter?

No actually the reverse osmosis system works a little differently, since it consists of a membrane that filters the water much finer (up to a size of 0,001 microns in most cases) so that the result is as pure as possible. This fine filtration is achieved by applying pressure to the osmotic pressure (which is the pressure difference that occurs on both sides of the membrane, that of "clean" and "dirty" water), so that the water that passes through the filter is of exceptional purity.

A lot de peces in an aquarium

Evidently reverse osmosis is the way to make the water as clean as possible, which is a very good solution for an aquarium, although it has two major drawbacks.

Firstly, reverse osmosis is a waste of water, with what is not a very green system that we say. Although it depends a lot on the equipment we choose, there are those that produce a whopping one liter of osmosis water for every nine liters of "normal" water. Something that, on the other hand, has a huge impact on the final water bill, of course. On the other hand, there are those who, in reference to the waste of water caused by reverse osmosis, recommend recycling the water for other uses, for example, to water plants.

In second place, reverse osmosis filtration equipment is quite large, since they usually include a tank where the osmosis water passes, something to take into account if we live in a small apartment.

That you choose one type or another of filtration It will depend on where you live, your needs and, of course, those of your fish.

Can you do osmosis for a planted aquarium?

A lot de peces in a planted aquarium

Like everything in this life, the answer to know if you can do osmosis in a planted aquarium is not simple: yes and no. To have a planted aquarium you will not be able to use only osmosis waterSince, by removing all impurities, osmosis also removes elements that plants need to live.

Therefore, you will need to combine tap water with osmosis water to achieve an optimal environment in which fish and plants can coexist. The percentage that you have to use of one and the other will depend on many things, for example, the quality of the water in your area and even the plants that you are going to have in the aquarium. They may even need special substrates and supplements for them to grow.

The aquarium osmosis filter is quite a world, but it is certainly a great addition to keep the fish in an aquarium healthy. We hope we have helped you get started on this very interesting topic, so vital for our fish. Tell us, what experience do you have with osmosis water? What do you think of reverse osmosis? Do you recommend a particular filter for us? Leave us a comment!

Sources: Aquadea, VFD.


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