undergravel filter
- Thread starter Rage_A_Holic
- Start date
Its the best biological filtration dollar for dollar.Using a combo of powerheads on some lifts and bubblers on the others you turn the entire gravel bed into a biological filter.2 qualifications:
1 regular gravel vaccing a must,so that rules out live plants in the substrate.
2 fish that do a lot of digging can reach the plates and disrupt flow
Have been using undergravel filters on unplanted show tanks for nearly 30 years,creates a more stable environment,less ammonia spike when adding fish,dont lose your biofilter if the canister breaks,seeds new filters rapidly.ideal for grow out tanks for juvies they dont get sucked into the filter.Some people worry about the buildup of inert material under the plates but with regular gravel vacs and good flowing heads it would take years to build up enough to require cleaning.Then you jusr run a thin hose down the lift tube and siphon.
1 regular gravel vaccing a must,so that rules out live plants in the substrate.
2 fish that do a lot of digging can reach the plates and disrupt flow
Have been using undergravel filters on unplanted show tanks for nearly 30 years,creates a more stable environment,less ammonia spike when adding fish,dont lose your biofilter if the canister breaks,seeds new filters rapidly.ideal for grow out tanks for juvies they dont get sucked into the filter.Some people worry about the buildup of inert material under the plates but with regular gravel vacs and good flowing heads it would take years to build up enough to require cleaning.Then you jusr run a thin hose down the lift tube and siphon.
Gomez is my homeboy I have been waiting for someone to take my side for months...gomezladdams said:
I'll second Gomez 
I've run undergravels and have never had a problem. I usually use undergravels for planted(hygro) tanks. It usually takes 3 years for the tank to get so bad that the ph is no longer stable. But if you do regular water changes and check chemistry levels every so often to see what the tanks up to you'll be happy with the purchase. The best type of undergravel has the /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ plate design. The hagen flat ungravels brake to easily.
I've run undergravels and have never had a problem. I usually use undergravels for planted(hygro) tanks. It usually takes 3 years for the tank to get so bad that the ph is no longer stable. But if you do regular water changes and check chemistry levels every so often to see what the tanks up to you'll be happy with the purchase. The best type of undergravel has the /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ plate design. The hagen flat ungravels brake to easily.
i use an undergravel filter on half of my 105gallon tank.. it works great. i wouldnt use it as a primary filter but it does help.. i will be putting my undergravel back in my piranha tank in the near future.. at least have an under gravel filter on half of the tank instead of none at all ,you will like the results..
9 of my 13 tanks have a UGFs in them. The 4 that don't are a lot less stable.
I completely agree with #4. UGF beat the wet&dry, HOB and internal filters that I have and not just dollar for dollar but overall.
2 discus tanks have UGFs as their only filtration and are very forgiving.
Plants are a problem and so are "diggers". My Crenicichlas strip parts of the ground of all grave within hours after the WC. The water remains clean though. I siphon and change 80% of the water in all 13 tanks once a month.
I completely agree with #4. UGF beat the wet&dry, HOB and internal filters that I have and not just dollar for dollar but overall.
2 discus tanks have UGFs as their only filtration and are very forgiving.
Plants are a problem and so are "diggers". My Crenicichlas strip parts of the ground of all grave within hours after the WC. The water remains clean though. I siphon and change 80% of the water in all 13 tanks once a month.
I like them but also use a hang on or two for detritus control, by running the ugf off a different house circuit it gives me some failsafe if a breaker trips and the different filters mean that if I have problems with one I have time to fix it before the tank goes bad. In a 60" long 150g I used two Emporer 400s and a 48" long x 18" wide ugf set front center in the tank, 2 1/2-3" fine grade gravel and 2 small power heads, this was for a shoal of 9"+ rbps. The ugfs are often misunderstood and misused. I have known people who completely gravel vaccced their tanks twice a weekthem complained that their ugfs were not working. They take a while to get well established and need the large detritus vacced fairly often if there is no mechanical surface but are great to denitrify tanks and when done right are very stable.