Anybody Good With Undergravel Filters?
- Thread starter iHonesty
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Mind if I sig that?I was just about to say...I am good with undergravel filters...I rip them out...siphon the gravel about 20 times...and then chuck that filter in the garbage.
Hard to maintain...some people do use them with good success though.
Hard to maintain...some people do use them with good success though.
Thanks. I know some people that effectively use them, i just needed to know if they could be used with sand. I run FX5 and Ac110's, but I was wanting something that could add some bio filtration. I have a sump, but the more the better, they say. One of my buddies is experimenting with them and runs one on a really dense sand bottom. He recommends them if theyre used correctly. some do, some dont. all opinion I believe. I need a fine sand bottom for my bottom feeders not to possibly injure themselves, so I guess a undergravel isnt in my future.
The bacteria can stick to any surface, no special gravels needed. And getting gunk or not doesn't mean the bacteria are or are not sticking, it means the gravel is or is not also functioning as a mechanical media.
Or we can all catch up to the 90s and use real filters.
Or we can all catch up to the 90s and use real filters.
The bacteria can stick to any surface, no special gravels needed. And getting gunk or not doesn't mean the bacteria are or are not sticking, it means the gravel is or is not also functioning as a mechanical media.
Or we can all catch up to the 90s and use real filters.
Are you going by experience or are you going by what people tell you? I believe that you are referring to me since I said that aquarium gravel is not all the same for an undergravel filter. As a matter of fact, two months ago, I always had an ammonia problem with my 55 gallon tank that has been established for years. This tank was a problem and I could not figure it out. I knew when I vacummed, the vacumm tube was always clear and it seemed like it could not get any dirt or crud out. I have many other tanks using an undergravel filter, and when I vacummed the gravel, dirt and crud would come up and my water parameters were always fine. The dirt and crud that is coming up is harboring the beneficial bacteria. So in that 55 gallon with the ammonia problem, I switched the gravel and 1.5 months later after cycling, water parameters were fine.
So yea, you can say I think out of the box, and probably no one even ever mentioned this in aquarium history but I am sticking with my undergravel filters since they are very excellent biofilters.
Under gravel filters are actually very good in doing what it supposed to be doing. If you compare the surface area of the gravel filter and a canister/hanging filter, the UGF will out perform the canister/hanging filter. The main advantage of the canister/hanging filter is the ease of maintenance. Convenience alway win us over. They do a good enough job but if you have to let it good for a little while the gravel will be better. The main disadvantage of the UGF is the dirt that get trapped under the plate. That requires to be blown out with water once in a while or disassembled completed occasionally. The filter system I use now is a wet and dry filter designed for saltwater but I use it for my freshwater. The pre-filter or micro bags can be somewhat easily cleaned and the water quality is usually stable. Good Luck.
Hello; I had under gravel filters (UGF) in use in all my tanks from around1959 to near the end of the 1970's. For the first ten or fifteen years theywere the main filtration and they did an acceptable job. They did not remove detritusfrom the tank and I tried most of the various types of external filters Icould find and afford. I still have a few functioning air bubble poweredsurvivors and the remains of several early types of broken power filters. I ranthe UGF in conjunction with all sorts of external filters with good results.
Unlike all the power filters I have used the UGF never failed (I am notcounting the many air pumps that failed.)and I had very few issues or problemswith them. The power filters that I have running now have not failed as yet,but they will. (The power filters need a lot of attention.) The UGF bubbledischarge tubes would need a brush cleaning from time to time to remove thebuildup of algae from the inside. The air supply tubes and valves had to besorted and adjusted, but not very often. The UGF were set in place in a newtank setup, covered with gravel and forgotten about. They did not work wellwith fine materials like sand, so I always used gravel with them.
I broke down a lot of tanks with UGF over the decades. There was rarely much,if any, buildup under the filter plate. I have read comments about the UGFbeing hard to maintain. This makes no sense to me as there is no maintenanceinvolved. I have most always kept planted tanks and would find that the roothairs had made their way into the filter cavity of the UGF. The roots andplants were healthy and grew out well.
I have at least one survivor in a box and it will work fine if I ever decideto put it in a new setup just as it did when new. The ones that did not survivegot broken from my handling and the plastic simply getting too old and brittle.
I have been reading these forums for over a year now and have picked up alot of good information. Some of the currently pushed practices do not jivewith my experience. I have been trying to reconcile my fifty plus years of fishkeeping experience with some of these notions. The good thing is that each ofus can run our tanks as we see fit. I am fortunate to have a long background inthe hobby and know a lot of what works. I do sometimes feel sympathy for those forummembers new to the hobby that get hammered by the only do it my way crowd. Thereare usually many ways to run tanks that work.
UGF will work in a tank especially if you run some sort of external filteralong with it and it will be working when the other filters are giving youproblems.
I also do not use chemicals to condition my tank water or to set up a new tank.Been doing that for decades, but that may be for another thread.
If it makes any difference, and it should not, I havea couple of degrees in Biology and taught the stuff for over thirty years.
If that crud was housing your bacteria every time you vacuumed it out you would have to re-cycle the tank, think about it.
UGFs are just prone to problems, especially with younger aquarists. Why even think about promoting a filter that is more prone to causing problems and is harder to get back to where it needs to be when those problems arise when there are such better options out there? I am sticking with the best filtration that is out today, not the one from the 50s that if I do a lot of extra work may work out as good at best. Not to mention that sand is a far better substrate in almost every case. It is more natural and much cleaner. Effectively no aquarium fish come from waters that in nature have gravel as a substrate. It is just an old fashioned substrate that is also prone too problems. I personally will keep moving forward in the hobby and improving the care I provide for my fish, if others want to stick with what is 'good enough to not kill the fish' that is their choice.
UGFs are just prone to problems, especially with younger aquarists. Why even think about promoting a filter that is more prone to causing problems and is harder to get back to where it needs to be when those problems arise when there are such better options out there? I am sticking with the best filtration that is out today, not the one from the 50s that if I do a lot of extra work may work out as good at best. Not to mention that sand is a far better substrate in almost every case. It is more natural and much cleaner. Effectively no aquarium fish come from waters that in nature have gravel as a substrate. It is just an old fashioned substrate that is also prone too problems. I personally will keep moving forward in the hobby and improving the care I provide for my fish, if others want to stick with what is 'good enough to not kill the fish' that is their choice.
If that crud was housing your bacteria every time you vacuumed it out you would have to re-cycle the tank, think about it.
Hello; Did you not post on this thread saying that the bacteria ( I suppose that you meant the beneficial type.) will stick to anything? So if the crud is vacuumed out the bacteria will still be on the other tank surfaces.
