Under Gravel Filter With Powerheads Setup Question

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only126db

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 21, 2010
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North Central Michigan
I am just curious, may be getting a new tank (125g)(have 40g now) and was thinking about a little more filtration and water flow.

I was thinking of running two powerheads, and was wondering how an under gravel filter system works with powerheads.

I know it sucks the debris and junk from below the gravel through the slits in the plastic plates, but wouldnt it just suck up into the powerheads and circulate around the tank?

Is there something I am missing?

Currently I have one powerhead with a big filter attached to the intake so debris gets caught in that before going through the head itself.
 
Well the idea is for the gravel to trap debris, and the water to flow through the slits. This is why it is useually ideal to use 2 or more inches of gravel over the filter plates. And then, when you do your weekly, bi weekly, whatever your schedule water changes, you vac the debris that is in the gravel. But like it was said, these are far inferior to newer filteration units now. And I am very confidant you will be much happier with a canister filter. Their are lots of great easy ones out their. And they are all just plug n play.

For the first 12 years I was in the hobby, filter plates were the best.. and they were a major stepping stone in the hobby. But they are uncommon and not worth the time. It took a few of my fish buddys about 2 years to convince me to switch to these "new" filters. I wish I would have done it sooner. For 8 years now I have been useing hang on the back, and canister filters. They are easy to clean, and easy to use. And well worth the cash. Just go with one of the big 3 ehiem, fluval or rena... you won't be disappointed. I promise. Good luck.

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well i love my filter i use now, its about 6" tall and 6" across and is hooked directly to my powerhead, and sits on my tank bottom. It cleans very good in my 40g and is very cost effective. Thats a main concern is cost, i have all north american natives and need flow so the combination i have seems to work out. I was just curious about the under gravel basically thought it would make it so I wouldnt have to vacuum thegravel, but if this isnt the so then I will definately pass on it. I may just go with the same type setup i have now with a larger head and one of those wave makers for th added flow.
 
Your can hook sponge filters to the powerheads. I love me some sponge filtration

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UGF.jpg

If you plan on going the UGF route, I highly recommend using M. Moe's system. The bonded filter pad adds up to 800 times the surface area for BB to adhere to, makes for an excellent anchoring point for plant roots, prevents detritus from clogging the slits and under plate, and the weave is enough to keep large debris at the surface for east vacuuming.

I've used this setup for years in my large predator tanks and it's been a definite asset to the systems even where I wasn't running additional filtration. The last UGF only tank I ran held 17 polys, a SAL, and 3 FL gars. After nearly 3 years the tank was broken down for a relocation. The bonded pad was only minimally stained, the onion plant roots spread over a foot through the pad (The plants were never dislodged by the monsters), and there was zero dirt deposited under the 4-powerhead UGF plates.

UGF.jpg
 
Hello; I started out using undergravel filters (UGF) over 50 years ago. They were the common filter for a few decades. I used many of them with good results for a long time. The UGF has some strong positive points of operation with the first likely being the utter reliability. I never had one fail in all the decades of use. They work well in substrate coarse enough to not fit thru the slits in the filters. I prefer roughly bb sized gravel. They are also essentially maintance free except for the pumps that create the flow. I always used an air pump to drive the UGF's in my setups. Once in place they do not have to be touched. I have not used a powerhead with one, but can see how this can work and likely produce a superior flow.
I have broken down tanks with the UGF in operation for a few years and found little material under the filter plate. I also usually have rooted plants in a tank and have found healthy fine roots under the plates. There has been good plant growth in tanks with UGF in operation.
I began to run some sort of other filtration along with UGF's after the initial few years of keeping aquariums. In the early days it was usually some sort of air powered hang on back (hob) filter with removable medium. This along with cleaning during water changes gave very good results. The early affordable hob power filters were pretty weak and not reliable for a long time in my experience. They often failed and it was good the have the steady UGF in place. Now they are much better and I have several of them in operation.
That UGF are old school is not in question. That they do not work, I do question. I have run setups with the new systems and no UGF with good results. I have run setups with only UGF with good results. I recently set up a tank with a UGF survivor from one of my boxes of stored equipment and am running it along with a modern hob filter. I also clean detritus during water changes. I have gone thru many hob units over the decades while the UGF units kept going with no problems. The biggest problems I had over time was the plastic plates getting broken from my handling and i suppose the plastic becoming brittle after a long time.
Another advantage is that they were much cheaper that the other filter setups, perhaps they still are.
 
Glad to see another member with the same longevity in the hobby. Makes me want to warm up the can of tar sealer to reseal the slate in the bottom of my Metaframe aquarium.
 
Oddball said:
Glad to see another member with the same longevity in the hobby. Makes me want to warm up the can of tar sealer to reseal the slate in the bottom of my Metaframe aquarium.
Click to expand...

Hello; I know the reference. I have a stainless framed tank from way back with a slate bottom. The glass is too scratched for dislay use but is fine for other uses. The last time I set it up the slate bottom began to seep water.
 
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