Undergravel Filters

[StingrayKid]

Well, I'm redoing my 10 gallon set up and I'm making the aquaium very lanted and extremely rocky. I have a double waterfall(or power filter) set up right now, but I don't think they'll work well for what I'm doing. I thinking about an undergravel filter. I hear all they do is suck all the crap to the bottom and that's it, but I'm not so sure about that... Anyone have one that works for them?

 

[Ahmad]

I tried stingraykid!..Back when I first started fish keeping I thought it would work for me.......It doesnt. You already said it the sucks.

What there meant to do is pull the waste from the gravel and put it back into the tank so the filters can get it or you get it with a water change. Most of the time the UGF does half the Job it sucks it down and thats all. It stays deep down into the bottom of your tank. It will cause horrible ammonia Problems...and just mess up the chance of having a healthy tank. Sometimes even Gravel Vacs. wont reach the waste and remove it from the tank..so your going to have to take out the UGF from the tank and then Vac. Imagine what the tank is going to look like after that.

You can use a UGF for a betta tank....easir to clean but then agian they make very small power filters too. and cleaning will be much easir.

IMO I would not get a UGF I would Get a power filter or canister or HOB ect.....

 

[StingrayKid]

Cool, that's what I thought, thanks!

 

[Ahmad]

No Problem!

 

[ddm18]

Well, I do agree that a power filter (internal or external) is better than UGF, but that's just from personal experience. I don't mean to be rude, Ahmad, but your explanation is pretty far from the truth. UGF's aren't supposed to

pull the waste from the gravel and put it back into the tank

They're supposed to keep in the gravel, and thus out of the main body of the water. The beneficial bacteria then live in the gravel (huge surface area), and do their work with the nitrogen cycle. The downside is that you have to use a gravel vacuum to get the waste up, but I've never found that:

Sometimes even Gravel Vacs. wont reach the waste

It really just depends on how good your gravel vac is, I guess.

 

[Ahmad]

Oh no I dont think you are trying to be rude!! Thats what the board is all about diffrent views and oppinions.

Thats what I have been told...But thats ok. But I still dont reccomend it since it traps all the waste and stuff deep down in the tank and causes problems. And it is hard to remove the waste

And yes it depends on the Vac. Thats Why I said Sometimes they cant reach the waste.

 

[i_eat_kangaroos]

i have an undergravel filter and a fluval corner filter thing, 4 weeks ago i did my yearly tank overhaul and i found that the bottom of the tank was coated in a thick brown mud. i also have a suspision that my coolie loach disapeared down there...

 

[StingrayKid]

Yeah, I think I'll buy a internal canister... Don't want any yucky stuff....

 

[smithrc]

my parents have had their tank up and running for 12 years (since i started keeping fish)

They use an under gravel filter and always have (it was the thing 10-12 years ago)
they syphon the gravel ever few weeks and the fish are fine

 

[MollyPlatyLuvr]

When I first started my 15 gallon, I had an UGF in there because that was what was in there when my friend gave me his old aquarium. I did weekly gravel vacuuming, and there was always TONS of crap (sorry bad pun) that was getting sucked up, and I couldn't get it all without removing too much water. Not to mention my molly and platy fry were hiding under the filter plates, and I was afraid they'd get stuck there and die. A couple months ago I switched to a Power Filter (hangs on the back) and it works much better.

Also, with UGF I don't think you can have live plants. (Another reason why I switched, I wanted live plants.)