Under gravel filter

[Kageshi17]

Just decided to move to this alternative. I cant wait to try it out (when I get home from work) and I really think it will help with the problems I have with filters not pulling their weight, breaking, getting too dirty, causing too much turbulance, etc. I have not the first clue on how to go about this and what to expect / what the problems could be?

Here are some questions:

1. Do I have to totally clear out all the gravel then place the filter in and then cover it with gravel? Or can some rocks be underneath the plastic sheet filter thing

2. I heard that all the tubing needs to be under the water...covered by water that is. Is there a certain amount away from the surface it needs to be? Like 4 inches or what?

3. Do I need a bubbler for my fish if I have an under gravel filter?

4. How often should it be cleaned? And how often should the cartriges be replaced? Do I need to take all the gravel out of the tank and clean the plastic sheet or no?

Thanks in advance! I hope I'll get a few responses before I come home and try it for myself!

[SpoiledRotten]

First off, Under gravel filters are a waste of money IMO because all they do is suck the poop under the plates and it sits there. Plus it makes the tank look tacky. So I wouldn't recommend them. But I'll answer your questions.

1.yes you will have to remove all the gravel to place the plates in place and when you do that and alot of poop will fly up as well so I'd recommend that you remove the fish and you may have to empty the tank out as I did when I put a under gravel filter in my 10 gallon tank.

2. 2 inches I'd say

3. not as long as you have a regular filter running as well

4. I believe it tells how often they need to be replaced in the instructions.

[Damon]

Look into reverse undergravel filtration. Much better alternative.

[Kageshi17]

I thought that this would be a good alternative seeing as my regular filters cause too much turbulation and get dirty quickly. My 60g one I have doesnt even help that much and so I would have to add yet another filter which would cause problems. I wanted to know what good things that the under gravel filter can do for me because I see them in the dental offices and more proffessional settings so I thought they were for experts...or something. Please more info, I dont know if I should set it up tonight or take it back.

Thanks.

[Gourami Swami]

Hmmm.... You saw UGF's in dentist's office, so you thought they must be only for experts? Hardly

undergravel filters are a waste of time and money. They suck the poo to the bnottom of the gravel, but don't do anything when it's there. They barely filter the water, and plus, when the water goes into the filter it is run throungh a liyer of fish crap. Go with a power filter or canister filter. More expensive, but very good.

[Damon]

I guess questions we should be asking you are..........

Tank size?
Current filtration?
Location of filter(s)?

[TheOldSalt]

Now wait just acotton pickin' second, ya'll.

The UGF has been around for a very long time, and it is a proven method. The problems mostly arise due to overloading the tank or not performing enough maintenance. Otherwise, it's solid.

By the way, I'm a buddy of the guy who owned the very first UGF used in the USA, and I've used them for over 30 years, so I suppose I have a certain appreciation for them.

The trick is letting them do their job without expecting them to work miracles. You'll ned to vaccuum the gravel every month to keep it unclogged, and the thing works best with the tubes just a little bit, say an inch, over the water line height. Too high and head pressure works against you.

No bubblers needed.

Don't even BOTHER using the cartidges. All they do is slow your flow down to unworkable levels while simultaneously not doing you any real good whatsoever.

[Kageshi17]

Really??? Done use cartridges? Wow....

I'll try that.

But I have a 29g long tank with a 40g filter and a 10g filter. Right now I had a semi bright idea and thought about using the undergravel filter with a 30g power filter. I know most of your are asking yourselves: "Why did you switch in the first place?" And my answer would be: "I wanted to try something new?" Hahahahah. So thank you all for your help. I'm going to the store right now and picking up a 30g filter just to do the rest of the work the undergravel one isnt doing sounds like a good idea to me! But in my opinion the tank looks really nice with the undergravel filter, I like how the tubes reach to the top and have bubbles running through them. Hahaha. But umm....I also like how I dont have to have a bubbler now and there isnt too much water turbulance.

I do have a question though. Can anyone find hoods / glass tops for a 29g long? I've looked everywhere and it seems they just arent sold in places like lfs and the store. I really dont want to have to order stuff that will cost a fortune to ship. Any suggestions?

[emc7]

What are the dimension of your tank? Most 29 gallon tanks have the same footprint as a 20 long (30" x 12") and use the same hoods and UG filter plates.

[Kageshi17]

My 29g is a long tank, its even thinner then my 20g long. I measured them side by side and the undergravel plastic sheet could fit in the 20g with ease and was like 3 inches off on my 29g. I took a knife to it and sliced the extra inches off. I just cant find any other way but the ghetto way . But yeah, so now the tank looks nice but I cant find any hoods or glass to cover over the top because all of them are for 20g long and 29g tall. Its REALLY frusterating!!!

[redpaulhus]

I gotta agree with TOS (as usual ) -- UGF's are good if you understand what they are good for (biofiltration) what they are not for (mechanical filtration) and how to properly use them (vac regularly).

Anybody who has an UGF that has a "layer of fish poop on the plate" isn't using it correctly - it needs maint on a regular basis.

The trash barrel in my kitchen doesn't do any good of I don't take the trash out - but that doesn't mean I go online and say that trash barrels are a waste of money because they are full of trash ! If I remember to take the bag out when its full, it doesn't stink.

If you use an UGF and vac it once a week - it won't be full of poo !

Now - would I use one with live plants (excepting wood mounted anubias or ferns/mosses) - NO.

Would I use one with digging cichlids - probably not (although I like reverse flow UGF's with a gravel tidy (sheet of window screen) halfway thru the gravel layer for cichlids, especially if I'm looking to buffer my soft water with crushed coral for mbuna (etc) -- it gives me a huge calcium carbonite sink right there in the tank, limiting how much buffer I need to add at each water change to keep the pH and hardness stable ).

But for many of my breeding tanks, where I don't want the fry sucked into a power filter or up against a big sponge filter, I like UGF's.
Ditto my cherry shrimp rearing tank.

I'll be honest - I don't use alot of UGF's anymore, I use mostly sponge filters in tanks that I probably would have used UGF's for in the past - just because I've found good sponge filters cheap ($5 or less, AngelsPlus.com) while UGF's seem to keep going up in price (lack of sales means higher prices).

[redpaulhus]

I generally find that the folks who think UGF are junk also think my LP's, 45's, 8-tracks, and cassette tapes are junk
(that's how us dinosaurs listed to music before mp3s)

[TigerBarb12]

i have an undergravel filter, and it does make the water look wierd. You should only have to clean it once a week or so. And the tubing should be 2-4 inches, mines about 6 inches down, but mines in a 2 gal, so i dont really care.

[FishHead]

^ i have never heard of or seen a 2 gallon UGF..smallest I found was 5 gallon.
i use a UGF on both of my 30s and they work fine. There is not clump of fish poo stuck underneath it like some said above. you do have to make sure gravel or other stuff doesnt clog the tubing, causing it to stop flowing. I have my tubes about 2 inches above water level. only maintenance i had to do so far was replace the air stones. i did just buy a 20L and I am not going to use a UGF.

[girth vader]

had tanks with and without UGFs. If you have no plans for live plants and it's already bought. use it! If you don't have one then no big deal either. They can be a welcomed addition to bio filtration, but most of the filters these days address the bio filtration pretty well. Back in the day, the HOB or canisters weren't as comprehensive, so us ol' timers used UGFs to compensate. Now you can buy wet/dry canisters built in, and even the HOBs have biowheels, so the need for an UGF isn't as common. with or without if you change your water and vacuum the gravel, you will have healthy fish.

zig.