Undergravel Filter

[sh8key40]

I have a 55 gallon and i was wondering. how important is the undergravel filter. I just have carbon cartridges for the 1 tube on each side. does this realy work or just to make bubbles

 

[Miss Wiggle]

having any filter in a tank is vital to maintain water quality. the link in my sign 'what's cycling?' will explain how it keeps the tank healthy if you want to read more.

however UG filters are not the only options, if you want to get rid of it you can switch to an internal/external filter instead although you must be careful not to loose all your beneficial bacteria.

 

[raptorrex]

I have a 55 gallon and i was wondering. how important is the undergravel filter. I just have carbon cartridges for the 1 tube on each side. does this realy work or just to make bubbles

now undergravel filters are, not important at all! however as said be miss wiggle a filter is! get yourself a good internal, or a good external. no use using last centuarys tech, when better is out there.

 

[dc3]

A UGF is not gonna cut it for filtering a 55g tank - I'd go as far as running dual HOB's or a nice canister just to make sure the water is as good as it can get... I am guessing the tank is 4 ft long - so maybe a HOB on either end - just to make sure you're getting good and proper water circulation... just my two cents - I tend to "overfilter"

 

[rdd1952]

I agree that the UGF is pretty much obsolete. As mentioned, on a 4' tank dual filters and heaters are much better for water circulation and temperature control.

 

[fishkers]

In my experience and talk to people UG filters don't do anything really... Go with what everyone else said, external or internal filter.

 

[tetraqueen]

Another filter that will suit your size of tank will be best. I personally do not like the undergravel as the currant is different and also the thought of some waste getting together before dispersing seems to put me off.


This said there is no reason why you can't cycle the new filter in the tank before removing the undergravel, I would then save most of your water to restart as you will probably need to take all fish and water out to remove the undergravel filter.

Try replacing the new filter as dirty as possible with the old water then do 10% water changes every other day and check your stats . This for me worked vey quickly and I was soon back to routine changes.

 

[rdd1952]

Rather than removing the UGF, I would just unplug it. Run the new filter along with the UGF for a month or so to build some bacteria in it and hen just cut the UGF off. It certainly shouldn't hurt for it to still be in the tank. If you do decide to remove it, saving the old tank water is a good idea so you don't have to re-acclimate the fish to new water.

 

[Chrispixx]

I have a 55 gallon and i was wondering. how important is the undergravel filter.

I agree that the UGF is pretty much obsolete. As mentioned, on a 4' tank dual filters and heaters are much better for water circulation and temperature control.

On my 55 i have dual HOB (hang on back) filters, one on each side and one heater in the middle. This works just fine becuse of the circulation from the HOB filters.

I used to have a UGF on this tank but crud and junk building up under the plates led to bad water quality and fish death.
At the time, advise from a more experienced fish keeper was to get rid of the UGF.
the best thing i ever did.

does this realy work or just to make bubbles

UGF filters are great if you want to watch bubbles come up the tubes.

IMO you can achive this same effect by using a flat sponge type filter buried under the gravel, you can still have bubbles, it will have a lot more bacterial growth, and is alot easier to pull up to rinse in a bucket of tank water when it gets dirty.