So whatever happened to undergravel filters?

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I notice that these never seem to get even a mention nowadays and yet they were very popular just over a decade ago.
All three of my large tanks had underground filters running, each powered by a decent powerhead, and, in my largest, a UGF supplement my rather large and throbbing external canister.
I recall they were particularly good for plants and, perhaps by sheer good luck, seemed to promote the cycling that is so widely acknowledged as essential nowadays.
Knowing that they could be a bugger to clean out, those of us who used them devised all manner of easy ways to access under the filter and those of us with Khuli Loaches ensured there were little 'escape' tunnels.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

@Byron explains it best. There is a good reason for it, but I forgot what it was.

How big are the tanks you have these UGF’s in?

 

[Ichthys]

They’re easy to keep clean if you know how, but they pretty much died out when external and internal power filters were invented, which are smaller, quieter (than an air operated ug), and even easier to clean. They weren’t great for plants unless there was a good depth of gravel, which people don’t seem to like these days.

 

[Essjay]

And they don't work with sand.

 

[Slaphppy7]

And they don't work with sand.

^^ This ^^

Plus, the burden of digging them up to truly get them clean...

 

[Byron]

I'm not sure I am the one who explained any thing to do with undergravel, if I did I can't remember now. But I too used these, and I even got one for my first large tank (a 90g/340 liter tank) but within a year I tore it down and replaced the UG with an Eheim Pro II canister, after getting this filter for my second large tank (115g/435 liter) and being so impressed.

I didn't use sand back then (early 1990's) but having converted all my tanks to sand about 8-9 years ago now, I obviously will never use a UG again. And the absolute essential need for sand with the fish I keep (thinking of my 40-odd wild caught Corydoras primarily) I would not have anything else.

The biological filtration benefits are certainly true with UG filtration, but this is not what one wants with plants...you want the least amount of biological filtration. Plants do not need the competition of a multitude of nitrifying bacteria.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

@Byron explains it best. There is a good reason for it, but I forgot what it was.

How big are the tanks you have these UGF’s in?

Currently, I don't, but I ran a 4' tank with one and a large external cannister, plus a 3' tank and a custom built 2' cube on their own.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

They’re easy to keep clean if you know how, but they pretty much died out when external and internal power filters were invented, which are smaller, quieter (than an air operated ug), and even easier to clean. They weren’t great for plants unless there was a good depth of gravel, which people don’t seem to like these days.

No shortage of internal/external filters back in the day.
We were 'into' plants, so lots of gravel.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

And they don't work with sand.

True enough, generally, but those of us who kept Corys, for example, would have an area for sand, a beach, as it were, that didn't have a UGF under it.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

^^ This ^^

Plus, the burden of digging them up to truly get them clean...

Given that today we don't 'truly clean' our filters, so as to preserve our beneficial bacteria...
I had a low point in the tank that was easy to remove the gravel from and to stick a strong, flattened suction pipe under the UGF. There were other ways to do it as well, without disturbing the rest of the tank.

 

[Essjay]

When I started keeping fish back in the 1990s there was no broadband so I used books from the library for reference. Most of those were out of date even by 1990s standards. They did mention UG filters and said the tank must be torn down every year to clean it. I can only assume that's what most people did "because the books said to". Present company excepted, of course

 

[AbbeysDad]

The Under Gravel Filter was quite the rage back in the day...and I speak of the 60's and 70's. It was very inexpensive and a superior bio-filter. With proper gravel vacuuming it could be run nearly forever. But this was before power filters of any kind, let alone canister filters. (And a UGF can be used (well sort of) with sand - you just need a layer of landscape fabric between the plates and the sand [ref: Dr. Kevin Novak and Plenums]).
When power filters came along...along with the notion that "there's no such thing as too much filtration", UGF's suddenly became inferior. Coupled with the fact that if the gravel wasn't cleaned routinely, the UGF became a 'nitrate factory'....and all of this was expedited by manufacturers marketing hype to push the more expensive power filters not to mention their bio-medias!
So most hobbyists bought in to the new direction of filtration and there are many hobbyists that are still convinced they need to over filter their tanks - they just don't realize The Dirty Truth About Filters!
So in the end, the power filter, be it a HOB or a canister are good filters. However, a well managed UGF, like sponge filters are still players in the game.

 

[Colin_T]

Undergravel filters are fine if you have fish that don't dig up the gravel. They have a huge surface area for beneficial filter bacteria. They get cleaned when you do a water change and gravel clean the substrate. You can use one air pump to run multiple filters, which saves on power points. And they are cheaper than power filters (at least they used to be).

I had a planted tank with an undergravel filter and the plants did great. In fact all my tanks except for the breeding tanks, had undergravel filters with plants growing in the gravel. My breeding tanks had an air operated sponge filter.

My opinion is people don't use undergravel filters because shops sell power filters instead. Buy this new fangled $400.00 filter instead of this cheap plastic plate that will only set you back $20.00. Then come back and buy carbon, replacement cartridges, and new filter media every month so we can keep taking your money.