Undergravel Filters

[fish_face]

I have recently been advised by a friend to get an undergravel filter. We already have a built in canister sponge filter and the tank is nearly a year old and well established.

We had a major ammonia spike recently for no apparent reason, which our friend put down to us not having an undergravel filter. But I attributed it to changing the tank around and changing the stock quite a bit al at once. Our gravel usually looks clean though, we only have a thin layer and gravel vac it every time we do a water change.

Would getting an undergravel filter as well as using the existing one improve the situation or not really? I was previously advised in the shop when buying the tank that undergravels were not suitable if we had catfish, which we do (see sig).

Thanks everyone, sorry for the essay )

 

[WILDER]

I can't stand them they clog up to much not ideal for big waste producing fish either.

 

[Weaver]

One of my first mistakes was getting one of these.Tank was only up and running a couple of weeks and 5 of my 6 baby black phantom tetra had disappeared.Then I discovered that ug filters were not the best if I wanted to grow plants especiaaly with the gravel I had. Decided to change gravel and found the tetras had slipped under the plastic mesh.Amazed that they were still alive
Even more amazed at the amount of gunk that had gathered there in such a short time

 

[SirMinion]

In my experience & opinion:

cons

• won't work with fine gravel or sand
• fry & small fish can can get caught under the plate by entering the uplift tube.
• interferes with plant root growth
• if not adequetely aerated can become a nitite factory and a home to poison producing anaerobic bacteria.
• requires a complete tank stripdown to clean out

pros

• Inexpensive

 

[boxman]

I've had an UGF for ages and I run it with a powerhead and a Rena plus 2 canister filter - I've had no water parameter problems.

Oh, also weaver a couple of weeks isn't enough time to run a tank with fish in it - see fishless cycling threads in beginners section.

UGF isn't a bad thing if you regularly gravel vac and syphon.

Saying that, sirminion is correct although my amazon sword would disagree with the root growth, no joke, my roots on my sword were close to 1.5' and that was after 2 months!!!!!

I personally cannot see how fish could get under the plates unless you've got a gap in your gravel and the plate.

 

[wwestar2000]

cons

• won't work with fine gravel or sand
  
• fry & small fish can can get caught under the plate by entering the uplift tube.
  
• interferes with plant root growth
  
• if not adequetely aerated can become a nitite factory and a home to poison producing anaerobic bacteria.
  
• requires a complete tank stripdown to clean out
  

pros

• Inexpensive
  

[snapback]842898[/snapback]​

 

[lucky62]

My UGF has been running without complete tear-down for 10 years , it is also the only filtration my tank has , This in a 70 gallon tank has 3" of 1/8 th " gravel . I have rooted in my tank for 7 years many cryptocorine [ plants , with more intense lighting and Co2 I could culture many other plants as well] . Driven by power heads , no fish has ever been sucked into it , under it . Never lost fish do to poisoning of any kind [ though I'm sure it can happen ].

These filters need maintenance just like any , not a set it and forget it thing , gravel beds need to be vacuumed on a regular basis , occasionally I will purge the gac from under the plate using my diatom filter to aid me in cleaning .


This a very simple form of filtration and when managed properly is very affective and inexpensive , I come a long way in this hobby , and like to keep thing simple .

 

[SirMinion]

My UGF has been running without complete tear-down for 10 years , it is also the only filtration my tank has , This in a 70 gallon tank has 3" of 1/8 th " gravel . I have rooted in my tank for 7 years many cryptocorine [ plants , with more intense lighting and Co2 I could culture many other plants as well] . Driven by power heads , no fish has ever been sucked into it , under it . Never lost fish do to poisoning of any kind [ though I'm sure it can happen ].
These filters need maintenance just like any , not a set it and forget it thing , gravel beds need to be vacuumed on a regular basis , occasionally I will purge the gac from under the plate using my diatom filter to aid me in cleaning .
This a very simple form of filtration and when managed properly is very affective and inexpensive , I come a long way in this hobby , and like to keep thing simple .

[snapback]843030[/snapback]​

Fair enough, everyone's experience is different.

 

[mlee0332]

If they aren;t vaccuumed completely everytime you clean the tank, it causes bad algae growth.

Also, hard to get the glass wiped off beside and behind up lifts.

And, if knocked to hard, the tube can come loose (from under the gravel) abd will require a tear-down to fix it "good". If you get one, glue those suckers into the plate!

ALso they take longer to cycle with b/c the "HOB" and canister filters provide more surface area for the bacteria to grow.

 

[tenxiong]

I heard that they get the best filtration.

Here's a little info about UGF.

Under Gravel Filter

 

[Teelie]

I had one on my 10g when I first started out and it was terrible for maintenance. IMO, it's easier to go with HOB or cannister filters that are as far outside the tank as possible. They don't cause as much disturbance to the tank set up and are more than adequate if you buy one that will do the proper amount of filtration.

 

[colen]

I used one for about 6 years - ... the entire time I also had several other filters on the tank, in other words, I never relied on the UGF for anything.

Having said that, In the 6 years that I used it I took down the tank to move it several times and there was some NASTY stuff built up under there each time.

Even IF you don't relay on this filter for anything it WILL build up tons - o - crap underneath it, which in the long run is not good for anyone involved.

If you are concernd about filteration I would suggest that you invest in a larger filter, or a filter similar to the one you relay on and run both.

However, over the years that I do use it I never had a problem with my fish or the UGF, my biggest, and only problem was the garbage that buiilt up under it, and it seemed to do so very quickly.

Good luck with whatever decision you make, hope your fish do well either way.

Thanks,
Colen.

 

[shuhu]

Before getting the 75 Gal, for a period of 3 months I had two 10Gal tanks, one with an UGF and another one with an Internal Power Filter.

- 20% water changes and vacuuming every 2 weeks:
The tank with the Internal Power Filter (with more fish load than the UGF tank) never had any algae problems, the water was always crystal clear, and I never had to clean the rocks or plastic plants.

- 20% water changes and vacuuming every week:
The tank with the UGF, I have had brown algae problems, when there wasn't brown algae the water wasn't as clear as the other tank either, and I had to clean my plastic plants and rock every 2 weeks.

So as soon as I have some extra money I will replace each UGF with at least an Internal Power Filter, Canister filters would be the best but are much expensive

 

[CFC]

UGF were great in their day but are now redundant due to the production of cheap reliable power filters which are easier to maintain and to be honest do a better job. There is absolutely no reason for any tank to be fitted with a UGF in this day and age.