Sand With A Ugf..

[Rhiannon]

After a bit of a chat with my husband and a good look at some of the most beautiful tanks from members on here, we have decided to change to sand from gravel.

But we have a question..

We have a UGF which we are planning on keeping because it, along with my internal filter are doing a fantastic job (I never have algae, dirty water, everything is crystal clear) , but how will the sand go with the UGF. I guess it will fall between the gaps and all, is this ok?

My husband is really worried about me cleaning it. He thinks that it I will suck up all the sand, but I told him I think you hold it just above the sand and the vacum pulls up all the crap from in the sand, is this right?

Tia

Rhiannon

 

[Tessla]

I wouldn't go and change from gravel to sand suddenly as the gravel acts as the filter media in the undergravel filter. Taking out all of the gravel would remove lots of your bacteria suddenly and likely cause a mini-cycle. You could set up an external filter on your tank and let that mature, then take out the undergravel system and put in a sandy bottom. The water really wouldn't flow properly in an undergravel filter with sand, as the water needs to be able to flow through the substrate.

Haven't used an undergravel filter in years, but I just recently started using sand as a substrate and it's much easier to keep clean than gravel in my opinion. You've got the right idea for cleaning, I just wave the syphon above the sand to disturb the gunk that collects on top.

 

[thegnu]

i agree with Tessla, thats why in flash floods and heavy rain when rivers burst their banks, they use sand bags to stem the flow and protect peoples homes

 

[Gatorbait]

You can remove all your gravel and your tank won't go into a mini-cycle if you leave your mature filters alone. I've done it a lot. Most of your beneficial bacteria is inside the filters.

You're also correct in how to clean the sand and it's very easy and probably easier than gravel, to be honest.

However, you can't have sand with a UGF as it will just fill up underneath the UGF making it useless for the tubes to pull/push water from for the bacteria to colonize and thrive.

 

[newtotropical]

You cant use sand with a UGF! All the muck will just sit on top of the sand

 

[Tessla]

You can remove all your gravel and your tank won't go into a mini-cycle if you leave your mature filters alone. I've done it a lot. Most of your beneficial bacteria is inside the filters.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that when using an UGF, your mature filter media is the gravel itself. I've done a gravel switch in a tank with an external filter with no trouble, but not something set up with an UGF. Wouldn't that be removing a good chunk of the beneficial bacteria?

 

[DarkShadow435]

You can remove all your gravel and your tank won't go into a mini-cycle if you leave your mature filters alone. I've done it a lot. Most of your beneficial bacteria is inside the filters.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the impression that when using an UGF, your mature filter media is the gravel itself. I've done a gravel switch in a tank with an external filter with no trouble, but not something set up with an UGF. Wouldn't that be removing a good chunk of the beneficial bacteria?

She said she has a external filter too.

 

[TerraDreamer]

She said she has a external filter too.

Actually, she said it was an internal filter.

No, you cannot use an UGF with sand. The entire science of the filter will go out the window if you use sand; it'll simply no longer be effective. If I were you, I'd buy an external HOB filter that is over-rated for your tank (Aqua Clear 50 or Penguin 150) and let that run for a month before changing out the gravel. I've never liked internal box-type filters as they simply don't appear to be all that efficient, although if they're a submersible powered type as opposed to a cheap air stone one I would imagine the efficiency goes up. If your current internal filter uses a sponge, you can use that media in the HOB to help speed things along. Be aware an external filter will introduce noise into your room. What brand and type you buy will determine how loud it is. I have an Aqua Clear 50 and it's not that loud at all; my computer is louder. A bio-wheel type will be noisier. But if you're happy with your current internal, so be it. Time will tell if you need additional filtering, which of course one can never have too much of. I also use a UGF that is used with powerheads on the lift tubes (used along with the external Aqua Clear 50). Like yours, my water is always crystal clear. I prefer gravel over sand as the crap settles into the gravel out of sight to be consumed by bacteria. I vacuum the gravel once a month, or every 4th water change.

When you remove the UGF, you'll be amazed at the gunk that comes up with it, especially if the UGF was not run with powerheads. This is why tanks with UGF's should be stripped down and cleaned once a year, and having an HOB with plenty of filter media surface (2 sponges in my Aqua Clear) greatly reduces the likelihood of a mini-cycle.

Good luck, and keep that filter media safe while converting. I'm sure you'll enjoy your sand

Regards.

 

[Rhiannon]

Thanks terra dreamer for all that info.

My UGF has 2 cylinders, one on each side of the tank with airstones in it and its run by a powerhead.

I am currently using a Aquaone internal filter for the additional filtration.

People can be quite nasty when it comes to UGF's (for what apparent reason I dont know) but I think they are fantastic.

So maybe going from gravel to sand is going to be to much for me?

 

[andywg]

UGF work fine, but are quite heavy on mainteneace as every year or so you really want to rip out all the gravel and suck up all the detritus that builds up uinder the plates. Modern internal and external filters make it easier to remove that detritus. As biological filters they are good, though water will travel the path of least resisitance, so if there is a rat run straight through any of the gravel most of the water will go through that and not hit much media.

Sand would not work with a UGF, though you could get an external, change the gravel to sand, and then put a fair amount of gravel in the new filter as well as plenty in a sock in the tank to prevent a cycle, then gradually remove parts of the gravel until you just have sand.

 

[Tessla]

No idea why anyone would get nasty about an UGF, they're perfectly functional and tend to be inexpensive to run. I used to run them as the primary filtration on some larger tanks in the 45-80 gallon range with a bit of supplemental filtration and high waste producers like plecs, goldfish and oscars. They were all run by powerheads, which I found to be much more effective than the airstones (though those work just fine in smaller tanks.)

I don't use them anymore (and maybe you'll decide to convert, maybe you won't) because I find them to be very limiting. I have more filter media options with an external filter, plus they tend to work more effectively and it's easier to overfilter. I also adore sand as most of my favorite fish are bottom dwellers that prefer sand (spiny eels, loaches, corydoras) and it gives me more fish options, plus I've found it easier to clean and my plants do very well in it. There are plenty of reasons to convert to sand, but if gravel works fine for the fish you want to keep there's no reason to switch.