AquaView tanks

[Karah's_Mommy]

The UGF's do work in the aquaviews. It pulls all the yuck down under the plate in the bottom of the tank. You'd be amazed at how much filth they pull out. I still do 100% water changes at least once a week with the UGF in the tank. I also have several bettas that made bubbles nests even with the bubblers going. One of them kept a bubblenest around 50% of the surface area and 1/2 an inch thick or more.

 

[OohFeeshy]

OOI, what do these things look like anyhoo? I keep hearing you Yanks talking about them but have no idea what they look like.

 

[Noana]

Okay, now I'm confused. Some say the UGF is good, others say it serves no purpose...What's a girl to do? If it keeps the tank cleaner, then I definately want it. However, the agitation at the top was much too strong in my tank. There was water splashing everywhere & getting all over the lid. I think it would be nice if I could cut down the air flow, though.

But without the UGF, it seems like the tank would be easier to clean--less parts & stuff.

 

[OohFeeshy]

IME the best way to cut down the airflow is to tie a knot in the airline tubing.

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Which OhhFeeshy? The aquaview or the UGF? or is it something else I missed?

 

[abstract]

UGF work just like a normal HOB filter....it uses the substrate in place of a sponge for greater surface area for bacteria to grow on, and mechanically sucks in debris just like a HOB (air bubbles rising through the UGF uplift tubes causes the water to rise up the tube and spill out the top, hence debris getting sucked into the filter)....unfortunately you do not have the same flexibility and ease of mantainence as a HOB (i.e. different filter media and easy cleaning of media), not to mention UGF can cause a builup of nitrates if you do not thoroughly clean the waste

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

You can buy a valve and knock the air flow down, or tie a knot as OohFeeshy said. It's really personal preference I guess on how you decide to do it. Also, it takes at most an extra minute to clean up the extra pieces used by the UGF, if that long.

 

[abstract]

a word of warning that knots and valves that restrict airflow also increase wear and tear on air pumps and can greatly shorten their life

 

[BettaMomma]

If you're doing 100% water changes, the UGF doesn't benefit the tank at all really. If you think about it - yep, you're right - it does pull any extra food, poo, etc. down into the gravel. Which, in a cycled tank would be great and serve a purpose - but when you're doing 100% water changes on a tank like these, you're dumping everything out - so it's not benefiting the fish by sucking the gunk under the gravel or leaving it up on top. It all gets washed out either way.

And as a sidenote, I also used to do water changes 2 times a week on those tanks religiously. If I didn't, I would notice some fin deterioration. Just a note.

I have never tested the water to see about ammonia buildup, but I could always tell that going any longer than 3 - 4 days was murder on their fins. Then again, this was with Lucky the tail-less wonder and Six, my very delicate petite crowntail.

 

[OohFeeshy]

[quote name='Karah's_Mommy' date='Jun 24 2005, 07:25 PM'] Which OhhFeeshy? The aquaview or the UGF? or is it something else I missed? [/quote]
What? In the first post? I meant what the Aquaviews look like. As for restircting the airflow to the UGF, why not splash a bit more on an adjustable air pump?

 

[Karah's_Mommy]

Here's an aquaview:

 

[splashluff]

more aquaviewsss!

 

[50000_tears]

i have 3 of um..but i also have a bowl for Mr.budderz

 

[tacofrano]

awah they are soo cute! i want one!

 

[Synirr]

I've got 8 Aquaviews and just love them. I use the UGF in all but one of them just because it makes the water look cleaner. The fish don't care either way since I've never experienced problems with too much current (possibly because I use one air pump for two tanks). It's a personal preference, really. The one tank I don't use the UGF in is El Shaddai's, since his fins are huge and very delicate. Apparently he was tearing them on the top of the little plastic tube thingy.