what is a micron filter

[supermarvin76]

I have heard that I can use a micron filter and my water will be super clear in no time at all. Is this true? Or are they a waste of money. About $160 at my LFS....good price? DO I run it only once in a while, or all the time??
Thanks!!

 

[briandh76]

I have a micron filter on my 75 (H O T magnum) and it does wonders for clearing up the water. I only use it when I clean and make things a little nasty in the tank. Within an hour it's all nice and clear again. I only paid like $50 bucks for the filter.

 

[supermarvin76]

does it have other benifits besides water clarity?

 

[fishfreek]

A micron filter will filter out particles larger than the given size of the micron filter. For example a 5micron filter will filter out anything larger than 5 microns in size. This can severly affect the flow rate thru the filter and you may need to clean the filter fairly frequently.

RO filters use various micron sized filter cartrages to help prefilter the water before going to the RO membrane for example.