Undergravel Filter

kniesh · Jul 13, 2006

Hi all, sorry me again. I was just wondering what anyone thought of an undergravel filter for the marine tank. My lfs seemed pretty certain this was the way to go and I was just wondering ur thoughts, thx.

andywg · Jul 13, 2006

They are fantastic...If you still live in 1986...

They are really pretty much redundant. Live rock and a skimmer or algae will filter far more effectively.

Also, the UGF will need maintenance and the detritus removed from the gravel every so often. this constant maintenance will prevent the tank from truly "settling" and as such can cause a number of problems.

I would avoid it like the plague.

SkiFletch · Jul 13, 2006

Agreed. UGF's went out of style for marine setups a couple decades ago. As andy said, the tank will never fully mature since you'll be stirring it up so often to clean the gravel bed. And if you dont clean it, your substrate can turn into a toxic septic nightmare.

kniesh · Jul 13, 2006

Hi, thx for the replies, the guy did say this was old fashioned but said that I would be ok as long as I had a layer of crushed cockle shells which I have bought. No one else had mentioned this so I was just wondering if its right. thx.

SkiFletch · Jul 13, 2006

Yeah, if not properly maintained, the crushed shells will buildup detritus and create some really nasty decomposition kind of like a compost heap. Not the best of things to use, especially with LR available

kniesh · Jul 13, 2006

I am using live rock also. I dont know if what u were saying was assuming i wasnt using it see.

SkiFletch · Jul 13, 2006

Lol, yeah kinda confusing, sorry

If you're using LR (which you should be, cause it is the best filtration out ther), then there is no need for an under gravel filter. Furthermore, there is no need for crushed shells or coral. You should stick to aragonite sand if possible. Much much easier to maintain

kniesh · Jul 13, 2006

Thx, the guy told me the crushed shell would keep my PH stable, i may aswell use it now I have it. He also told me at the start that his methods were way out of date, but he is definately the best shop around here. He doesnt seem to be in it for the money certainly.

I will post some pics up once I get the cycle started an keep u updated, thx for all ur replies.