Under Gravel Fitlter With Power Head, For Planted Tank ?

[pdludbrooke]

Are under gravel filters any good ?
Can they be used with a planted tank ?

 

[ripil]

i've never used an underground filter with plants before as i really don't think much to underground filters at all. just seems to hold mess in one place well mine does but the powerhead isn't that good. not sure but i think many ppl on here would advise against the use of underground filters as a rule. seen a few posts where ppl slate them cant remember why.

 

[ZephyrStarPlaties]

I have an under gravel filter, it works really well! They don't seem better or worse than normal filters.

 

[KittyKat]

Are under gravel filters any good ?

If you mean, do they filter? Yes, they do. Would I use one? No, I would not use them because I use sand substrates (which allows me to consider a much larger variety of fish for the tanks in question), and because I do not vacuum the substrate. So in short, if I used a UG filter, I could not be able to keep the fish that I do and I would need to do more maintenance.

Can they be used with a planted tank ?

Yes, I have done this with success, until I got fed up with the UG part of the filter.

If I was determined to have a UG filter, I would probably consider powering it with an external filter, and just having the outlet go into the UG instead of over the surface… but if I did this, then I would probably need something else to disturb the surface of the tank.

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

If you really want to go down the UG filter route then run it in reverse flow, as this will stop the heavy sediment build up. Also when you do water changes push a siphon pipe down the uplift tube to suck the dirt out from under the plates.

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

If you really want to go down the UG filter route then run it in reverse flow, as this will stop the heavy sediment build up. Also when you do water changes push a siphon pipe down the uplift tube to suck the dirt out from under the plates.

I

 

[OldMan47]

A UGF can be used with any arrangement. I have used them on both planted and unplanted tanks. The UGF is among the best filters available but it takes specific techniques to use one. If you want easy care, a simple hang on back, HOB, filter is the best.