Under Gravel Jets

[Matty]

Hey guys, i just read a review on them, and to be honest, they sound like a pretty cool idea, I have a few questions though. have any of you used them with Mbunas? Even if you havent, how do your fish like the system? and how hard is it to build your own system? Also, I'm wondering if i can connect it to my filter (Eheim 2217) instead of a spray bar...thanks for the input

 

[Jen]

Sounds like a pretty cool idea. here is a link to an article a guy wrote who made one. Under gravel jets. He claims that he hasn't had to vacuum the gravel since installing them, but I don't know if that would work or not.

 

[Tolak]

Iv'e got a sort of undergravel jet thing rigged on a 55 with gravel. It's a 1,000 lph pump with a home made filter on the intake. I hid the pump & filter behind a rock, fed the hose under the rock & have the flow coming across the front. You can see the white hose under the rock on the right,

This tank has 3 good size common plecs, and too many angels. I vac the gravel once a month, it hardly needs it. There is a bit of a dead area behind the driftwood, if is wasn't for that, it really wouldn't need to be vacced at all. I'll bet if I split the flow & ran some hose behind the driftwood it wouldn't need any vaccing.

You do need to have enough filtration to pick up the debris that will be suspended in the water. That tank has 2 Eheim cannisters & an old hob running besides the filter on the intake of the pump.

The link you provided is what gave me the idea for doing this. I have other tanks with a similar setup, just a powerhead with a foam filter on the intake. It keeps the bottoms of tanks incredibly clean, even for having no substrate. I'm surprised more people don't do the ugj thing.

Tolak

 

[godzuki]

i really like that idea and as im changing my tank next year for a bigger one i might consider it, but how does it work?? the site doesnt really explain can any one give me a "idiot" proof explanation bearing in mind I'm a blond in disguise..

thank you

kiss kiss
godzuki

 

[simonbrown403]

i really like that idea and as im changing my tank next year for a bigger one i might consider it, but how does it work?? the site doesnt really explain can any one give me a "idiot" proof explanation bearing in mind I'm a blond in disguise..

thank you

kiss kiss
godzuki

All it is is a serise of pipes which poke out from under the gravel.
There are placed around the tank to stop detritus (waste) from settling on the gravel and is instead taken up by the filter.
It also prevents dead spots, you might of seen thise in your own tank, spots where all the ditritus seams to colect.

 

[godzuki]

i got that bit and I could understand it working if the pipes underneath were sucking the water in and the the water was being relayed through a filter and then pumped back into the tank but I dont under stand how having 2 or 3 pipes sticking out the gravel expelling the filtered water stops any of the rubbish settling... I might sound blonde but I not understanding.

 

[sub.42]

Hi all,

I use these at work, we call them 'Vario' sets. The system uses a 1/4" water jet, on a 1/2" pipe system. The bendy bit of the pipe is made up of several ball and sockets, so you can position it anyway you want, and it holds that position. The water jets I use are 1/4" cats-eye style jobs. I'm building one now for my Rio 180. I will post some pictures here asap.

sub.

 

[Matty]

thank you. we would appreciate more pics. Another question came to mind. would this system work with a sand tank and how much is an actual professional setup like the one you have at work?

 

[sub.42]

:03 PM' post='1000221']
thank you. we would appreciate more pics. Another question came to mind. would this system work with a sand tank and how much is an actual professional setup like the one you have at work?

Hmm, Lets see....

The pipework is all standard 1/2" PVC. My tank uses around 4 metres of pipe, five or six 90 degree elbows, four equal 90 tees, and half a dozen 1/2" to 1/4" threaded reducers. You can either make it up so that the feed pipe connection is level with the substrate, or pipe it up to the pump connection nearer the top of the tank. To this I then screw in the jet varios.

I have posted some pictures in the photos forum, just so you all can see the components, and understand how it works.

And sand should be no problem with my system. it is self clearing if your pump output is high enough.

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[penguinpimp1990]

arent those jet filter thingys commonly used for fast flowing river replication? unless im thinking of something different........................

 

[ChrisC]

Get a UGF. Stick a powerhead on the top of the intake tube. Job done.

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Matty]

no thanks, id rather keep my gravel clean, besides, im switching to sand

 

[sub.42]

Hi all,

Been really busy guys, will post more soon. I have gone and complicated things by getting a heater able aswell..

sub.

 

[ChrisC]

no thanks, id rather keep my gravel clean, besides, im switching to sand

No, I mean having the OUTPUT of a powerhead going down the gravel uptake. Therefore you are forcing water up through the gravel,

Thanks,
Chris

 

[sub.42]

no thanks, id rather keep my gravel clean, besides, im switching to sand

No, I mean having the OUTPUT of a powerhead going down the gravel uptake. Therefore you are forcing water up through the gravel,

Thanks,
Chris

Hmm,

The system that I am talking about uses the output of a canister filter, so that the water is already filtered. R.U.G. filters are ok, but they still suffer from buildup under the plate, with little or no way to clean them, except for reversing the flow, and then performing a water change. Worse still, you may end up having to turf the whole lot out and start again. They also work poorly with sand. What we are talking about here is a system that allows you to target specific 'dead' areas of your tank, to stop the build up of fish waste. It uses several jets, that force turbulance in those dead areas, thus helping to collect more detritus in your filter. It's a little more complicated than one UGF lift pipe output.

I will post as soon as I have some worthwhile images, that will hopefully explain what I mean.

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