Undergravel Filters

[markandhisfish]

can anybody tell me does the undergravel filter cover the entire base of the tank??

 

[Davo86]

usually, yes

 

[markandhisfish]

usually, yes

thats what i thought, my current tank has undergravel but it was set up for me so i have never seen it, am upgrading to a 240l tank in a few months the base of the tank will be 4 foot by 16 inches but cant seem to find 1 that big, any suggestions of somewhere online ??

 

[jflowers]

Do you have to use a ugf? IMO canister filters are much easier to maintain and just as efficient.

Jon

 

[england]

under gravel filters in my oppinion are a thing of the past,,,,,external or internal are way better
if you do want to cont then try somewhere like ebay,,,failing that try googling under gravel filter stockists

 

[markandhisfish]

under gravel filters in my oppinion are a thing of the past,,,,,external or internal are way better
if you do want to cont then try somewhere like ebay,,,failing that try googling under gravel filter stockists

ok the tank i am going to be upgrading to is a 240 litre and comes with a juwel filter system (internal) standard h ( not sure what that means) this is what it says about the filter Internal Filter system: This highly efficient and easy to maintain filter system is as complete as it can be, equipped with a powerful pump and all filter media in the most practical filter basket: - Poly Pads for the large dirt particles - Active Carbon Sponge to extract chemical impurities from the water - coarse and fine filter sponges housing the bacteria cultures to effectively clean the water.

opinions please as its all gravy to me lol

 

[england]

yes that sound much much better
filters are easy to maintain,,,once you set up the tank, when you come to clean filter you just take a bucket of FISH TANK Water and wash out the sponges etc in this then replace into the filter,same as you took them out!!!clean impeller every once and awhile!!!if tank does not come with instuctions then google the tank and filter and you will find how to set up and maintain

 

[markandhisfish]

yes that sound much much better
filters are easy to maintain,,,once you set up the tank, when you come to clean filter you just take a bucket of FISH TANK Water and wash out the sponges etc in this then replace into the filter,same as you took them out!!!clean impeller every once and awhile!!!if tank does not come with instuctions then google the tank and filter and you will find how to set up and maintain

great stuff appreciate your help basicly i have reached my stock limit in my 120l tank but still mant more fish so am going to upgrade in a few months this is the set up i am going for

Volume: approx. 240 litres
Light System with electronic ballast and 2 x 38/40 W tube
JUWEL Filter System: Standard H
Colour: Black
Size: 121 x 55 x 41 cm

Comes Complete With:

Internal Filter system: This highly efficient and easy to maintain filter system is as complete as it can be, equipped with a powerful pump and all filter media in the most practical filter basket: - Poly Pads for the large dirt particles - Active Carbon Sponge to extract chemical impurities from the water - coarse and fine filter sponges housing the bacteria cultures to effectively clean the water.

Multilux: The most comfortable lighting system for Aquariums from Juwel. Removable flaps and a light unit, which can be moved backwards and forwards on the frame, allow the user to maintain the aquarium and its plants under full lighting conditions! This high quality waterproof light unit equipped with an energy efficient electronic ballast provides ample light and illumination to the aquarium and for plants. The Multilux is of course waterproof The Multilux 120 is designed for 2 tubes of 38 W each.

The automatic heater 200W Juwel heater: This heater system is fully equipped with special holders for the JUWEL Filter System as well as for positioning at the aquarium glass panel. The 200W heater is particularly good for aquariums with a volume of up to 260 litres considering room temperature measures approximately 18 ° Celsius.

 

[hyak2]

usually, yes

thats what i thought, my current tank has undergravel but it was set up for me so i have never seen it, am upgrading to a 240l tank in a few months the base of the tank will be 4 foot by 16 inches but cant seem to find 1 that big, any suggestions of somewhere online ??

Hi there, normally for very big tanks such as yours, there are more efficent filter opions than an undergravel (such as extermals mentioned above) if you are still interested then you could try one of the undergravel filters which comes in sections so you can connect to the filter size you want? in which case you could then create non undergravel areas if you were interested in planting areas? They are still very efficient biological filters though and do a great job if gravel cleaned frequently......maybe supplementing an undergravel with an extermal/internal may be a good option for you? I have used undergravels for 16 years on some of my tanks and have had no probs! Alot of people think they are a thing of the past, but with proper maintainence they are a very reasonable filter especially for tanks containing communtiy fish and similar

 

[rabbut]

This is the one you plan to keep Discus in isn't it?

If so, you realy want a Canister. UGF wouldn't be an option for Discus, as they don't like disolved organics or nitrates in their water, and UGF IME is a factory for both Internals though OK for general tropicals, for discus don't give reliable enough filtration if poorly maintained IMO. If you want to run the Internal filter supplied with that tank, you would need to do weekly maintanance on it (possibly even more often) or supliment it with a good exturnal.

I personaly would keep the Juwel internal and use a Tetratec EX1200 along side it This then allows you to use the exturnal for the Bio filtration that you need, and the internal for the mechanical, that is more optional. If you loose your biological filter in any tank, it's bad, loose it with discus, and your £100+ worth of fish will almost certainly die . You need reliability in a Discus system as things can go wrong real fast if you loose some gear

HTH
Rabbut

 

[markandhisfish]

This is the one you plan to keep Discus in isn't it?

If so, you realy want a Canister. UGF wouldn't be an option for Discus, as they don't like disolved organics or nitrates in their water, and UGF IME is a factory for both Internals though OK for general tropicals, for discus don't give reliable enough filtration if poorly maintained IMO. If you want to run the Internal filter supplied with that tank, you would need to do weekly maintanance on it (possibly even more often) or supliment it with a good exturnal.

I personaly would keep the Juwel internal and use a Tetratec EX1200 along side it This then allows you to use the exturnal for the Bio filtration that you need, and the internal for the mechanical, that is more optional. If you loose your biological filter in any tank, it's bad, loose it with discus, and your £100+ worth of fish will almost certainly die . You need reliability in a Discus system as things can go wrong real fast if you loose some gear

HTH
Rabbut

am rapidly goling off the disus idea now lol!!!!! seriously tho discus wont be happening for a few years yet gonna have fish all my life so no rush wont have those till i am an expert. basicly upgrading so i can stay along the same lines fishwise just in bigger numbers hence doublingmy tank volume .

 

[rabbut]

If you are witing for discus, stick with the internal, there is nothing to fault them with when correctly maintained for general tropicals. Get yourself the Exturnal when you feel you are ready for the discus

All the best
Rabbut

 

[markandhisfish]

If you are witing for discus, stick with the internal, there is nothing to fault them with when correctly maintained for general tropicals. Get yourself the Exturnal when you feel you are ready for the discus

All the best
Rabbut

yep thats pretty much what i was planning to do but i assume that even just a general community setup would benefit from my internal being backed up with external. are the ecternal filters expensive as if not i may just get it straight away

 

[rabbut]

I got my Tetratec EX1200's (I have two) from 1st 4 aquatics and they were £69.99 each, including delivery, media, three year warrenty, everything needed to run them and next day delivery. That isn't bad at all They are the only filters that I have liked enough to buy a second of, and that company are very good, posting quickly and keeping you informed of how your order is going at all times

All the best
Rabbut

 

[markandhisfish]

I got my Tetratec EX1200's (I have two) from 1st 4 aquatics and they were £69.99 each, including delivery, media, three year warrenty, everything needed to run them and next day delivery. That isn't bad at all They are the only filters that I have liked enough to buy a second of, and that company are very good, posting quickly and keeping you informed of how your order is going at all times

All the best
Rabbut

ok many thanks