undergravel filter

[hargi22]

hi got a new tank from my mom its came with a under gravel filter its only a 5g tank? can i use sand with it or will it have to be gravel??
cheers matt

 

[Vip]

Has to be gravel dude, sand will just go right through it

 

[The-Wolf]

You can put hessian cloth ontop of the ugf and then the sand, but it only delays the enevatable.

 

[Ben]

ive always wanted to know, how does the UGF clean your tank?

i fell like a newbie

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

the gravel acts as the filter. the water is pulled down through the gravel and then out again through the tubes at either end of the tank.

 

[hargi22]

Thought so! the name sorta gives it away.

thanks

 

[enchanted]

Hopefully somebody will post the link regarding UGF since I can't remember it. But here is the low down.

First the way the gravel cleans it is by the same bacteria that is talked about in cycling. The problem is nothing but you cleans your gravel.

They are considered one of the less clean and less reliable methods of filteration.

If you can afford it I would recommend picking up a Pengiun Mini with Bio-wheel. I know Petco and Petsmart sell them for less than $20.00. Either of these will provide you with much better filteration than the UGF and , if you choose, you could then use sand.

 

[FishDan]

Properly maintained, UGFs are among the best biological filters available. Other than that, they are not going to "clean" your gravel/tank to any real degree like a HOB or canister filter will, as these types have much larger mechanical filtration media. UGFs are in no way "unreliable", they are only good for specific filtering uses (ie biological filtration) are are great filters used in combination with HOBs or canister filters. They do also require more diligence and may need to be broken down completely every year or so to properly clean. This makes them slightly inconvenient, but this does not make them unreliable or inherently bad. They are, in fact, great for small, lightly stocked tanks that don't need a whole lot of mechanical filtration.

\Dan

 

[swampcat]

Forget the under gravel filter altoghether if you want sand. Use an aquaclear filter, they allow you to use all kinds of filter material. You can make your own media with bags, can add lava rock ceramic cylinders, chem stars, ect. to grow bacteria. Just as done with an external power filter(canister).