Filters

[dreamsphere]

Hi, I'm new here so sorry in advance for any daftnesss.
I have bought a (well I'm pretty sure it's a) FLUVAL UNO TANK KIT 600 I used to keep fish when I was younger and I decided to start up again. The tank is fine and so are the fellows that live there. However I don't particularly like the Fluval 2+ filter, it's doing the job but it's not aesthetically pleasing and I've seen many Juwel aquariums with what I assume is a purpose built for that aquarium only and they look a lot more professional.

So as a complete new-comer really; I was wondering if I should try undergravel filtration.

I'm a fast leaner and I don't want to be bogged down using all the basic kit for the rest of my days.

So any help and shoves in the direction of better filters etc would be greatly appreciated.

I don't know if any of this helps but my tank dimensions are here.... 60cm x 30cm x 35cm

Just be nice

Cheers,

 

[nmonks]

Undergravel filters can work very well, and they are generally cheap to build. The downside is that you locked into using plain gravel substrates, and plants with roots usually do not do well in tanks with an undergravel filter. Some people also find maintaining undergravel filters a chore, because they need to be raked periodically and the dirt siphoned off. While this is fine in a basic tank, in one with lots plants, ornaments, and rocks it can be very tiresome. Coupled with the way they restrict the growth of many rooted plants, this is largely why they have fallen out of fashion.

On the flip side, don't discard the little internal filter out of hand. In a lightly stocked tank they are convenient and easy to maintain. For their capacity, they are expensive, which is why you usually see aquarists switch over to other types of filter, but they are not intrinsically bad. If, for example, you kept a few dwarf cichlids, puffers, or some livebearers, the little internal filter would be ideal. You could easily remove it for maintenance without stressing the fish in the tank.

A 60 cm tank is rather small, and I use one like that primarily to hold a pair of red-tail puffers together with a few cardinal tetras and halfbeak fry. So I'd tend to focus on using a small tank as a place to keep some fish for study or breeding rather than as a showpiece community tank. In this case, filtration is relatively unimportant, because the fish you will be keeping will be small and not numerous.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[Gman91]

Personaly I would stay away from the undergravel filter. I small internal filter would work great in that type of tank.

 

[dreamsphere]

Ok, I guess you're right. The more I think about it, it seems like a bad idea. There are 2 rooted plants in there and the whole thing would be too traumatic for the little blighters. I'm just using it as a starting piece while I get the hang of fish keeping again.