It is generally considered that the water in larger tanks does not get very dirty and the water quality is more stable compared to smaller tanks.  However,  there is a  requirement  to achieve this. In Nature Aquarium, the water becomes dirty mainly due to the feces of fish and shrimp as well as the leftover food. It usually takes a longer time until the water in a large tank gets dirty because the of the volume of water in the tank, and the lower concentration of contaminants. Regardless, even the large aquarium  cannot  be  maintained  properly unless the water is filtered – which is a shared trait with smaller aquariums.

For the filters used on large-sized aquariums containing a large volume of water, a higher filtration capacity is required to ensure good water circulation and the proper elimination of the contaminants. This is the requirement mentioned earlier. In this case. then, how will the filtration capacity required for large tanks be determined? One of the deciding factors is the quantity of filter media to be contained in the filter, but this does not mean that the filter has better filtration capabilities just if more filter media is used.

Biological Media like Lava Chips or Bio Rio is mainly used for larger tanks because it has less chance of clogging, an uneven surface with variable shapes, providing adequate gaps between grains, demonstrating both a larger surface area and good permeability.

In the case of Nature Aquarium and other types of freshwater aquarium, organic matter and contaminants such as ammonium in the water are broken down mainly by the functions of biological filtration, which eventually converts the ammonium  into nitrate which is harmless to fish and shrimp (nitrate will be absorbed by aquatic plants or eliminated by the changing of aquarium water).

To promote this process, the filter media needs to be colonized with a massive amount of bacteria, fungi and protozoa. What is important for this is the relationship between the surface area of the filter media and its permeability. If more filter media with a finer grain size are used, the surface area will become larger but permeability declines due to increased resistance. Conversely, the surface area will become smaller if larger grain size of filter media are used; but instead permeability is enhanced. The optimal balance between the grain size of filter media and permeability is very important, particularly for large aquariums which require an increased amount of filter media to treat a larger volume of water.