Undergravel Filter
- Thread starter Toney
- Start date
The December FOTM Contest Poll is open!
🏆 Click to vote! 🏆
Aquarian58
Fish Fanatic
I occasionally see them on eBay or our local on-line trading post called "Gumtree".
My feeling is that although they are great in principle (aesthetically at least), in a practical sense, cleaning, maintaining or worse, replacing them, is totally disruptive if the grille(s) need to be removed from below the substrate.
I would always want to use an additional system to filter the water properly anyway so the undergravel filter seems like a waste of time and resources.
My feeling is that although they are great in principle (aesthetically at least), in a practical sense, cleaning, maintaining or worse, replacing them, is totally disruptive if the grille(s) need to be removed from below the substrate.
I would always want to use an additional system to filter the water properly anyway so the undergravel filter seems like a waste of time and resources.
OP
OP
I just can't see that little sponge or plastic grid in most of the hob filters being big enough for any major biological action at all.
And no matter what the gravelstill needs to be cleaned with a vac.
I have run under gravel filters alone for years. Always had clear water.
And no matter what the gravelstill needs to be cleaned with a vac.
I have run under gravel filters alone for years. Always had clear water.
There are pro's and con's to undergravel filters, as indeed there are with any filter I suppose. But the undergravel does have some issues.
It is super at maintaining clear water, but clear and clean are very different things. The water flow through the undergravel is faster than it should be, and oxygen is rapidly brought into it so the option of some anaerobic filtration (which is useful and part of a healthy system) is largely lost. Plant roots can clog the plate, seriously if enough of them, and this means tearing the tank up to deal with it. Getting the crud out from under the plate is not always easy, depending upon the size of the surface area; I used to stick the siphon hose down the air lift tube to the bottom but this only gets the crud around that spot. If the filter should be disabled for any length of time, as in an extended power outage, you can easily poison the entire tank of fish. With canisters or external filters, one can clean them before re-starting if necessary.
Another thing is substrate material...many fish prefer sand, some need sand, and you cannot use sand with an undergravel filter.
I too was raised on undergravel filters, and it took a while to get me away from them, but it was a good move.
This needs explaining. The biological filtration in an aquarium occurs primarily in the substrate, and it involves a host of different bacteria, some aerobic and some anaerobic. In a balanced tank, there will be more bacteria in the substrate than the filter. You should be able to disconnect the filter with no detriment to the system or the inhabitants. The prime function of the "filter" (as a piece of equipment) is mechanical, to keep the water clear. But the clean part is the job of bacteria, primarily in the substrate (and on any surface covered by water).
Larger filters, or more of them, does not benefit, or shouldn't unless the system is unbalanced. "Over filtration" as the term is frequently used is a misconception, because it cannot exist in terms of filtration, meaning the biological processes. These will occur within the aquarium, filter or no filter, provided the biological system is balanced.
Byron.
It is super at maintaining clear water, but clear and clean are very different things. The water flow through the undergravel is faster than it should be, and oxygen is rapidly brought into it so the option of some anaerobic filtration (which is useful and part of a healthy system) is largely lost. Plant roots can clog the plate, seriously if enough of them, and this means tearing the tank up to deal with it. Getting the crud out from under the plate is not always easy, depending upon the size of the surface area; I used to stick the siphon hose down the air lift tube to the bottom but this only gets the crud around that spot. If the filter should be disabled for any length of time, as in an extended power outage, you can easily poison the entire tank of fish. With canisters or external filters, one can clean them before re-starting if necessary.
Another thing is substrate material...many fish prefer sand, some need sand, and you cannot use sand with an undergravel filter.
I too was raised on undergravel filters, and it took a while to get me away from them, but it was a good move.
This needs explaining. The biological filtration in an aquarium occurs primarily in the substrate, and it involves a host of different bacteria, some aerobic and some anaerobic. In a balanced tank, there will be more bacteria in the substrate than the filter. You should be able to disconnect the filter with no detriment to the system or the inhabitants. The prime function of the "filter" (as a piece of equipment) is mechanical, to keep the water clear. But the clean part is the job of bacteria, primarily in the substrate (and on any surface covered by water).
Larger filters, or more of them, does not benefit, or shouldn't unless the system is unbalanced. "Over filtration" as the term is frequently used is a misconception, because it cannot exist in terms of filtration, meaning the biological processes. These will occur within the aquarium, filter or no filter, provided the biological system is balanced.
Byron.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
355 -
201 -
192 -
184 -
181 -
173 -
173 -
155 -
145 -
109 -
93 -
92 -
87 -
80 -
79