Thinking of removing UGF

[PunkRock050]

Well, not really the whole thing, just the powerhead. Im pretty sure the entire thing is clogged. Plus my gravel is like 2" deep now because I had to add more to anchor the plants and driftwood. The powerhead keeps a pretty strong current going through the tank and blows food all over the place. Would it be better just to take it out? I have a power filter to do the filtering job.

 

[semper fi]

me personally i would chuck the whole ugf thing out in the trash. kept on having problems with a tank when i first started. found the ugf to be the culprit. when i broke down the tank and removed it, you would not beleive the amount of debris trapped under it. if you can take a flashlight and look under the tank if possible. if you have problems with keeping your toxin levels down that could be why.

since taking out the ugf, i no longer have problems with ammonia and nitrites. put sponge filters on the powerheads to help to filter the water. depending on what type of fish that you have in the tank, they may like the current. most africans do.

 

[Limpet]

If you use a power filter, why not run the return to the spot where you now have a power head attached to the UG filter. Then you will have a reverse flow UG filter that is feed with mechanically filtered water. This should prevent any accumulation that Semper Fi ran across with his UG filter. As this is much easier than ripping out the UG filter, it would seem like a simple fix.

 

[semper fi]

besides accumulating all of the gunk under the plates is that the ugf's are not very effective with cichlids due to the digging. the plates become uncovered and ineffective. since punk has cichlids, he would have to watch out for this. they get rather upset when they have spent all day making a spot in the gravel for themselves and get it buried back cause the plates are exposed.

that's what she thinks.

 

[cichlidmaster]

Hey Maggie (aka Semper )

Honest mistake by Telsa, I'm sure!!

As for UG's I really have mixed feelings about them. I know in past posts I have advised against them and here is the reason....

I hope no one takes offense at this...it is not meant to be personal at all, but...

An inexperianced aquarist should not use UG due to the reasons Semper stated.....

I have used them in the past quite successfully, but they require diligent maintenance!!!!

I even had one as the sole filter in a 135 gallon LARGE cichlid tank!! No problems whatsoever!!

In fact I am getting ready to put one in a 120 for the severums, Dempsey's eupterus and Distochodus (aka Kirby).

Also please remember I run a blower which is a lot more powerful than regular air pumps. I also have a 50 gallon per minute water pump I use for water changes and can snake the hose under the filter plates to remove a good amount of the detritus.

This is what I meant by "diligent maintenance".....

I may also do the following....run 2 reverse flow powerheads on two of the lift tubes and run the other 6 lifts with regular flow. This way I will have a constant flow of water both ways.

I do not recommend them, but do use them.....

How's that for a conflict of interest!!!

CM

P.S. Semper I fixed your post so the word "she" came out in bold!!

 

[Limpet]

cichlidmaster,

In the scenario you decribed where you have two power heads pushing water down under the UG filter, and 6 bubblers pulling water from under the UG filter, it seems you have converted the UG filter into a pipe. In other words there is no "pressure" to push the water through the gravel bed. Instread you have a bacteria pipe, with the bacteria growing and living on the surfaces under/within the UG filter rather than inside the gravel bed. It probably still works as there is still a lot of surface area when you consider the surface area of the top of the gravel bed, and that of the UG filter "pipe".

I keep hearing about all the gunk that accumulates under the UG filter. If the UG filter is fed with filtered water (As opposed to a powerhead) where would this accumulation come from? Is it algae growth? I can see it easily happening if a straight power head is used, the filters on those things are coarse. But if it is fed from a external power filter, what is the source of the gunk?

Confused

 

[PunkRock050]

This is in my 29 gallon community tank, so no worries about digging. Do the tiger barbs and bala sharks like the current?

 

[reef3]

i always point my power heads back towards the glass, , and also i beleive that powerheads help keep gill flukes disease out, but thats just my opinon... i reccomend the reverse flow power heads tho, they are GREAT. and i woudlnt trash the idea for it. And also its hard to keep plants growing that you plant in the gravel with a ugf, its harder for them to stay down, i reccommend potted plants for tanks with ugf, its much easier that way