Under Gravel Filter
- Thread starter gazza1591
- Start date
debiasir
fancy goldfish rule!!!
as long as the tank substrate is not sand you should be fine. most LFS sell them
I think perhaps the real question is why do you want one? In almost every case a hang-on-back filter is better, especially one with a bio-wheel. The best thing about having the bio-wheel is that you know exactly where all your good bacteria are cultured, so so long as you take care of that wheel, you don't have to worry about re-cycling the tank.
There was a time that the undergravel filters were the best technology out there, but today that is just not true. Here are some of the drawbacks: the gravel bed, since water has to flow through the bed to be filtered, may develop channels, also known as ratholes, through the bed. This is bad since if the water is not running into the gravel too often, it is effectively getting not filtered. And that will happen since the water will take the path of least resistance, which is the rathole. Next, since the bacteria are under water, the water has to be well-oxygenated... the good bacteria need oxygen to work. With a bio-wheel, the bacteria are exposed right to the air, which gives them at least 1000 more oxygen to do their work with. Another thing I like about the biowheel filters is that you can immediately see if it is working correctly, that you can see is the flow rate of water is faster enough, you can see how often the wheel is spinning. And, again to fix this, you just take the wheel off, float it in the tank, and then clean out the filter itself. You know the bacteria are safe on the wheel, and you can clean that filter and pump and the filter pads and anything in the filter as much as you want without worry about a cycle. Comparatively, since with an undergravel filter the entire bed is the filter, you actually have a limit on how much you can clean the tank. Clean too much, and you may cause a mini-cycle. With the bio-wheel, so long as you match the pH, hardness, and temp of the new water with the tank water, you can actually do as large a water change and cleaning that you want. This could be good if an emergency arises.
Ultimately, you can never use sand with an undergravel filter, very few plants do well -- they don't appreciate the currents on the roots. And, there are just better, easier technology for use today.
There was a time that the undergravel filters were the best technology out there, but today that is just not true. Here are some of the drawbacks: the gravel bed, since water has to flow through the bed to be filtered, may develop channels, also known as ratholes, through the bed. This is bad since if the water is not running into the gravel too often, it is effectively getting not filtered. And that will happen since the water will take the path of least resistance, which is the rathole. Next, since the bacteria are under water, the water has to be well-oxygenated... the good bacteria need oxygen to work. With a bio-wheel, the bacteria are exposed right to the air, which gives them at least 1000 more oxygen to do their work with. Another thing I like about the biowheel filters is that you can immediately see if it is working correctly, that you can see is the flow rate of water is faster enough, you can see how often the wheel is spinning. And, again to fix this, you just take the wheel off, float it in the tank, and then clean out the filter itself. You know the bacteria are safe on the wheel, and you can clean that filter and pump and the filter pads and anything in the filter as much as you want without worry about a cycle. Comparatively, since with an undergravel filter the entire bed is the filter, you actually have a limit on how much you can clean the tank. Clean too much, and you may cause a mini-cycle. With the bio-wheel, so long as you match the pH, hardness, and temp of the new water with the tank water, you can actually do as large a water change and cleaning that you want. This could be good if an emergency arises.
Ultimately, you can never use sand with an undergravel filter, very few plants do well -- they don't appreciate the currents on the roots. And, there are just better, easier technology for use today.
Where are you?
wendywc
Rocking a crabshell for a hat.
I haven't seen an undergravel fiilters in use since my older brother had one in the 1980's. Every LFS I've seen has moved up to biowheels and powerheads.
EDIT: If your in the US, here's a link: http
/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavR...fm?N=2004+22768
EDIT: If your in the US, here's a link: http
/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/NavR...fm?N=2004+22768
boxman
Fishaholic
I have an UGF and have used it for a good year and my water parameters are 100% perfect, as long as the gravel is syphoned regularly and the tank well filtered I found it's just added to the stability to the water.
I've heard good reports on biowheels but I personally wouldn't change from my combination of UGF and external canister filter.
I've heard good reports on biowheels but I personally wouldn't change from my combination of UGF and external canister filter.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
295 -
220 -
214 -
184 -
172 -
167 -
148 -
135 -
135 -
125 -
118 -
109 -
105 -
95 -
94