Can I cover an undergravel filter with a sand substrate? Does fine sand work just as functionally as larger grain sand? I've seen tanks with undergravel filters have large grain, but not fine grain. anybody?
Anybody Good With Undergravel Filters?
- Thread starter iHonesty
- Start date
Did you get this undergravel filter from your grandpa? I've never seen one outside of a museum before..
Yes you can. Dig a hole in the yard, place under gravel filter in it, cover with sand then buy another form of filter. Done!
UGF get sooo much hate lol. i have two LFS that filter almost all their tanks with UGF, to the OP i wouldnt use one with sand sounds like a disaster when running.
well i suppose since i cant use it with sand, i wont be using one. hahaha but so much bashing on undergravel filters!! Just because they're old school....
OLD old school.
Yes, if you hire some people to constantly clean your tanks and want to create extra work for them, yes use UGFs. You could use a hand powered air pump to run it too.
Yes, if you hire some people to constantly clean your tanks and want to create extra work for them, yes use UGFs. You could use a hand powered air pump to run it too.
They are despised not because they are old school, its because they are pretty much the worst form of filtration (unless setup in reverse with power heads) and usually end up polluting the tank with nitrates and doing more harm than good.
well that's great that I decided not to use one then. and a hand-powered pump too? dude that's a great idea. I need to keep myself busy between instances of sarcasm. lol
I have been using undergravel filters with powerheads for a while, 15 years. Sand will not work because it is too small. You would have to use the aquarium gravel sold at stores. Here in my input on undergravel filters. They are very excellent biofilteration IF the beneficial bacteria can stick on the gravel. Aquarium gravel is not all the same for undergravel filters. Some aquarium gravel will not be able to have any beneficial bacteria sticking on to it or just have a little of it sticking on to it. But if you get the aquarium gravel that can have a lot of beneficial bacteria sticking on to it, the undergravel filter will be the best filter in your eyes. You should use powerheads with a strong gph so that water can go through the gravel very well. The way you can tell if you have the good type of aquarium gravel is when you vacumm the gravel. When you vacumm, you should see a lot of dirt and crud coming up throught the vacumm tube. If you see just clear water going up the vacumm tube, that means that the aquarium gravel really does not have any beneficial bacteria sticking on to it which would result in an ineffective undergravel filter.
I already know that there are a lot of haters of undergravel filters but I have been using them for a while and know how they work. An effective undergravel filter can be a excellent biofilter because of their size. The size of the undergravel filter is the whole area on the bottom of your tank.
So I would not get flamed, I own Rena XP3 cannister filters and Aquaclear 110 HOB powerfilters and I know how they work.
I already know that there are a lot of haters of undergravel filters but I have been using them for a while and know how they work. An effective undergravel filter can be a excellent biofilter because of their size. The size of the undergravel filter is the whole area on the bottom of your tank.
So I would not get flamed, I own Rena XP3 cannister filters and Aquaclear 110 HOB powerfilters and I know how they work.