Guide category
Equipment Guides
Explore guides to aquarium filtration, lighting, heating, pumps, tanks, sumps, protein skimmers, and water movement. Use them to compare equipment roles and plan maintenance alongside the rest of your system.
Equipment reference library
Equipment
Aquarium Filtration
An aquarium filter is a device or system that moves water through one or more treatment stages. Filtration may occur in a self-contained unit or across several components, such as a sump, filter socks, biological media, refugium, and return pump.
Equipment
Aquarium Heaters
An aquarium heater is an electrical heating element controlled by an internal thermostat or an external temperature controller. Most units transfer heat directly to water; inline models heat water passing through plumbing.
Equipment
Aquarium Lighting
Aquarium lighting is a purpose-built fixture that produces controlled intensity, spectrum, coverage, and timing above or within an aquarium hood.
Equipment
Aquarium Protein Skimmers
A protein skimmer is a saltwater filtration device that uses foam fractionation (removing waste by collecting it in foam) to physically export dissolved organic compounds into a removable collection cup.
Equipment
Aquarium Pumps
An aquarium pump is a powered device that creates fluid or air movement. Most water pumps use a motor-driven impeller; air pumps use a diaphragm or piston; dosing pumps often use a peristaltic mechanism.
Equipment
Aquarium Sumps
A sump is a separate aquarium or reservoir connected to the display by an overflow and return pump. It expands the system and provides organized space for filtration and equipment.
Equipment
Aquarium Tanks
An aquarium tank is a water-retaining vessel engineered from bonded glass, acrylic, or another approved material. Its panels, seams, braces, rim, and base work together to resist water pressure.
Equipment
Aquarium Water Movement
Water movement is the combined circulation created by filters, returns, pumps, air, and tank geometry. It is a system characteristic rather than one specific device.
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