If you don't filter your aquarium things will start to go wrong very quickly. There are 2 main types of filters, container type (either internal of external) and under gravel filters.
Container type filters - The general principal of these filter is to pass dirty aquarium water through a filter material (where the dirt is removed) and return the cleaned water to the aquarium. The filter material is usually a man made fibre, acrylic or nylon etc. Some more modern filters have tailor-made filter pads of foam material. Under no circumstances should you attempt to use create a foam filter yourself unless you are 110% sure that the foam is non-toxic to your fish.
These filters can either be mounted inside the aquarium by means of suction pads, or outride the aquarium with a feed and return pipe in the tank itself. The most common and cheapest are the internal tank filters. It is this type of filter that can have activated carbon filter material in them. This helps to take any toxins out of the water such as Nitrites and other pollutants. The carbon elements should be removed from the filter if you are treating your fish with any medication, otherwise the medication is rendered useless by the carbon.
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Under Gravel Filters - These make use of natures own way of dealing with waste products, the undergravel uses the aquarium gravel as a filter bed. The water is passed through the gravel and a colony of bacteria develops through the entire gravel bed. The natural sequence of events is that waste products from the fish are first converted to toxic ammonia. this ammonia is then converted to nitrite by Nitrosomonas bacteria, then Nitrobacter bacteria turn the nitrite into nitrate, which is less harmful to fish and which many plants use as a food material. An undergravel filter is generally operated from and air pump forcing air up uplift tubes to move the water up uplift tubes and intern moving the water through the gravel.
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I personally prefer the undergravel filter. Having used both types, the container type is a lot harder to disguise in the aquarium and takes more maintenance. Generally the undergravel filters are cheaper to buy as well.
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