Under gravel filter? Good or bad?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

claudiiia

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Jul 21, 2017
Messages
27
Location
Ontario, Canada
I recently bought a bunch of aquarium supplies from someone, and an under gravel filter came with it. Opinions on these filters?
 
I use undergravel filters on my Biorb's. I clean them every 6 months and feed/stock lightly so i haven't had any problems.
 
Nope. I vacuum as much as I can. But I know that underneath the stuff is building.
 
I break it down every 6 months. I remove as much clean tank water as possible into buckets along with the decor in one bucket and critters in another. I use the remaining tank water to rinse the substrate and sponges. Then I put it all back together refilling with half old tank water and other half Prime treated fresh. But my tank is only 30 liters.
 
I break it down every 6 months. I remove as much clean tank water as possible into buckets along with the decor in one bucket and critters in another. I use the remaining tank water to rinse the substrate and sponges. Then I put it all back together refilling with half old tank water and other half Prime treated fresh. But my tank is only 30 liters.



Thank you! I may do this as well. I have smaller tanks too:)
 
The upsides to undergravel filters is that they are good when you have limited options like a tiny tank. They are fairly unobtrusive. They are also simple and relatively hard to screw up. They have fairly minimal water flow when air powered so if you fish sensitive to current they can be convenient.

There are also some downsides. With a traditional UGF you have to be careful when you vacuum/clean . If you get too aggressive you can disrupt the cycle. They literally suck all the gunk in your tank into the gravel(by design) so vacuuming regularly is very important and often messy. You also pretty much have to use gravel because the gravel becomes your media. If you try to use a fine substrate like sand they will not work.

In normal sized tanks, a sponge filter or HOB is a lot more convenient.
 
The upsides to undergravel filters is that they are good when you have limited options like a tiny tank. They are fairly unobtrusive. They are also simple and relatively hard to screw up. They have fairly minimal water flow when air powered so if you fish sensitive to current they can be convenient.

There are also some downsides. With a traditional UGF you have to be careful when you vacuum/clean . If you get too aggressive you can disrupt the cycle. They literally suck all the gunk in your tank into the gravel(by design) so vacuuming regularly is very important and often messy. You also pretty much have to use gravel because the gravel becomes your media. If you try to use a fine substrate like sand they will not work.

In normal sized tanks, a sponge filter or HOB is a lot more convenient.



Thank you! It will be used in a small tank, and in other tanks I'll be using HOB filters:)
 
Back
Top Bottom