So I'm Going To Remove My Ugf...

[SouthernCross]

As the title says, I have a UGF running on my 3 foot/148L/39 gallon.

It was what was sold to me when I started my tank when I was a newbie and I didn't know any better. Since then I read about what a nightmare they are what with annual teardowns, crap building up underneath, etc. I haven't had the time to do a teardown and get rid of it until now, been finishing up my uni degree.

So it's been in there since February. I added a HOB filter (Aquaclear 50/200 757L/h) back in May June or so, with all the research I was doing I realised the UGF on its own wasn't gonna cut it. But I'd rather get rid of the UGF, cos frankly, it's a ***** to clean, I have to do a super thorough gravel vac every water change, I need to change like 50% every week just to try and suck up half the crud.

I'm worried when I pull out this UGF that my tank is gonna crash and the HOB I've got isn't gonna cope with my tank's load on it's own. I am a bit overstocked for the tank size. I have:
3x adult pearl gouramis
3x adult platies, 2x half grown platy fry
10x cardinal tetra
5x corydoras
1x BN - he's not full grown either.

Will my filter cope, or should I upgrade to a bigger filter or get a second one the same to run alongside? Not sure how my gouramis will like all that extra current blowing around though. Obviously if I need to add anything I need to do it a few weeks before I do this teardown so the media can be colonised.

What do you guys think I should do? And what would be the best way to go about it? I obviously plan to remove all the fish from the tank while I do it - we have a giant esky and I thought that would probably be the best place to put them for a few hours, in old tank water, while I clean it.
Should I save some of the old tank water to put back in?

So, to sum up:
What to do about my filtration
Best way to go about teardown
Anything else you guys can think of - any tips from others who have done it before?

Cheers
SC

P.S. If you guys want me to I'll snap some pictures of the nastiness that's sure to be lurking underneath.... Some evidence to turn ppl off them.

 

[cuticom]

best way to tear down I've found is to
1. remove all the fish, place in a container etc
2. remove gravel (just scoop off top of ugf)
3. lift the ugf out and marvel at the amount of poo that gets trapped
4. add lotsa filter floss to the filter and turn on, give it a good hour, keep the gravel wet and if worried about fish getting cold float them in a bowl/bag in the tank
5. after an hour or so of filtering with filter floss the water should have cleared up a bit, and the heavier gunk will have settled to the bottom
6. Gravel vac all the gunk on the bottom
7. Replace gravel in the tank
8. add fish acclimatising them as you would when you get them home from the pet store.

Your aqua clear should be fine, I use mine to run a 50g tank with no probs.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Personally I'd tie it in with a big clean/tank rescape. There's going to be an awful lot of mess in the gravel, so it's probably easier to take it all out and wash it externally (plus you won't need a thick layer of gravel after). Or you could use the oppertunity and change to sand Big water change, maybe a change in decor, scrub everything properly while you have the chance.

 

[sparky1]

i agree with the big tank cleaning. but if you are worried about cycle crashing which will be an issue i'd put the fish in a bucket tear the whole tank down and clean it but leave the water in the HOB and do not change the media in the HOB after the tank is running for an hour or so you perams should be just like they were before tear down. wai for he water to get p to temp and re add fish.

 

[arvlyn]

Just my 2 cents...
I run an UGF with a powerhead on my 37 gal. tank. I also have a HOB filter. I don't think they're a problem at all. This is the 7th year I've had this set up. I've never had any trouble with it or what builds up underneath it.

 

[Arfie]

Same here, mine has been in for over 3 years, I stripped it down after about 18 months and there was barely anything under the plate so I'm not doing it again for quite some time.

The fact that you are worried about the tank crashing when you lose the UGF it just highlights the fact that a UGF is a very effecient biological filter in the first place. My advice, leave it alone and run the 2 filters side by side, can't beat a belt and braces approach.

Personally I am considering buying a powerhead and converting mine to a reverse UGF where the water is pumped down the tube and back up through the gravel so you get the benefit of all the biological filtration without the crud getting trapped on/in the gravel, leave the job of crud catching to a nice mechanical filter .

Arfie

 

[SouthernCross]

Just wanted to bump this thread back up to ask a question as I'm going to do this teardown tomorrow. I'm still going to toss the UGF.

Was just wondering should I put some of the old water back in the tank, or does it make no difference if I do a 100% change? I've noticed in the past my tank PH and tap water PH is quite different (not sure why? A piece of bogwood?), when my tank became established, the PH dropped to <6.5 ish, when I started out it was about 7.4.

I don't want to stress the fish excessively, if that's what a 100% change would do - I will try my best to re-acclimatize my fish....I figured when I take them out of the esky if I put them in bags and do the float-add-water thing I usually do with a new fish.

So - 100% water change ok, or should I put a few buckets of the old back in?

Ta.

 

[Tolak]

Don't feed the fish today, and feed lightly for the next week. Since you have fry you could try a bit of target feeding with them, the less fish eat the less waste they produce.

If the tank water is that different from the tap I would try to save some, as well as taking some of the old tank water from the bucket holding the fish, and adding some tap water a little at a time to get them used to the new water parameters.

The AC 50/200 should work with that bio load, I've seen them run on 55's with heavier stocking.

Gravel, or any substrate for that matter, is a good crud catcher, the ugf, with the gap under the gravel, makes it even filthier. I know breeders who swear by ugf, it is an excellent bio filtration system when properly maintained. The problem that occurs is channeling, usually asociated with lack of maintenance. The gravel, and plates plug, leaving uneven flow, and ever growing portions of the gravel that are not doing the job they are intended to do. You can't see this happening until you do a teardown, unlike other filters where you can eyeball the media or water flow to judge when it is time for maintenance.

Pulling the ugf is a good call, unless you enjoy doing teardowns.

 

[SouthernCross]

Cheers Tolak

Thanks for the extra tips. I'm about to get started, I'm in for a fun afternoon I'm sure!

I should have quite a bit of water left - I'm not sure if you understand what I mean by an esky - I think other countries might call them iceboxes? Anyway, we have a MASSIVE one, which should hold ALL my fish comfortably while I do this. I'm going to get someone help me lift that inside (two person job its that big!) then siphon that full of old tank water - I'll suck from the top so I get the cleanest water I can --> then I should have quite a bit I can pop back in, I'll aim for at least 30-40% old. I frequently do close to 50% water changes so that should be okay. I might still put the fish into bags to acclimatize back though. Will see.

If it's extra yucky I plan on taking a few pics for you guys.

Wish me luck!