under gravel filter questions

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wildroseofky

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Nov 22, 2012
Messages
1,432
Location
Kentucky
I got a 30 gallon tank with all the equipment from a family member. It was an old tank probably around 10 years old just guessing. It had an under gravel Aqua-tech 3PH filter system. I cleaned it up and checked to see if the motors would run. They do but I am not sure if all the equipment is there. It has a plastic slatted base, 2 pump/filter things, two plastic tubes that attach to the motors and a few pieces of plastic tubing. No instructions. I checked the Aqua-tech website and couldn't find anything like it. Web search didn't turn up anything either. however, I am not the best at web searches. Can anyone tell me anything about it or suggest websites that would help me figure out how to set it up.

I hate to throw working equipment away but I have no experience with this type of setup or tanks above 10 gallons. Should I just stick with the Whisper Tetra brand I know? Do under gravel filters work better? I keep finding conflicting info. Any help would be appreciated?
 
Personally I would put it in storage till a day comes by that you can use the parts on something. Ugf are pretty out dated and to be honest I didn't think anyone used them anymore till I joined here, I would look into getting a hob filter.
 
What are your plans for the tank itself? UGF work very well under the right conditions. If you are considering a heavily planted tank, a soil or sand substrate, or don't like have the plastic riser tubes showing in your tank then you probably don't want to use it. One the other hand, if you are planning to do a gravel substrate, light planting, and don't want to have mess with nasty filters, the UGF may be the ticket for you.
 
I think I will just buy another in tank filter. I got a hold of the Aqua-tech company and they said it was so old that they didn't have parts or manuals for it. Might just use it in a fountain this Spring.

I plan on using gravel and sand and maybe a few plants. I have never had any luck with aquarium plant bulbs that I can get locally but I found that Petsmart sells plants ready to go. Think I will research low light verities and try a few. This is my first real foray into aquariums. Never had anything over a 10 gallon with goldfish. I am enjoying learning about the different fish and tank set ups.
 
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