Aquarium Filter Starters

Aquarium Filter Starters Help and Advice

An essential for new aquariums

Filter starters can give your aquarium the kick-start it needs when you first begin setting it up. They use bacteria and enzymes to quickly break down dangerous levels of ammonia and nitrates in your tank water, so they can be cleared out by your filter system easier.

What are aquarium filter starters?

Aquarium filter starters help to reduce the chance of fish loss when starting a new tank by limiting the toxic ammonia within fish tanks from building up. They contain live nitrifying bacteria that will immediately jump-start your tank's natural filtration.

Why might I buy aquarium filter starters?

Filters work in two different ways - The filter media itself (usually sponges) captures large particles of detritus, while the bacteria that cultivates in the sponge helps to actually filter the water finely and biologically. However this bacteria needs time to grow before the filter can become effective, and that can take a while by itself.

What are the main types of aquarium filter starters?

Aquarium filter starters are ready-made bacteria cultures that come in either liquid or ball forms and get to work right away allowing your water to reduce its ammonia levels and negating the increasing risk of fish death early in the tank's life. Evolution Aqua PURE Reef Balance is a liquid ball format containing a huge amount of tiny bacteria and enzymes that, once added to your aquarium, will break down to reduce ammonia and nitrates. Fast-acting, it will regulate the biological balance of your fish tank, maintaining clean, healthy water.

What features to look out for?

Once you've decided on which filter starter you're going to use it's really a case of working out how much you need for your tank. Most aquarium filter starters can be used to rapidly populate a new aquarium to resolve "new tank syndrome" and will have some indication of the size of the tank in litres it's suitable for so you should be able to work out how much you'll need to buy.