is it worth having undergravel filters in a 125

[bigcichntwisted]

Normally I go off on this subject (looks like I might still, yep I did, LOL) as myself & many, many others have on this forum, constantly it seems. It appears the fact an UGF utilized properly (& quite easily) still remains an unbeatable top 1 or 2 best sources of creating & maintaining a extremely stable form of bio-filtration has some how been blurred by a lack of simple understanding & that's a shame. With the advances in available pwhds today, it's never been easier to be successful using an UGF. Yes I know many of you are laughing your ***'s at me right now, nothing new, but this is the truth & it's shame you can't see your way past the "new age propaganda" constantly spued about how bad UGF's suck. Yes it's great to have all the new possibilities of filtration at our disposal, I admit I have a great many in addition to my UGF & I'm not lookin to turn this into a pissin match, but an UGF set up w/ a few good pwrhd's, knowledge how it all wrks & anyone (I have for 20+ yr.'s) could, very successfully, match any filtration system you could spend any amount of $$$ on today, no doubt what so ever. If you haven't done a search & read of our esteemed fellow member's accomplishments using a simple UGF, then you haven't been completely informed & to go off & continue to blast them (UGF) shows more of a lack of knowledge then anything, that was the nicest way I could say that, don't mean to upset the misinformed, LOL. Ignorance, in short, as defined by Webster, is a "simple" lack of knowledge or understanding about something i.e. I'm ignorant about being an astronaut, lol. A few of the comments posted above & constantly on this subject, shows an unfortunate amount of ignorance. Try to obscure a truth as you may, but it's still the truth.

BTW, yes I saw Voss said sand was going to be used. If done correctly a UGF could still be used, though it would take a bit of thought & I'm not saying I would or wouldn't, but I could.Voss, of course since it's your tank & you can use as much of what ever filtration your inhabitants can stand. Most of the time the more filtration & types of, the better. Versatility, versatility, versatility.

If the switch on the wall & the remote in my hand both turn on the lights, respectfully the same, rather I "know" it or not, which is better? I would hope to never think that either "suck" & disregard one as viable option.

Now then let the flaming, burning rain commence. B4 you do though, here's just a couple things you might. Read, enjoy, empower, if you dare.

I run UGFs according to a tip by Dr Spotte and Moe. I used pond-rated bonded pads between the UGF plates and the gravel. The pad gives up to 800% more surface area for aerobic bacteria to adhere to. The pad also keeps the UGF slots clear of gravel blocks and prevents sludge from getting under the plate. These pads also make a great anchoring base for live plants. Once a plant was anchored in the pad, my fish couldn't uproot them at all. The most noted incident, using this arrangement, was when I used it on a 240gal bichir tank. I ran the setup for 2 years with 17 of these heavy eaters and performed routine gravel washes/water changes. When I drained the tank to move, there wasn't a spec of dirt under the plates. Even the white side of the bonded pad was still white. I never had any odors in the tank or water discoloration. This sold me on the use of this setup and I've been using it since in the last 23 years.

23 years.

How bout 1 more of 100's here for the road, eh? Double dogg dare ya, LOL.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=75219&highlight=water+gravel+filter

Truth thru knowledge, the greatest power in the world.


Cheers mates

 

[ShadowBass]

yea thats what i thought thatd id have to take them out to clean and i wouldnt be able to siphon thouroughly thanks and im using sand soitd get sucked down and in prolly

Nooooo, you don't have to take them out to clean at all if you set them up properly and siphon a lot.

Reverse UGF is a lot better than than the older type but I still stand by my original post even after reading all the others....

Either way sand and UGF don't mix, so regardless of UGF effectiveness or difficulty of maintanance you won't want to use that UGF for that particular tank.

 

[Lupin]

k thats what i thought to dont need them anyways as im using sand substrate

Eh? Sand and UGFs=clogged

 

[Scorponok]

Use it if you're going with substrate setup. I would go bare bottom and no UGF.

If you have diggers, they will expose the plate and disrupt the process and poison the tank.

 

[Lupin]

Use it if you're going with substrate setup. I would go bare bottom and no UGF.

We've pointed out you cannot use it if you are using sand as a substrate.

 

[Scorponok]

We've pointed out you cannot use it if you are using sand as a substrate.

Oh ok, you are correct.

 

[DasArab]

UGFs were great for the time when they were invented, but lets face it theres just better technology availible today.

Exactly.

They are fine for a lightly stocked community tank but you show me a fish keeper that knows how to stock a fish tank lightly

 

[Nova 8]

Extra filtration is extra filtration. I for one dislike UGF as I like a very thin layer of gravel/snad which would not cover the UGF. I also don't want my main BB cluster in the gravel either as I often remove the gravel to change the colour/type.

 

[Wolf3101]

Actully a reverse flow set up would work with sand...and quite well. I have to back BIG up on this point. I personally know of tanks (145 in one LFS) that have run on UGF's and nothing else for slighty over 15 years...These are sale tanks by the way...NOT lightly stocked display tanks....the stocking level varies a great deal. They vacume the gravel once a week combined with a water change and cleam the glass...most of the tanks are planted..)they sell plants out of most of the tanks as well)

So is this worthless technology? is it time to toss out all of our UGF plates? I reciently have been putting a lot of thaught into solving one of the anoying problems with a wet/dry sump sustem....bottom accumulation and water flow. My Idea? (probubly not orignal but I know I've never seen it.) I want to pipe the return line from the wet/dry sump into a UGF set in reverse flow configuration. This should prevent any bottom accumulation and lift a good deal of the debris up to where the overflow can pick it up.

 

[Mystix212]

IMo, you wouldnt even need a UGF, because all the crud just stays on the top of the sand. You syphon that off, and no dramas.

I dislike UGF's due to thier appearance and although they may work, I sleep better at night knowing a HOB or Canister will keep my fish alive.