Undergravel Filter Yey Or Nay?

[Tropicaltone1980]

Hi all,

I am a fairly experienced (4yrs) tropical fresh water fish keeper. However I am new to keeping marine/reef aquariums and I am trying to figure out the best filtration equipment for a new 95gal/430ltr tank. My problem is I have read a lot of very conflicting information about undergravel filters (depending largely on when the books were published).

My dad used to run a tropical/marine aquatic store (Successfully) back in the mid 80's and he swears by undergravel filters (especially in marine setups) using powerheads combined with an external power filter. He believes the new filtration equipment is only designed for the stores and manufacturers to make money, buying new filter media, on an on going basis (He's hasn't kept fish for over 15 years mind you) but he was very good when he ran his store.

Please can anyone with Marine/Reef experience who has used undergravel filters in the past let me know what they think on this matter

Thanks

 

[crazyelece]

Well the popular opinion now is they are a no go. Not to say that they don't work, but there are better more efficient filtration methods to implement. First a UGF needs gravel to work properly, they don't work well with sand. Gravel traps dirt and is harder to maintain than sand. Also UGFs need to be cleaned and that means tearing the tank apart to do so.

For that sized tank I would recommend sump filtration. The most you would have to do is clean and or replace some mechanical media such as sponges. Also use live rock in both the tank and sump. This is where most of your filtration takes place and is the key to many successful low maintenance tanks. Some sort of algea harvesting filtration is also a benefit.

Simple answer - NAY!

 

[mr.dark-saint]

I ran with UGF in my 125 gallon with a sump. I didn't use the UGF as it was intended for. I had two packs of UGF stcked one on top of the other to create a Plenum like ones used in H.A.N.D.Y. or a modified Jaubert. I didn't feel like making it out pr PVC and egg crate so I just bought the UGF and then dropped 5 inches of crushed aragonite and 200+ pounds of live rocks.

Now would I use UGF with powerheads in a reef system? No. So I suppose I'd vote differntly according to the way you're going.

 

[Navarre]

UGF do work but they are dated and their use only bringso n more work for you eventually.

UGF cannot process nitrates and thus frequent water changes are needed to keep these at a minimum.

Modern day equuipment has its advantages (simply because we understand the marine filtration system far better). but these are not needed to be honest.

The best filter you can get has been around since the dawn life on this planet. Liverock. Get this and all you need after this is a skimmer.

Liverock wil remove nitrates and thus complete the nitogen cycle making water changes far less frequent and saving your hard earnt cash.

Most successful marine system these days base their entire filtration system on liverock with mechanical filtration only in place as a bolt on support tool.

Sadly the marine world back in the days of your fathers shop knew far less about marine filtration than we do today. Liverock was available back then of course (it was oly really just becoming understood in its importance) but its price was really only for those who had won the lottery!

 

[Chac]

Technoligy has moved on since UGF & IMO has made then outdated, useless & almost impossible to maintain in todays reef

Skimmer, Cheap(er) Liverock, Mircle Mud etc system have made Marine tanks a posibility for so many fishkeepers that a Basic Marine Tank has ALMOST begun as easy to setup & maintain as a Freshwater tank (althought not as cheap)

UGF gets the big thumbs down for me

 

[Tropicaltone1980]

Thanks guys for all your helpful comments. I think the undergravel is a no no then