I can say that pretty much all of the LFS that I have gone to dont use UGF's. It does seem though they are getting phased out.
why sand? Why no undergravel?
- Thread starter Brooklynella
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Brooklynella;622829; said:I'm returning to the hobby after a long hiatus so i'm a bit rusty!
Why sand?I don't get it. Sure, there are instances when sand is desirable but for the most part, isn't it difficult to keep clean?
Which leads me to my next question...
What happened to undergravel filters? Is it the sand??Again, there are instances when using an undergravel filter isn't practical but for the most part, you can't beat an undergravel for biological filtration. I'm going to set up a tank in the coming weeks and I can't imagine not having an undergravel filter; unless I use sand which I can't imagine doing because it's difficult to keep clean. See my dilema?
You have been out of the game a while haven't you!
If i were you, i would do a lot of reading here and on aquariacentral.com to find the best filter combo for your setup
Ugfs are still very effective (and cheap) for biological filtration. I like running one in conjunction with an external filter that provides mechanical filtration as well as added biofiltration. I do not use sand except for specialty tanks, I prefer a fairly fine gravel instead. Lfs don't use Ugfs and even way back in the 70's seldom did, instead most just rely on mechanical and carbon filtering with lots of water changes.
Thanks for the comments. UGF's are old technology indeed but the premise hasn't changed!
I'm looking in the neighborhood of 70 gallons and plan on stocking with Severums, Knifefish, some cats and probably a shovelnose or two; certainly nothing that will disrupt the gravel bed. I will run a canister filter in addition to the UGF.
Being out of the game, in this case anyway, doesn't change the effectiveness of an UGF. 72x18 is a hell of a lot of surface area to develop a biological bed. I do agree that wet/drys offer better aeration. I would like to use a fine gravel which is why I asked about sand.
So far, i'm leaning towards using an UGF with a couple of powerheads (May even use 4 small ones) and a canister.
I'm looking in the neighborhood of 70 gallons and plan on stocking with Severums, Knifefish, some cats and probably a shovelnose or two; certainly nothing that will disrupt the gravel bed. I will run a canister filter in addition to the UGF.
Being out of the game, in this case anyway, doesn't change the effectiveness of an UGF. 72x18 is a hell of a lot of surface area to develop a biological bed. I do agree that wet/drys offer better aeration. I would like to use a fine gravel which is why I asked about sand.
So far, i'm leaning towards using an UGF with a couple of powerheads (May even use 4 small ones) and a canister.
A wet dry would just be as simple as the the UGF but won't need the powerheads (but they can't hurt) and you increase surface area and you can use sand and you can hide the heater.
guppy;624185; said:
LFS don't use UGFs? That is a pretty bold statement. I know of 3 or 4 that use them here, you can't get much cheaper than running just a blower and keeping the store warm. Actually the best store around here for livestock is run on UGFs. Of course it is UGFs with lots of water changes, but still just UGFs.
I guess cetralized systems run most of the stores these days, though.
UGF's suck! Don't know about you, but I want the crap removed from my tanks, not allowed to rot in there!
Ugfs still cant be beat for biofiltration,If your fish arent diggers and your not planning alot of rockwork or live plants,dollar for dollar the best biofilter.
Sure you have to vac the gravel weekly but if your using gravel you need to do that anyway.
Sure you have to vac the gravel weekly but if your using gravel you need to do that anyway.
